Fray Day 8: Oct. - Dec.
Oct. 23 Los Angeles
Oct. 23 Mesa/Phoenix
Oct. 31 Copenhagen
Nov. 13 Dallas
Nov. 13 San Francisco
Nov. 13 Madrid
Nov. 14 New Haven
Nov. 16 Central Florida
Nov. 17 Washington DC
Nov. 20 Fredericksburg
Dec. 1 Milwaukee
Dec. 2 Tucson

Want some stories for your iPod? Buy Fray CDs in Apple's iTunes Music Store. Fray Cafe 3 Thriteen true story performances from Fray Cafe 3 in Austin, Texas. » Buy from iTunes Fray Day 5 True story performances and music from Fray Day 5 in San Francisco. » Buy from iTunes

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Check out the photos!
Posted by Derek on Friday 26 March 04 @ 3:12PM

Thanks to our super amazing photographer Rannie Turingan for capturing the event in photos! Check 'em out!

Great Show!
Posted by MichaelBrown on Tuesday 16 March 04 @ 7:02AM

We had a great show on Sunday. The weather was beautiful, the venue was perfect and the stories were exceptional. I want to thank our featured speakers, Lance Arthur, Kevin Smokler, and Jay Allen as well as our surprise speakers, Molly Steenson and John and Jim Styn. Thanks also to Annie Lin who, despite ending up in San Antonio by accident, made it in time and gave a beautiful performance. And Scott Andrew LePera was, as always, in excellent form. Of course, the show wouldn't have been possible without the help of Ben Brown. Thanks for sharing your mad MC skilz with us, Ben! And last but certainly not least, a double special thanks to all those who signed up for the open mic. Y'all were most excellent! See you next year!

Smokin'!
Posted by MichaelBrown on Friday 12 March 04 @ 7:15AM

So how's this for a bit of good luck: I was having dinner at Threadgills last night with a group of early SXSW arrivals when on my way out I happened to run into the inestimable Kevin Smokler who was on his way in. I stopped and chatted with him for a minute, one thing led to another, and before I knew it he was agreeing to be a featured storyteller! I'm sure I don't need to tell you that Kevin is regular Fray contributor. In addition to having performed at many Fray Day events in San Francisco, Kevin has also performed at every single Fray Cafe in Austin so far. What a record! I'm absolutely delighted that our paths crossed last night and produced such a serendipitous outcome.

Welcome home, Kevin!

The World According to Jay
Posted by MichaelBrown on Wednesday 10 March 04 @ 4:06PM

If there's one man with stories to tell it's Jay Allen. Jay has been just about eveywhere in the world. I can only imagine the things he's seen. His passion for storytelling is second only to his passion for traveling. He is an old friend of Fray and we're ecstatic that he's stopped in Austin long enough to join us on Sunday. In the meantime, you can whet your whistle by reading some of his stories from the road and from home at jayallen.org.

And don't forget, only four days to go! Sunday, March 14 at Red Eyed Fly. See you there!

Welcome Back, Scott
Posted by MichaelBrown on Monday 1 March 04 @ 7:04PM

I'm very happy to announce that Scott Andrew LePera will be making his second Fray Cafe appearance in Austin this year! Scott lives in Seattle where he ekes out a schizoid existence as both a folk-damaged acoustic pop songwriter and web developer for Amazon.com. His music and many writings on web development are posted at scottandrew.com.

Introducing Annie Lin
Posted by MichaelBrown on Tuesday 24 February 04 @ 7:22AM

I'd like to welcome Houston-based folk diva Annie Lin as our newest addition to the Fray Cafe 4 lineup! She's a 5'4 guitar-toting pixie who plays quirky, acoustic pop. Often compared to such artists as Mary Lou Lord and Liz Phair, she brings off-kilter charm and rock n’ roll ferocity to the rarefied genre of folk. Fans of Ani DiFranco and Lisa Loeb will vouch for her music, which The Houston Press calls "[s]avvy and academically rooted." You can read more about her on her site. Welcome, Annie!

Download a Flyer!
Posted by Derek on Friday 13 February 04 @ 7:15PM

Attention Austinites: We need your help! Please help us to spread the word about Fray Cafe in and around Austin. Just click one or both of the following flyers to download them (pdf format). Then just print out a few and put them up in your favorite bookstore / cafe / bathroom. What are office supplies for?

Flyer One (411k) is our standard flyer. It's big! It's texty!

Flyer Two (618k) is the 2-up version, so it's designed to be printed and cut in half, so you get two for the price of one!

Thanks!

Bring a Story to Tell!
Posted by Derek on Friday 13 February 04 @ 7:09PM

If you've never been to a Fray event before, you're in for a treat. Fray Cafe is all about true stories. You'll see a series of people take the stage to tell you a story. In addition to being true, the stories are personal (meaning the story happened to the person telling it). The best part is, YOU are invited to take the stage and tell a story, too!

If you're interested in telling a story in the open mic, just make sure you show up early. Find Ben - he'll have the signup list. And be sure to read the performance guidelines. Start practicing now! We discourage notes, so don't read your story - perform it.

A good way to get a feel for the kind of stories we like is to read the stories here on Fray. You can listen to some past events, too. But don't stress - Fray events are all about creating a safe, comfortable space for telling true stories. So long as you're having fun telling your story, the audience will have fun hearing it.

Featuring Ben Brown and Lance Arthur
Posted by Derek on Wednesday 11 February 04 @ 11:24AM

We're thrilled to announce some of the faces you'll see onstage at Fray Cafe 4!

Our emcee for the evening will be none other than local Austinite Ben Brown. Ben is a frequent Fray contributor and performer, and most recently emceed Fray Day 7 Austin last October. Ben is a writer and the founder of So New Media. He's been telling stories online for a long time. He has a thing for squid.

Our first featured performer will be San Franciscan Lance Arthur. Lance is a longtime Fray contributor and performer, and most recently performed at Fray Day 7 San Francisco last October. Lance incessantly writes and talks about himself and does so without recompense or reason.

Venue!
Posted by MichaelBrown on Tuesday 10 February 04 @ 5:58PM

Fray Cafe 4 has an official venue: Red Eyed Fly at 715 Red River. That's just a few blocks north of the Hilton. So mark your calendars now and plan to join us here in Austin for a night of great storytelling.

Fray Cafe 4 is Coming!
Posted by Derek on Sunday 1 February 04 @ 6:55PM

That's right, we're coming back to Austin for our fourth-annual Fray Cafe! We'll be following the SXSW Web Awards once again, so mark your calendars for Sunday, March 14, at 8pm! More details soon.

Never been? Fray Cafe is a night of true personal stories told live and on stage in conjunction with South by Southwest Interactive. There will be a few featured performers, some live music, and a storytelling open mic. For a taste of what it's like, check out the photos from last year and the Fray Audio Archive.

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