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,
lo-fi,
folk, or
alt-country. 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-based label
Secretly Canadian. In 2000, Molina released three albums:
The Lioness, recorded near
Glasgow by producer
Andy Miller with help from
Alasdair Roberts and members of
Arab Strap;
Ghost Tropic, recorded by
Mike Mogis; 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 in Philadelphia with members of bluegrass band Jim & Jennie & the Pinetops. On the album, named after a Mahalia Jackson 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 and a collaborative EP (under the name
Amalgamated Sons of Rest) with
Will Oldham 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 and folk-rock of the 1960s/70s, as well as Molina's
heavy metal roots.
Magnolia Electric Co.: 2003–2012 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. 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 wrapping connects it with the prior name. Nevertheless, Secretly Canadian 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 club in
Brussels, at a time when the band was still touring under the Songs: Ohia name.
Pitchfork Media 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 full extent of his alcoholism was not revealed to many of his close friends until after 2009. 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." 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
New Orleans 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." 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 ==