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W hat better way to deal with loss than
to create something new out of an
absence? That was the approach
taken by songwriter Jason Molina,
whose many albums under various names (his
own, Songs: Ohio, his current group Magnolia
Electric Co.) have always dealt either obliquely
or otherwise with themes of distance and sor
row. Evan Farrell, bassist for Magnolia Electric
Co., died of smoke inhalation in a California
house fire in late Qecember, 2008. He was also
the bassist for pbp outfit Rogue Wave and a
multi-instrumentalist in Indiana '90s cult-fave
band Japonize Elephants.
Though not a memorial album per se,
Josephine, released just this week, was writ
ten with the memory of Farrell front and
center. He had numerous ideas about the
songs' arrangements, many of which Molina
and Co. worked into the studio, and the result
is a fully developed collection of American
laments, heavy on guitar but augmented
by sax, vibes and other disparate sounds.
Midwestern folk outlaws Drakkar Sauna even
contributed backing vocals to a track; they
were Farrell's favorite band, according to
Molina, whose keening vocals remain as dis
arming as ever, coming somewhere from the
same northern expanses as Neil Young and his
ilk.
Molina spoke with Flagpole last week after
flying in from Europe, where he currently^
hangs his hat.
FP: The background of the album is that
it was written in memory of your friend and
bassist Evan Farrell. Do you mind talking about
that?
JM: I don't mind. Hallelujah,
FP: You could have easily put out a new
Magnolia Electric Co. album written or con
ceived in his memory without telling people
what it's about. Why make that choice?
JM: Well, everyone knew already about
Evan's death. Everyone outside of the band, I
mean. To me, it was important because he was
really a big part of the arrangements on these
songs and he... he really had a vision for what
this new record would be, which would involve
him playing a lot of pedal steel, harmonies,
bass, whatever. He was going to do a lot. I
only had... the spark for what the record was
going to be about. And with him passing, and
having no other outlet to explain his ideas, I •
really fought hard with myself to try to chan
nel his attitude towards just playing a song...
So, it wasn't a decision to raise some sort
of flag about it; here's the record that is the
memorial. The record is not a memorial. You
can't do a memorial to something that will
always be there, honestly, and we lost a family
member, a brother. I'm never going to get over
this. I thought I'd better put it right out there
and just tell everybody, because I honestly
just wake up and still feel that loss.
FP: Is there ever a point when a song
becomes distinct from its inspiration, or will
Evan always be there for you in these songs?
JM: Yes. There are points when the song
becomes about something else. I don't write
character songs. I listen to someone like
Townes [Van Zandt], or someone like Nick Cave
or Neil Young or Bonnie "Prince" Billy, and I
listen just to the song itself. I'm not listening
to the progression of a character through a
song, because I'm not Listening To Nick Cave.
I'm just listening to a voice telling me some
lyrics and playing some melodies. And there
are moments when you just drop dead because
something really connects with you when you
listen to a song in that capacity.
I hope that at my absolute best, that's
what I've been able to do. I hope that people
who listen to the music value the fact that if
I'm able to play a song that is a dozen years
old, that it's got a new relationship with
myself. So, there are definitely songs that
have taken on that character where the origi
nal idea of the song becomes almost fossilized
in the performance of the song. That's not
very poetic, but that's really an honest answer.
FP: So, you don't think it's necessary
for audience members or listeners to under
stand the background? Or can it enhance the
experience?
JM: Correct. Absolutely. If they knew? Well,
that wasn't the goal, but I do think that it
will definitely feed on the right side of listen
ing to the record. Whereas if you're a straight-
up music critic or writer, you're just going to
criticize the record for what it is; so be it.
That's nothing that I really care about, but
as far as a fan goes, this is something that
happened to a lot of people—way beyond my
small scope.
This is something that really happened,
and I tried to make it as honest and straight
forward on the record as possible, which I
always do, although the other losses in my
life have never involved a bandmember. So,
you get the same kind of record that I would
always make; I just gave a little bit of news
this time, that's all.
FP: When you were fleshing out these songs,
how did you balance the desire to serve the
memory of your friend and his ideas for them,
and the needs of a well-written song?
JM: I went into the studio with this one
major idea that Evan was pushing for. He knew
the guys; he's known us for years and years.
He was trying to explain to me how shitty his
relationship had been with other bands and
being a songwriter also, and no one really
opening up and allowing his songwriting
capacity to come into whatever band he was
playing in at the time.
Now, I've never really thought of any of
the people who have played with me over
the many, many years as "sidemen." In fact,
it took me many years to just look over and
actually notice that there was a band there
because I get up stage; kind of go into a
trance, do the song and I sing it. He was like,
"Well, you're surrounded by some of the most
creative people I know, so how can you milk
that?" Because I shut myself off very easily
and I end up ^eing a sort of dictator in the
studio, and I say, "Well, I think it would be
great if we did organ, but I can't, so you do
this here." And Evan was really pushing for
an experiment where I just brought up some
ideas, then sat back to see what happened,,
what people would bring. And that's how you .
get instead of a guitar solo maybe you get ,
a great horn record on this part. It's not so
much in the song making; it's in the arrange
ment. So much of this new record was in the
studio. I really allowed myself to just sit back *
and just trust how the guys would go. It even \
made me more creative.
FP: That sort of relationship of being
unaware of a band, that reminds me of the
lyrics on the song "Josephine" where you sing,
“I take the hand I took for granted and set it
free/ Oh, what a fool I've been."
JM: Absolutely. And well, that's been a sad
banner that I've worn across my heart for a
long time. In that song, everything is said.
Everything that I ever needed to say is in that
song.
FP: Can you envision a time when Jason
Molina doesn't sing about being lonesome?
JM: [Laughs.] Hell no! With beauty comes
sorrow, right? Beauty is something you see
and it's a weight you can put in your hand,
be it a tree, a bird, a horizon, a friend, a situ
ation. All that stuff, there's a weight. But to
balance it out, all of that stuff going away
from you, that's the lonesome.
FP: You can't choose to celebrate that
weight rather than focusing on the going away?
JM: I don't choose to write any particular
kind of song. Honestly, I get up and I start
writing a song. Be it sad or lonesome, I really
don't care. I mean, I certainly care, but I don't
have a vision or set out trying to say this has
to be a sad song and it has to be about loneli
ness. Loneliness is what you make it.
Chris Hassiotis
To learn more about Molina’s approach to songwriting
and the complex arrangements on his latest record,
read the rest of our interview at www.flagpole.com.
WHO: Magnolia Electric Co., ‘
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