Jason Andrew Molina (December 30, 1973 – March 16, 2013) was an American musician, singer and songwriter. Raised in northern Ohio, he came to prominence performing and recording as Songs: Ohia, both in solo projects and with a rotating cast of musicians in the late 1990s. Beginning in 2003, he would garner a further indie following for his releases with the band Magnolia Electric Co.
Molina had a prolific career between his two musical projects and solo releases, producing a total of sixteen studio albums, eight EPs, and numerous singles. His overall discography was noted by critics for blending elements of
indie rock
Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...
, blues, and
alternative country with his
tenor
A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...
vocal range.
In 2009, Molina canceled a tour with
Will Johnson, citing health problems. He spent the next four years dealing with alcoholism, which ultimately resulted in his death from
multiple organ failure
Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) is altered organ function in an acutely ill patient requiring medical intervention to achieve homeostasis.
Although Irwin and Rippe cautioned in 2005 that the use of "multiple organ failure" or "multisy ...
in March 2013.
Early life
Molina was born December 30, 1973
in
Oberlin, Ohio
Oberlin is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States, 31 miles southwest of Cleveland. Oberlin is the home of Oberlin College, a liberal arts college and music conservatory with approximately 3,000 students.
The town is the birthplace of th ...
.
His father was a middle school teacher.
He had one brother, Aaron, and one sister, Ashley.
Molina was raised in
Lorain, Ohio, an industrial town 25 miles west of
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, and grew up in a single-wide trailer on
Lake Erie
Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also h ...
.
He began playing guitar at age 10.
Molina attended
Admiral King High School, graduating in 1992. During school, he played bass guitar, most notably with the
metal
A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...
band Spineriders.
Molina attended
Oberlin College, graduating with a bachelor of arts degree in art history in 1996.
After playing bass guitar in various metal bands in and around Cleveland, Molina became a solo artist under an assumed band name, recruiting other musicians for each project as needed. He made several home recordings under various names, including "Songs: Albian", "Songs: Radix", and "Songs: Unitas", which he distributed himself at live performances.
Career
Songs: Ohia: 1995–2003
Songs: Ohia was largely a project of revolving musicians with Molina as its center and sole stable member. The band's genre is generally considered
indie rock
Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...
,
lo-fi
Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate choice. The ...
,
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fo ...
, or
alt-country
Alternative country, or alternative country rock (sometimes alt-country, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative), is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that differ significantly in style ...
. The second part of the name is an allusion to both the Hawaiian tree ''
'Ōhi'a lehua'' and Molina's home state of Ohio.
The first Songs: Ohia release came in 1995 as a single on
Palace Records, ''Nor Cease Thou Never Now''.
This was followed by the 1997 full-length album ''Songs: Ohia'' (known among fans as the ''Black Album''), released on the
Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside the Indianapolis metropolitan area. According to the Mo ...
-based label
Secretly Canadian
Secretly Canadian is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Secretly Canadian is a label included in Secretly Group, which ...
.
In 2000, Molina released three albums: ''
The Lioness'', recorded in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
by producer
Andy Miller with help from
Alasdair Roberts and members of
Arab Strap
Arab Strap are a Scottish indie rock band whose core members are Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton. The band were signed to independent record label Chemikal Underground, split in 2006 and reformed in 2016. The band signed to Rock Action Rec ...
; ''Ghost Tropic'', recorded by
Mike Mogis
Michael Riley Mogis (born May 16, 1974) is an American producer/engineer and multi-instrumentalist who, along with his brother A.J. Mogis, founded Presto! Recording Studios (previously known as Dead Space Recording and, earlier, Whoopass Recor ...
; and ''
Protection Spells'', a solo album sold at live shows and now out of print. By 2000, Molina had given his tenor guitar a rest in favor of a regular six-string electric guitar and put together a full band to back him, including brothers Rob and
Dan Sullivan on bass and guitar, Jeff Panall on drums, and Jim Grabowski on organ. In the same year the touring band recorded a live album near
Modena, Italy, released locally in 2001 as ''Mi Sei Apparso Come Un Fantasma''.
In 2002, Molina recorded ''
Didn't It Rain
"Didn't It Rain", sometimes given as "Oh, Didn't It Rain", is a spiritual about Noah's flood. In 1919 it appeared as sheet music in an arrangement for voice and piano by Henry Thacker Burleigh (1866–1949).
Modern versions
* The Galilee Sing ...
'' in Philadelphia with members of
bluegrass band
Jim & Jennie & the Pinetops. On the album, named after a
Mahalia Jackson
Mahalia Jackson ( ; born Mahala Jackson; October 26, 1911 – January 27, 1972) was an American gospel singer, widely considered one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century. With a career spanning 40 years, Jackson was integral to ...
song, the band achieved an almost gospel sound that was a vast departure from the dense feel of ''
Ghost Tropic''. Constantly recording and writing new songs, Songs: Ohia released a handful of singles and EPs in 2002, including a split EP with
My Morning Jacket
My Morning Jacket is an American rock band formed in Louisville, Kentucky in 1998. The band consists of vocalist/guitarist Jim James, bassist Tom Blankenship, drummer Patrick Hallahan, guitarist Carl Broemel, and keyboardist Bo Koster. The ...
and a collaborative EP (under the name
Amalgamated Sons of Rest) with
Will Oldham
Joseph Will Oldham (born January 15, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded in collaboration with dozens of other musicians under variations of Palace (Palace, Palace Flophouse, Palace Br ...
and
Alasdair Roberts.
The 2003 release ''Magnolia Electric Co.'' marked a shift in direction for Songs: Ohia. Every song was recorded live in the studio with a full touring band plus musicians from ''Didn't It Rain''.
The album's sound draws heavily from the
heartland rock
Heartland rock is a genre of rock music characterized by a straightforward, often roots musical style, often with a focus on blue-collar workers, and a conviction that rock music has a social or communal purpose beyond just entertainment.
The ge ...
and folk-rock of the 1960s/70s, as well as Molina's heavy metal roots (British metal pioneers
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...
are often cited as one of Molina's influences).
Magnolia Electric Co.: 2003–2012
![Magnolia Electric Co](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Magnolia_Electric_Co._live_20050707.jpg)
In March 2003, while on tour, Molina announced that he would rename the band Magnolia Electric Co., retaining the stylistic direction of the album of the same name. He also continued to release solo work under his own name. The first such release came in January 2004 as the full-length vinyl release ''Pyramid Electric Co.''
Though ''Magnolia Electric Co.'' and ''Pyramid Electric Co.'' were originally intended as a double album, the latter seems to be the stylistic polar opposite of the former.
Engineered by Mike Mogis, who also engineered ''Ghost Tropic'', ''Pyramid'' found Molina alone at the microphone with only his voice and a piano or guitar. Magnolia Electric Co.'s first official release was a live album, ''Trials and Errors'', followed by a studio album, ''What Comes After the Blues'', and an EP, ''Hard to Love a Man'', all released in 2005. In 2006, Molina released two more records: the sparse solo ''Let Me Go, Let Me Go, Let Me Go'' and the more conventional ''Fading Trails'' with Magnolia Electric Co., the latter culled from three separate sessions over the previous year.
It is not entirely clear when Songs: Ohia became Magnolia Electric Co. In interviews, Molina claimed that he considered the tenure of Songs: Ohia over after ''Didn't It Rain'', which would make ''Magnolia Electric Co.'' the self-titled debut album under the new name. The name "Songs: Ohia" appears nowhere on the artwork of the album and only a promotional sticker on the
cellophane
Cellophane is a thin, transparent sheet made of regenerated cellulose. Its low permeability to air, oils, greases, bacteria, and liquid water makes it useful for food packaging. Cellophane is highly permeable to water vapour, but may be coated ...
wrapping connects it with the prior name. Nevertheless,
Secretly Canadian
Secretly Canadian is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Secretly Canadian is a label included in Secretly Group, which ...
still promotes the album under the Songs: Ohia moniker. On the other hand, the Magnolia Electric Co. live album ''Trials and Errors'' was recorded on April 16, 2003, at the
Ancienne Belgique
Ancienne Belgique (French for "Old Belgium") is a concert hall for contemporary music in Brussels, Belgium. Located in the historic heart of Brussels, it is one of the leading concert venues in Belgium, hosting a wide variety of international and l ...
club in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, at a time when the band was still touring under the Songs: Ohia name.
Pitchfork Media
''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog.
Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...
later reported that name change would be made official after the Spanish tour in October 2003.
Later years and illness: 2009–2013
According to Magnolia Electric Co. bandmate Jason Groth, Molina "and the bottle had a complicated relationship" dating back as far as 2003.
[The Beach Dog:]
Magnolia Electric Company Tour Diary, August 24, 2009
The full extent of his alcoholism was not revealed to many of his close friends until after 2009.
A European tour for Molina & Johnson in support of their
self-titled album was scheduled for November and December 2009; the tour was canceled on November 23, three days before it was to begin.
A brief note on the band's website blamed "health problems" (without elaborating) for the cancelations and noted, "Jason Molina is extremely disappointed but there is no way he can be on the road at the present time."
A U.S. leg of the Molina & Johnson tour was scheduled for January and February 2010 but was canceled in early December with another brief note on the band's website citing Molina's "present health issues".
Following this announcement, Molina effectively withdrew from public life.
On September 19, 2011, a message from Molina's family was posted on the Secretly Canadian Records website, titled "Where Is Jason Molina?", which said that over the preceding two years Molina had visited rehab facilities and hospitals in England, Chicago,
Indianapolis, and
for an unnamed condition. His family wrote that he was "currently working on a farm in West Virginia raising goats and chickens for the next year or so, and is looking forward to making great music again."
On May 5, 2012, a post titled "a note from jason" was posted on the Magnolia Electric Co. website, explaining certain aspects of his situation for the first time.
[Magnoliaelectricco.com post:]
a note from jason
." Saying that it had been "a long hospital year", Molina expressed gratitude and appreciation for the monetary and emotional support he had received from fans and friends.
He gave a brief update on his condition, saying, "Treatment is good, getting to deal with a lot of things that even the music didn't want to. I have not given up because you, my friends have not given up on me." The note concludes optimistically, saying that there were a few music projects on the "distant radar screen".
Death and legacy
Molina died on March 16, 2013, in
Indianapolis of alcohol abuse-related organ failure. He was 39.
His friend Henry Owings published an article in his online music magazine ''
Chunklet'' that said Molina had struggled with alcoholism for most of the decade leading up to his death. Owings also wrote that Molina had "cashed out on Saturday night in Indianapolis with nothing but a cell phone in his pocket".
[ Chunklet article:]
Jason Molina RIP
Molina was cremated.
Following 2013, two posthumous 7-inch singles of
Townes Van Zandt
John Townes Van Zandt (March 7, 1944 – January 1, 1997) was an American singer-songwriter. and
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...
covers were released. In May 2013,
Graveface Records
Graveface Records is an American independent record label from Savannah, Georgia, solely owned and operated by Ryan Graveface (who plays in the groups Black Moth Super Rainbow, Dreamend, the Marshmallow Ghosts and the Casket Girls). He has rele ...
released a double CD called ''Weary Engine Blues: A Tribute to Jason Molina''. Additionally, a biography of Molina, ''Jason Molina: Riding with the Ghost'', was published in May 2017 by Erin Osmon.
[Jason Molina: Riding with the Ghost, By Erin Osmon, 9781442268678 – Rowman & Littlefield](_blank)
/ref> A plaque dedicated in Molina's memory was erected on the entrance of Secretly Canadian
Secretly Canadian is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Secretly Canadian is a label included in Secretly Group, which ...
's second storage facility. In January 2018, the indie label Dead Oceans
Dead Oceans is an American independent record label formed in 2007 and based in Bloomington, Indiana, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Dead Oceans is part of Secretly Group, which also ...
published in homage to Molina the cooperation single ''Farewell Transmission b/w The Dark Don't Hide It'' by Kevin Morby
Kevin Robert Morby (born April 2, 1988) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. A former member of Woods and the Babies, Morby has released seven solo studio albums: ''Harlem River'' (2013), '' Still Life'' (2014), ''Singing Saw'' (20 ...
and Waxahatchee
Waxahatchee is an American indie music project, formed in 2010 by American singer-songwriter Katie Crutchfield (born 4 January 1989), previously a member of P.S. Eliot. The band is named after Waxahatchee Creek, in Alabama, where Crutchfield g ...
. Two posthumous albums, ''Live at La Chapelle'' and ''Eight Gates'', were released by Secretly Canadian in 2020.
Artistry
Music critics noted Molina's music for its unique blend of indie rock with blues, alternative country, and lo-fi music, which combined "Rust Belt
The Rust Belt is a region of the United States that experienced industrial decline starting in the 1950s. The U.S. manufacturing sector as a percentage of the U.S. GDP peaked in 1953 and has been in decline since, impacting certain regions an ...
grit with Americana music
Americana (also known as American roots music) is an amalgam of American music formed by the confluence of the shared and varied traditions that make up the musical ethos of the United States, specifically those sounds that are emerged from the ...
's pastoral imagery." ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
''s William Yardley characterized Molina as a "balladeer of heartbreak". He possessed a tenor
A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...
vocal range.
According to Molina, he treated his work as a musician like a standard job, writing music eight hours per day. "I throw away most of what I write", he said in a 2006 interview. "I feel a lot of guilt about the freedom that being an artist provides. I ask myself, 'Why am I not the guy emptying the trash, why am I the guy who is watching the guy empty the trash?
Personal life
Molina was married to Darcie Schoenman Molina.[''Daily Entertainment News'' article:]
Darcie Schoenman Molina – Indie Singer Jason Molina's Wife
They had no children and were estranged at the time of his death.
Discography
All releases on the Secretly Canadian
Secretly Canadian is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Secretly Canadian is a label included in Secretly Group, which ...
label, unless otherwise specified.
Songs: Ohia
; Studio albums
* 1997: '' Songs: Ohia'' (also known as The Black Album)
* 1998: '' Impala'' (originally released on Happy Go Lucky)
* 1999: '' Axxess & Ace''
* 2000: '' The Lioness''
* 2000: '' Ghost Tropic''
* 2002: ''Didn't It Rain
"Didn't It Rain", sometimes given as "Oh, Didn't It Rain", is a spiritual about Noah's flood. In 1919 it appeared as sheet music in an arrangement for voice and piano by Henry Thacker Burleigh (1866–1949).
Modern versions
* The Galilee Sing ...
''
* 2003: '' Magnolia Electric Co.''
; Live albums
* 2001: '' Mi Sei Apparso Come Un Fantasma'' (Paper Cut Records)
* 2020: ''Live at La Chapelle'' (Secretly Canadian)
* 2022: ''Live: Vanquishers (Tilburg, Netherlands. Oct 9, 2000)'' (Secretly Canadian)
; Tour-only releases
* 1999: '' The Ghost'' (tour-only release)
* 2000: '' Protection Spells'' (tour-only release)
; EPs
* 1997: ''Hecla & Griper''
* 1998: ''Our Golden Ratio'' (Acuarela)
* 2001: ''Howler'' (Absalom)
* 2001: ''Travels in Constants'' (Temporary Residence)
; Singles
* 1996: "Nor Cease Thou Never Now" ( Palace Records)
* 1996: "One Pronunciation of Glory"
* 1999: "Untitled" (Western Vinyl)
* 2002: "The Gray Tower"/"Black Link to Fire Link"
* 2002: "Keep It Steady"/"United or Lost Alone"
* 2004: "No Moon on the Water"/"In the Human World" (Chunklet)
* 2022: "VU Anxiety" (Secretly Canadian)
Jason Molina
; Albums
* 2004: ''Pyramid Electric Co.
''Pyramid Electric Co.'' is the first full-length solo album by Jason Molina, released in 2004 on Secretly Canadian Records. It was recorded by Mike Mogis and received universal critical acclaim according to Metacritic (with an 81 aggregate score) ...
''
* 2006: ''Let Me Go, Let Me Go, Let Me Go
''Let Me Go, Let Me Go, Let Me Go'' is the second full-length solo album by Jason Molina, released under his own name. It was recorded in Bloomington, Indiana, at The Projects by Jim Zespy during July 2004. The record was released on August 22, ...
''
* 2012: ''Autumn Bird Songs ''(Graveface)
*2020: ''Live at La Chapelle''
*2020: ''Eight Gates''
Magnolia Electric Co.
; Albums
* 2005: ''Trials & Errors
''Trials & Errors'' is a live album by Magnolia Electric Co., released on Secretly Canadian in 2005. It was recorded on April 16, 2003, at Club Ancienne Belgique in Brussels.
It was the first Magnolia Electric Co. album released under that name ...
'' (live album)
* 2005: ''What Comes After the Blues
''What Comes After the Blues'' is the first full-length recording by what became the Magnolia Electric Co. touring line-up, and the second album released by Jason Molina under that name. It was recorded in November 2003 by Steve Albini at his Ele ...
''
* 2006: ''Fading Trails
''Fading Trails'' is the second studio album by Magnolia Electric Co., a project of indie musician Jason Molina. It is a compilation of tracks from four different recording sessions, including recordings at Electrical Audio in Chicago, engineered ...
''
* 2007: ''Sojourner
A sojourner is a person who resides temporarily in a place.
Sojourner may also refer to:
* Sojourner Truth (1797–1883), abolitionist and women's rights activist
* Albert Sojourner (1872–1951), member of the Mississippi House of Representative ...
'' (boxset)
* 2009: '' Josephine''
; EPs
* 2005: ''Hard to Love a Man''
* 2009: ''It's Made Me Cry''
; Singles
* 2009: ''Rider.Shadow.Wolf''
Collaborations
; Albums
* 2009: '' Molina & Johnson''
; EPs
* 2002: "Translation" on Split: My Morning Jacket / Songs: Ohia ( Jade Tree)
* 2002: '' Amalgamated Sons of Rest'' with Will Oldham
Joseph Will Oldham (born January 15, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded in collaboration with dozens of other musicians under variations of Palace (Palace, Palace Flophouse, Palace Br ...
and Alasdair Roberts (Galaxia)
; Singles
* 1998: "Nay, 'Tis Not Death" (Alternate) on split 7-inch with Appendix Out (Liquefaction Empire)
* 1999: "Journey On" on split 7-inch with Oneida ( Jagjaguwar)
* 1999: "How to Be Perfect Men" on split 7-inch with Rex (Temporary Residence)
* 2000: 7-inch single with Alasdair Roberts
* 2000: "Fade St." on split 7-inch with Glen Hansard
Glen Hansard (born 21 April 1970) is an Irish singer-songwriter, musician and actor. Since 1990, he has been the frontman of the Irish rock band The Frames, with whom he has released six studio albums, four of which have charted in the top te ...
(Road Relish)
* 2001: "Lioness" (Version) on split 7-inch with Scout Niblett
Emma Louise Niblett (born 29 September 1973), better known by the stage name Scout Niblett, is an English singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Niblett debuted in 2001 with her first full-length studio album '' Sweet Heart Fever'', and ...
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
Official Magnolia Electric Co. website
Secretly Canadian official artist page for Songs: Ohia
Secretly Canadian official artist page for Magnolia Electric Co.
Secretly Canadian official artist page for Jason Molina
Songs: Ohia Tabs – Fan Site with Guitar Tablature, Discography, Tour Dates, Lyrics, and Online Forum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Molina, Jason
1973 births
2013 deaths
American country singer-songwriters
American folk musicians
American tenors
Drag City (record label) artists
Singer-songwriters from Ohio
Oberlin College alumni
People from Lorain, Ohio
American alternative country musicians
Alcohol-related deaths in Indiana
People from Oberlin, Ohio
Country musicians from Ohio
Secretly Canadian artists
American male singer-songwriters