Death became Matt Bauer.
The story of his new record, The Island Moved In The Storm, due out Sept. 2, came after Bauer heard the 40-year-old tale of a young womans murder in Georgetown, Ky., west of Bauers hometown of Lexington.
For 30 years, the girl was known as Tent Girl, so named by the now-defunct Kentucky Post & Times Star because she was found wrapped in a canvas that resembled a tent.
Bauers brother told him about the murder about 10 years ago, and it stuck with him. It was one of those stories or events that are kind of a subject that I come back to and imagine in different ways, says Bauer, who now lives in Brooklyn.
Part of his fascination comes from the fact that no one knew who the woman was, the mystery of who this person could be. She was buried with an anonymous grave marker, and the site became a popular destination among Georgetown youth.
In 1998, DNA testing confirmed the body was that of Barbara Ann Hackman Taylor.
Find Bauer and his stories at myspace.com/mattbauer.
This article appears in July 15, 2008.