Grey Does Matter

Grey Does Matter originated as the creative outlet of Jason Crawford, an indie-pop prodigy who fuses the playful low-tech experiments of circuit bending with the melodic classicism of Matthew Sweet and the Cars. Born in New York City’s East Village, Crawford spent his teenage years clutching an electric guitar, slipping into clubs after dark, and shaping songs on a four-track cassette recorder. His father, struck by the strength of his son’s songwriting, urged him to apply to Boston’s Berklee College of Music. Though accepted, Crawford found the institution’s rigid program stifling and soon withdrew. Back in New York he took a series of odd jobs while continuing to write until 2004, when encouragement from friends and relatives prompted him to gather the strongest of his home recordings onto a single album. He released the collection under the name Grey Does Matter as How to Make Millions in Real Estate; despite its handmade distribution the record sold five thousand copies and drew several glowing notices. Industry figures took note, and several tracks were licensed for use by MTV, the FOX network, and Nintendo. Crawford also received commissions to compose original music for multiple video games. When live bookings for Grey Does Matter began arriving, he handled the shows alone, strumming guitar while routing the remaining parts through a Game Boy. Eventually he formed a five-piece ensemble for performances, yet by 2006 the lineup had settled into a trio featuring Crawford alongside Amos, who constructed and played a hybrid guitar-bass of his own invention, and drummer John Webber. With a full band and access to a proper studio, Crawford composed and tracked a second Grey Does Matter album, Your Job Will Kill You, issued in the autumn of that year.