It’s easy to just assume that a guitar player in a piano-driven act won’t get much opportunity to show his real musical chops.

But Dave Welsh, guitarist for Denver-based American four-piece band The Fray said he never feels like he’s in the back seat or relegated to the kiddie table at the musical feast.

“Obviously, there are times I wish we had two guitars on stage and just rocked out,” said the Arizona-born Welsh. “I mean, you do have to share the stage with this enormous instrument that takes up a lot of sonic room, but I find it actually gives me an opportunity for more colourful guitar parts. It makes me play more creatively.”

The Fray headlines the Whistler Victory Ceremony Tuesday night (Feb. 23) after medals are handed out for Nordic combined and women’s biathlon.

Welsh said he’s happy to be playing at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

“I try to catch the Games when they come on usually, but I’m really not that much of a sports person,” he said. “I used to watch them with my grandmother when I was eight-years-old. I remember we kept stats books and I really enjoyed watching it.”

Formed in 2002, The Fray quickly attained mainstream success with the release of their debut album How to Save a Life. The album ‘s first single, Over My Head (Cable Car) became a top ten hit in the U.S., while the second, and album’s titular single, How to Save a Life, brought the band international fame. The song was heavily featured on popular American television shows including Supernatural, One Tree Hill and Scrubs, and was used for the main advertising promotion for the season premiere of Grey's Anatomy.

Both songs earned Grammy nominations in 2007. If you’ve ever listened to a radio in recent years, you’ve heard those songs.

The Fray’s second, self-titled album debuted at the number one spot on Billboard’s 200 Chart, and earned two Grammy nominations this year.

Welsh said it was a little hard to get used to the success at first, especially when playing in other countries where crowds of people were singing their songs.

“The first couple of times it was very strange,” he said. “It was kind of ‘out-of-body.’ It’s funny, you dream about that kind of thing as a kid, but when it happens, it’s nothing like you imagined.”

But the success does have its price, he admitted.

“It’d be naďve to think that a life like this wouldn’t change someone,” he said. “But it isn’t a bad change, but rather more like we’ve grown in different directions than we would have otherwise. I mean, we travel the world and are gone from our homes and families, and that is something young married couples don’t usually have to deal with (Welsh married in 2006), but hopefully all that also has a positive effect in the end. After all, it’s something you’ve dreamt about doing all your life.”

In addition to the two studio albums, The Fray also has, count ‘em, three full live albums on the market.

“An important element of this band is to explore more, be more creative and more daring in a live setting,” Welsh said. “And sometimes that doesn’t always translate to our studio albums.”

If you’re lucky enough to be at Tuesday night’s Whistler Victory Ceremony, you’ll get to experience that creative and daring musical exploration. Some rush tickets are available to each night’s ceremony — line up beside the venue starting at 4 p.m.