Terrorbird

Corey Crawford's trajectory as American Folklore started back on folk artist Glenn Downing's ranch outside of Waco around the turn of the millenium. 'I used to live in this old beat up trailer out on Glenn's ranch. No TV, I'd just sit around and listen to old blues and country records and pick traditional music all day and night, mostly on mandolin and guitar. I had this ramshackle mandolin that an old goat farmer from up around Hillsboro made for me. The action was so tough, I used to play it until my fingers bled. I think after I moved out some lady took to whoring in that trailerhouse for a short time and they had to kick her out.' It was during this period Crawford picked up Travis-style guitar from Billy Doss, the son of travelling medicine show performers, and learned the nuances of buying and selling old guitars. The latter endeavor expanded his network to many fixtures of the early New York beat-folk scene.

Shortly before leaving Waco, he began a series of recording sessions with local engineer Tim Jenkins. When pressed to post some of the music online, Crawford came up with the moniker American Folklore. Interest was immediate and unexpected from fans and labels, forcing him to define the American Folklore sound. 'When I pick up an instrument my first inclination is to beat out some prewar blues riff or an old hillbilly song. But, I wanted American Folklore to seem more like a series of soundscapes rather than songs. I was taken with this idea of an H.C. Westermann sculpture reciting the poems of Nicanor Parra, drifting through scenes of an old Peckinpah western. That was sort of how I had envisioned the American Folklore point of view at that time. A lot of people were saying it just sounds like Beck, and that was hard to take. One canadian heavy metal blogger wrote, "if Jesus was a ride at an amusement park, this would be the sound track." That made me feel better about the whole deal.'

Crawford found himself working construction in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Finding time to sneak up to Waco for sessions a few days at a time, an album worth of material slowy evolved over the next couple years. He relocated to the west coast of Sweden and set up a studio. In September 2008, living in Gothenberg and with the album pressed and ready for release, American Folklore took an abrupt hiatus, when hurricane Ike slammed into the Texas coast. Crawford again found himself on a hurricane, and away from the music. Finally, in the Spring of 2009, the debut album is seeing the light of day.