The illustrious William Schaff created artwork based up on a photograph by Thomas Heath. Will explains: “I went with the "simple/ elegant" approach. Jason, young and punk rock as Jason was. I wanted the poster to be simple, and not visually complicated as the film itself is dense already. I wanted it to be like Jason's four strings on his guitar... two less than most people would assume he had, but enough to make you wonder how he did it!”
Tommy Nickoloff, a filmmaker and illustrator from Lorain, Ohio, didn’t accept himself as an artist until he was 50 years old. Raised in a Lake Erie steel town forged by Eastern European, African American, Puerto Rican, and Appalachian migrants, he grew up in a culture that valued toughness, hard work, and self-sacrifice over individuality. Art was impractical, sensitivity a liability. He began working in his family’s construction business at nine years old.
As the industrial boom faded, Tommy met Jason Molina on a high school soccer field. Jason was already writing music with rare conviction and sensed Tommy’s struggle with self-realization. Jason’s advice was simple: “Just be an artist.”
Over the next 25 years, Tommy lived many lives—designing in California, serving in Peace Corps Zambia, and recruiting for FEMA in Georgia. Whether building houses, communities, or teams, he observed how people established their identities through story telling.
In 2013, “Just be an artist” became a “Farewell Transmission” when Jason, by then a world-renowned indie-rocker, died at 39. That same year Brené Brown wrote, “Unused creativity is not benign. It metastasizes.” For Tommy, that truth hit home. Grief jolted him awake. He picked up a sketchbook, returned to therapy, and finally took Jason’s advice to heart.
Tommy began producing his debut film, “You Fuckers Figure It Out: A Jason Molina Story,” in 2021. He also directed, edited, illustrated, and self-funded the feature-length documentary. It felt less like a new direction than an inevitable return—to Jason, to Lorain, and to the stories that shaped them both.
“This film is for Jason, his family, friends, fans, and every town where the American Dream was born, died, and still offers a second chance,” he says.
Tommy now mentors emerging artists and filmmakers, believing creativity is best nurtured collectively. He is currently developing a screenplay, producing a second documentary, and collaborating on a third as a producer.
