Will Johnson and the remaining members of Magnolia Electric Co. have joined forces under a new moniker: Magnolia & Johnson Electric Co. Johnson and the group both collaborated heavily with late singer-songwriter Jason Molina in the years before his death; now, they’ve come together for a new 7″ record and a batch of Texas tour dates in September. Today, Magnolia & Johnson Electric Co. have also shared a version of “The Big Beast,” originally recorded by Molina and Magnolia Electric Co. Listen to that below, and scroll down for tour dates.
Magnolia & Johnson Electric Co. comprises Will Johnson, Mike Brenner, Jason Evans Groth, Michael Kapinus, Mark Rice, and Pete Schreiner. The musicians convened in Texas earlier this year to record new studio versions of both Molina’s and Johnson’s songs, which they will release on September 19 as a two-song 7″ featuring “Wooden Heart” and “Twenty Cycles to the Ground”—both of which originall appeared on the 2009 collaborative album Molina and Johnson. The sessions were recorded and mixed by Britton Beisenherz and mastered by mastering engineer Matthew Barnhart. Longtime Jason Molina collaborater Will Schaff created the cover artwork.
Will Johnson is a Texas songwriter who plays in Centro-matic and South San Gabriel, as well as the 400 Unit with Jason Isbell. In 2009, he released Molina and Johnson with Jason Molina; the tour supporting the album was canceled due to Molina’s struggles with alcohol.
Magnolia & Johnson Electric Co. will tour the same Texas cities that Molina and Magnolia Electric Co. played many times during their seven years of constant touring.
Magnolia & Johnson Electric Co. Tour:
09-18 Austin, TX – 29th Street Ballroom
09-19 San Antonio, TX – The Lonesome Rose
09-20 Denton, TX – Rubber Gloves
09-21 Houston, TX – Continental Club ^
^ with Alien Eyelid