Jeremiah Caleb Fraites (born January 17, 1986) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He is the co-founder of
The Lumineers
The Lumineers are an American alternative folk band based in Denver, Colorado. The founding members are Wesley Schultz (lead vocals, guitar) and Jeremiah Fraites (drums, percussion, piano). Schultz and Fraites began writing and performing toge ...
and is a songwriter for the band. He was born and raised in
Ramsey, New Jersey
Ramsey is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located northwest of Midtown Manhattan. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 14,473,Ramsey, New Jersey
Ramsey is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located northwest of Midtown Manhattan. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 14,473,Ramsey High School in 2004, and
William Paterson University
William Paterson University, officially William Paterson University of New Jersey (WPUNJ), is a public university in Wayne, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education.
Founded in 1855 and was named after American ju ...
in 2009.
He became an Italian citizen in December 2021.
The Lumineers
Beginnings
Fraites' brother Josh (1982-2001) was a friend of
Wesley Schultz
Wesley Keith Schultz (born December 30, 1982) is the guitarist and lead vocalist for the American folk rock band The Lumineers.
Life and career
Schultz grew up in Ramsey, New Jersey,New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
and began to play in small clubs and at open mic nights in an attempt to find success in the music business. They played several types of music, and occasionally included other musicians while they played under various names, including Free Beer and Wesley Jeremiah.
Move to Denver
In 2009, Fraites graduated from college. Unhappy at having to work multiple jobs to make ends meet while attempting to become full-time musicians, Fraites and Schultz decided to relocate to Denver, which had a lower cost of living. They eventually placed a
Craigslist
Craigslist (stylized as craigslist) is an American classified advertisements website with sections devoted to jobs, housing, for sale, items wanted, services, community service, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums.
Craig Newmark began the ...
ad for a cello player, which led to Neyla Pekarek joining the band.
Recording contract
A self-financed tour in 2009-2010 led to the band being signed to a management contract. Their management company financed an EP. As they became better known, their self-financed tour and their EP led to The Lumineers being signed to a recording contract. The band subsequently released the albums ''
The Lumineers
The Lumineers are an American alternative folk band based in Denver, Colorado. The founding members are Wesley Schultz (lead vocals, guitar) and Jeremiah Fraites (drums, percussion, piano). Schultz and Fraites began writing and performing toge ...
Fraites released his solo debut album ''Piano Piano'' on January 22, 2021 through Dualtone Records (US/Canada) and Mercury KX (World). The album is a collection of piano-centric instrumental songs that he had been working on for over a decade. It was met with critical acclaim from NPR's ''Weekend Edition'', ''Denver Post'', NPR Music's ''All Songs Considered,'' ''American Songwriter'', and ''Earmilk'' among others.
Fraites partnered with the meditation app Calm for the release of two exclusive tracks titled "Felt" and "Pluck."
He also partnered with the British music technology company
Spitfire Audio
Spitfire Audio is an England, English technology company based in London that creates virtual instrument sample libraries used for music production. The company was founded in 2007 by professional composers Christian Henson and Paul Thomson (co ...
for their Originals series on a program called "Firewood Piano." The program is based on his eccentric upright piano, nicknamed "Firewood," on which he used to record several songs for his solo debut album.