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Reaching for the Stars

Fraxure is a breath of fresh air and change of pace in today’s modern music. Their passion for 80s glam music, eccentricity in their style and performance never bores their fans. Their catchy hooks, innovative production techniques and sizzling fresh lyrics deliver a familiar yet unique experience. The band talks about how they got started. 

One evening during an Open Mic night, Cobain met Owen. Taking to the stage and exuding confidence, Owen performed an acoustic rendition of Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead or Alive.” Impressing Cobain with his powerful voice Cobain approached him afterward and suggested they collaborate on a few songs. Their first jam together featured Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name” and “Wild Child” by WASP. It was clear they had an instant musical chemistry.

One evening Cobain and Owen were performing at the Wonkey Donkey where they initially crossed paths with Jovi and the thoughts of creating a band began to stir. “Although Owen knew Jovi I was not familiar with him at the time but he would join our group a year later,” said Cobain. Cobain had little interest in music initially, as his passion lay in football, but an unfortunate ankle injury during a game shifted his focus. “I am truly grateful to that kid for the injury as I have embraced music instead” he said. Inspired by guitar legends like Yngwie Malmsteen, he continues “I have attempted to emulate his signature style, even trying to play with my teeth, though it often resulted in rather sore gums!”

“A couple of years ago, whilst still at school, I noticed a guy with long, curly hair playing the drums with incredible energy, reminiscent of Animal from the Muppets” added Cobain. “I couldn’t help but think he was far too talented to be just jamming in our school.” Joe later joined the band as their drummer. 

“We also knew Bailey, our previous bassist, through a mutual friend, but he decided to leave the band to follow his own musical journey. After holding auditions for a new bass player, we discovered Jack. When we jammed with him at his audition he blew us away with his bass riffs to the point that he actually made us stop playing” added Cobain “We stopped and looked at each other and grinned. We knew we had found our new bassist!” 

Owens’ passion for singing was sparked by his father, who would often belt out tunes in the car and even took him to the karaoke stage during family vacations. “To help me get started, he dedicated two months to vocal lessons, ensuring I grasped the fundamentals” said Owen. “When Cobain and I formed the band, I found I was really driven by the enthusiasm of the boys and their commitment to something they love.” He draws inspiration from iconic performers like Jon Bon Jovi for stage presence, and looks up to vocalists such as Blackie Lawless and James Hetfield for their powerful voices. “Together, we aspire to achieve great things, dreaming of playing on big stages and hearing crowds sing our songs back to us.”

The band has ‘the dream’ like all bands to be successful. “We understand that to progress in such a saturated market it’s important to have direction,” said Cobain. “It’s important to have all your ducks lined up in a row and have everyone on the same page so you know where you’re heading.”    

The band is completely aware that honing your craft is imperative to be the best that you can be and to create that unique sound. However with that and trying to create a level of success brings with it challenges in the form of criticism from fans, A&R and promoters. “It’s how you deal with that criticism that’s what’s important,” said Jovi. “You can either let it bother you or you can turn it on its head and see how you can turn it into something positive. We had some feedback a while ago from some A&R in an audience who didn’t have very positive things to say about our look. Having spoken to them and understood why they said what they did we took it on board and decided to make a change and unify our look by introducing the black shirts. Since making that change we have noticed a difference in how much more professional we look and we are now being taken more seriously.”

The band reflects on the past couple of years and the highs. “The way we support each other is a huge factor in why we are still performing,” said Joe. “We have watched each other grow and become much more confident on stage. Our performances just keep getting better. I know it sounds a bit of a cliché but we have become a band family.”

“We have worked with some great bands and do have fun along the way” added Joe “It’s important to have fun along with passion for what you do otherwise what is the point? We adore our fans. Fans are really important to us, as without them we have nothing, they give us inspiration and we always make a point of thanking them at the end of a gig.”

Although there have been plenty of highs along the way, the band, like many, experience lows. “We find it difficult performing to small audiences and I mean small in that they are just two or three people” added Owen. “It’s hard but we always put on a great performance regardless as we believe it’s what they deserve.” 

Social media is a game of two halves. Bands need it to stay in the limelight but it can also be their undoing. “Bands are expected to be on socials these days” said Jack. “We have to have an online presence to showcase who we are, deliver news about what we are up to, help promoters find us and obviously interact with our fans. However, it can be really tough when we get comments posted that are not so nice. Obviously we can’t please everyone but social media has become a platform for people to say things from behind anonymity. Fortunately we are close and support each other. Such comments certainly keep us grounded; after all we are not rock stars – yet! We also have a great support team who hide such comments so we can’t see them and can remain focussed on delivering great music for our fans.”

The band is finding more opportunities are coming their way to support bigger artists. They are supporting Marco Mendoza, known for his work with Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy, The Dead Daisies, Black Star Riders and Journey to name but a few, in September on his ‘Shoot for the Stars Tour 2025’. The band is also hosting their second headline gig on Halloween at Queens Hall in Nuneaton and can’t wait to perform for their fans, both old and new. And what a show it will be!