Jason Molina Of Magnolia Electric Company, Songs: Ohia Fame Dead At 39

By Chuck Sudo in Arts & Entertainment on Mar 18, 2013 10:45PM



Jason Molina (second from left) with Magnolia Electric Company in 2008. (Photo credit: Erin Nekervis.)

Jason Molina, the immensely gifted singer-songwriter behind the groups Songs: Ohia and the Magnolia Electric Company, passed away Saturday night in Indianapolis, Indiana from complications related to alcoholism. Molina was largely absent from the music industry since 2009 while battling alcoholism. His good friend Henry Owings of Chunklet wrote in a post today he “died from a body that had been drowned in alcohol for years on end.”

The Ohio-born Molina’s plight first came to light with a post from his label, Secretly Canadian, two years ago asking his fans for help financially in his recovery. Owings, in a 2011 post, wrote in stark terms of Molina’s condition back then.

”I'd call his bandmates and mutual friends to get to the bottom of "what's up with Jason." It appears that his drinking had caught up with him in monumental fashion. Rehab in England. Getting arrested. Drinking. Being flown back to the states by friends in Chicago so they could keep an eye on him. “It was then (about six months ago) that the calls from Jason became.....just.....desperate. Without knowing that he was even in Chicago (he was still using his UK phone), I'd get disjointed calls. He'd sing new songs to me. He'd cry. He'd pass out. He'd laugh. He'd remember some stupid random story about us singing a song together on stage in Virginia. More crying. Dead air. Drifting. And again, this wasn't the JMo I knew. It bothered me then as it does now.”

Molina's music was a captivating, constantly evolving marriage of country, folk, garage and indie rock. When healthy, Molina called the road home and was a tireless road dog.

Secretly Canadian posted on Magnolia Electric Company’s website:

”He was generous. He was a one of a kind. And he had a voice unlike any other.”

Fans of Molina may still contribute to his medical fund as a memorial donation by clicking here.

Here's a 2009 performance of Magnolia Electric Company's "Hold On, Magnolia" that seems as fitting a tribute as any right now.