Grey Does Matter

Grey Does Matter is the brainchild of Jason Crawford, an indie pop prodigy whose work embraces the low-tech playfulness of circuit bending as well as the hooky classicism of Matthew Sweet and the Cars. Crawford was born in New York City's East Village and spent much of his teenage years with an electric guitar in his hand, sneaking into nightspots and working out songs on a four-track cassette recorder. Crawford's father was impressed enough with his son's songwriting gifts to suggest Jason apply to Boston's prestigious Berklee College of Music. Crawford was accepted, but felt stifled by the school's strict curriculum and dropped out. Returning to New York, Crawford worked odd jobs and continued writing songs until 2004, when at the urging of his friends and family he compiled the cream of his catalog of home recordings into an album. Crawford credited How to Make Millions in Real Estate to the group handle Grey Does Matter, and despite the self-released album's D.I.Y. distribution, it sold an impressive five thousand copies and earned a handful of rave reviews. The album also impressed a number of music biz insiders, and tunes from the album were licensed for commercial use by MTV, the FOX network, and Nintendo. Crawford was also approached to write original music for several video games, and when he began receiving booking requests for Grey Does Matter live shows, Crawford put his new skills to use by performing solo with just a guitar, programming the rest of his accompaniment into a Game Boy. In time, Crawford assembled a five-piece band for concert dates, but by 2006 Grey Does Matter had been pared down to a trio, with Crawford joined by Amos, who plays a combination guitar and bass of his own design, and John Webber, a drummer. With a band and a real studio at his disposal, Crawford wrote and recorded a second Grey Does Matter album in 2006, Your Job Will Kill You, which was released in the fall of that year.
— Mark Deming , All Music Guide