Ed Ackerson (July 18, 1965 – October 4, 2019)
was an American musician and producer from
Minneapolis.
He produced or engineered dozens of records including works by prominent artists such as
The Jayhawks,
The Replacements,
Motion City Soundtrack,
Soul Asylum,
Golden Smog,
Dave Davies of
The Kinks,
Wesley Stace,
Mason Jennings,
Mark Mallman
Mark Mallman (born July 20, 1973) is a Minnesota musician, film composer, and memoirist. Since 1998, he has released nine full-length studio albums, ''Happiness'' (2021) being his most recent.
Education
Mallman graduated from Waukesha South Hi ...
,
John Strohm,
Brian Setzer,
Lizzo,
Pete Yorn,
The Wallflowers
The Wallflowers is an American rock solo project of American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jakob Dylan. The Wallflowers were originally a roots rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1989 by Dylan and guitarist Tobi Miller. The band h ...
,
Rhett Miller
Stewart Ransom "Rhett" Miller II (born September 1970) is the lead singer of the country rock band Old 97's. He also records and performs as a solo musician, and has been published as a writer of both fiction and non-fiction.
Early life
Mille ...
of
The Old 97s
Old 97's is an American rock band from Dallas, Texas. Formed in 1992, they have since released twelve studio albums, two full extended plays, shared split duty on another, and have one live album. Their most recent release is ''Twelfth''.
They ...
,
Jeremy Messersmith, and
Juliana Hatfield.
He owned a recording studio in Minneapolis,
Flowers,
and co-founded the Susstones record label.
Ackerson led several notable Twin Cities pop/rock bands including
Polara and The 27 Various, and released several solo records under his own name. He was also a prolific producer of albums by Twin Cities bands, and was regarded as one of the linchpins of the Minnesota music scene.
Early life
Ackerson was born in
Stillwater, Minnesota and was valedictorian of his high school class.
In 1985, he turned down a scholarship to
Yale to pursue a career in music in Minneapolis.
Career
As musician
The Dig
Ackerson's early band The Dig, formed in the mid-1980s, was influenced by
The Jam and 1960s English mod rock like
The Who. Though the Dig earned critical praise for the single "Problem With Mary,"
Ackerson told an interviewer in 1997 that he felt the band had been too "angry,"
and determined to take a more positive tack with his next project.
The 27 Various
His next band, the 27 Various, blended Ackerson's mod influences with
Syd Barrett
Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, and musician who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Barrett was their original frontman and primary songwriter, becoming known for his ...
-style
psychedelia, both of which would continue to be touchstones throughout his career. The group's first two albums, 1987's ''Hi'' and 1989's ''Yes, Indeed,'' self-described by Ackerson as "whimsical,"
were limited releases on Ackerson's own Susstones label. The third, 1990's ''Approximately,'' moved to the larger label Clean (
Twin/Tone
Twin/Tone Records was an independent record label based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which operated from 1977 until 1994. It was the original home of influential Minnesota bands the Replacements and Soul Asylum and was instrumental in helping the T ...
), but despite the band's increased profile, the album suffered when Twin/Tone's distributor,
Rough Trade
Rough Trade may refer to:
*Rough Trade Records, a record label
* Rough Trade (shops), London record stores
*Rough Trade (band), a Canadian new wave rock band
* "Rough Trade" (''American Dad!''), an episode of ''American Dad!''
*Rough trade (slang), ...
, went out of business. ''
Trouser Press'' writer
Ira Robbins
''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...
praised ''Approximately'' as a turning point "for Ackerson, who was on his way to becoming an assured and able multi-faceted rocker."
The band put out two more records in 1992, the power-pop set ''Up'' and the more dreamlike ''Fine'', before breaking up that year. Robbins called ''Up'' "another excellent showcase for Ackerson's thoughtfully modulated guitar playing and genre-jumping songwriting," praising his ability to work in many styles, and noted that the heavy distortion effects on ''Fine'' were a sign of the sound Ackerson would pursue in his next project, Polara. Bryan Carroll of
Allmusic called ''Fines blend of shoegazer and Brit-pop "near-perfect" and lamented that "probably due to promotion/distribution, the record never received the praise or audience it deserved."
Polara

After a short stint as second guitarist in
Blake Babies singer
John Strohm's band
Antenna
Antenna ( antennas or antennae) may refer to:
Science and engineering
* Antenna (radio), also known as an aerial, a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic (e.g., TV or radio) waves
* Antennae Galaxies, the name of two collid ...
,
Ackerson formed Polara with guitarist Jennifer Jurgens, bassist Jason Orris, and
Trip Shakespeare's
Matt Wilson on drums, continuing his interest in 1960s psychedelic pop but adding a heavy element of
Krautrock
Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock
Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments ...
-inspired electronics and keyboards.
Polara was Ackerson's first band to gain significant national attention. The group released a
self-titled debut in 1995, which ''Allmusic'' writer Rick Anderson called "weird but lovable" and "as fresh and bracing as a bucket of ice water in the face." ''Billboard'' writer Chris Morris called it "the first truly great album (I have) heard in 1995."
Strohm also contributed to the debut album. Critical acclaim for the album led to a bidding war by several major labels; Polara eventually signed to Interscope for its second album, ''
C'est La Vie'', in 1997,
with Peter Anderson replacing Wilson on drums.
''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' writer Deborah Russell called Ackerson and Polara the front of "the emergence of a new local (Twin Cities) scene" more interested in pop music and
postpunk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad music genre, genre of Punk Music, punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde s ...
than the
punk rock of bands like
Hüsker Dü and the Replacements.
Matt Hendrickson of ''
Rolling Stone'' called him "the kingpin of a resurgent Minneapolis music scene."
Though Ackerson produced most of ''C'est la Vie'' himself, the band also worked with prominent producers
Alan Moulder (
Smashing Pumpkins
Smash may refer to:
People
* Smash (wrestler) (born 1959), professional wrestler
* Moondog Rex, another professional wrestler who briefly wrestled as the original Smash, before being replaced by the above.
* DJ Smash, DJ and music producer
Art, ...
),
Sean Slade, and
Paul Q. Kolderie
Paul Q. Kolderie is an American record producer, engineer, and mixer. He has worked with Pixies, Radiohead, Orangutang, Hole, Dinosaur Jr., Juliana Hatfield, Wax, Warren Zevon, Uncle Tupelo, Throwing Muses, Morphine, the Mighty Mighty Bosstone ...
on several tracks. Ackerson took a holistic approach to making music, viewing composition, performance, recording and post-production all as steps in a single process of creating a song. He told an interviewer in ''Guitar Player'' magazine, "It's all part of the same thing—amps, guitars, effects. You're playing it all." Ackerson believed that constant experimentation with new sounds was at the heart of his songwriting approach with Polara, which he stated "would never make the same record twice." In contrast to ''Polara'', his intention on ''C'est la Vie'' was to play more straightforward rock. "The first album had no lead (guitar parts), and that was very deliberate. I was kind of politicized about it. But when we started to get this record together I realized that I am a rock guitar player, and we felt like making a record more related to rock."
A third album, ''
Formless/Functional'', followed in 1998. Despite a generally warm reception by critics (''Trouser Press Ira Robbins called it "stylish and sophisticated"
), the album received little support from its record label. Corporate mergers involving Interscope soon led the label to drop many bands, including Polara. Ackerson put Polara on hold in favor of other projects, but Jurgens and new bassist Dan Boen rejoined Ackerson for 2002's ''
Jetpack Blues
''Jetpack Blues'' is a 2002 album by Minneapolis alternative rock band Polara, their fourth full-length record, and first after breaking with Interscope Records and going independent. It was released on bandleader Ed Ackerson's Susstones Recor ...
'', released on Susstones.
Greg Winter of ''CMJ'' called ''Jetpack Blues'' "exquisite," with "short but sweet guitar solos and beautiful vocal harmonies."
A final album, ''
Beekeeping
Beekeeping (or apiculture) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in man-made beehives. Honey bees in the genus '' Apis'' are the most-commonly-kept species but other honey-producing bees such as ''Melipona'' stingless bees are also kept. ...
'', came out in 2008.
Polara has been honored with a star on the outside mural of famed Twin Cities club
First Avenue.
Ackerson himself was a sound engineer at the club in the 1990s.
The stars recognize performers that have played sold-out shows or have otherwise demonstrated a major contribution to the culture at the iconic venue.
Receiving a star "might be the most prestigious public honor an artist can receive in Minneapolis," according to journalist Steve Marsh.
Polara composed an original score for the silent film ''
The Fall of the House of Usher'', which they performed live at the
John Anson Ford Amphitheatre as part of the 2002
Los Angeles Film Festival. Polara's song "Scorched Youth Policy" appears on the soundtrack to the 1996
Jackie Chan film ''
Supercop
''Police Story 3: Supercop'' (), released as ''Supercop'' in the US, is a 1992 Hong Kong action film starring Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh. Jackie reprises his "Kevin" Chan Ka-Kui character, a Hong Kong cop from '' Police Story'' and ''Pol ...
''.
BNLX
In 2010, Ackerson started a new group, BNLX (named after the abbreviation for Belgium-Netherlands-Luxembourg)
with his wife Ashley Ackerson. A blend of punk rock and Britpop, BNLX released about a dozen EPs and two albums on Susstones.
Ackerson also released two solo albums, ''Ed Ackerson'' and ''Ackerson2'', in 2007 and 2008, as well as a 2002 instrumental album, ''Oblivion And Points Beyond'', under the name Sideways.
As producer
A self-described "gear freak,"
Ackerson's abiding interest in recording technology and studio experimentation led to a successful career as a producer. In 1999, Ackerson opened a recording studio in Minneapolis,
Flowers, so named because the space had formerly been a greenhouse.
There, he produced or engineered records by nationally prominent artists and dozens of Twin Cities bands. With his friend John Kass, Ackerson also started a record label, Susstones, on which he would release much of his own music as well as that of many other Minneapolis bands. Ackerson was known for being collaborative and inventive in his work, and was described by many who worked with him, including the
Jayhawks'
Gary Louris and
Motion City Soundtrack's
Justin Pierre
Justin Courtney Pierre (born May 26, 1976) is a singer, songwriter and guitarist originally from Mahtomedi, Minnesota, United States. He is the co-founder and lead vocalist of the pop punk band Motion City Soundtrack, and is known for his int ...
, as an extremely knowledgeable and experimental producer who was also humble and egalitarian.
The Jayhawks made three albums with Ackerson, including 2000's ''
Smile'' and 2003's ''
Rainy Day Music
''Rainy Day Music'' is the seventh studio album by American rock band The Jayhawks, released on April 8, 2003. It debuted on the ''Billboard'' 200 at number 51, selling 19,000 copies that week.
History
At the time of the recording, The Jayhawks c ...
'', one of the band's most commercially successful discs. 2018's ''
Back Roads and Abandoned Motels'' was recorded in two sessions at Flowers, with Ackerson co-producing.
Ackerson also worked several times with the Jayhawks-associated supergroup
Golden Smog,
which also included members of
Soul Asylum,
The Replacements, and
Wilco, on their 2006 and 2007 albums ''
Another Fine Day'' and ''
Blood On The Slacks
''Blood on the Slacks'' is the fourth full-length album by the American band Golden Smog. It was released by Lost Highway Records on April 24, 2007, less than a year after their previous album, ''Another Fine Day''. The album's name is a play on B ...
''.
In 2006, Ackerson was asked by the Replacements to produce two songs for the
Rhino Records retrospective set ''
Don't You Know Who I Think I Was?'', the tracks "Message To the Boys" and "Pool & Dive." He worked with the group again for the 2013 five-song EP ''
Songs for Slim
''Songs for Slim'' is an EP by the band The Replacements. The EP was recorded and sold to benefit former bandmate Slim Dunlap, who had suffered a stroke. Chris Mars, former drummer for The Replacements, contributed to one song ("Radio Hook Wo ...
'', a benefit for the critically ill
Slim Dunlap.
Ackerson also worked frequently with Pierre, recording two of his bands at Flowers, Motion City Soundtrack's 2012 album ''
Go''
and ''
¡Hey, Hey Pioneers!'' by
Farewell Continental.
Ackerson was named Producer of the Year at the 2005 Minnesota Music Awards.
Flowers Studio remains open, now run by Ackerson's family; before his death, Ackerson chose Kris Johnson, guitarist in Minneapolis band Two Harbors, to be Flowers’ head engineer and studio manager.
Selected discography
As musician
As producer
As engineer
Tribute album
Various artists, ''Closer To Heaven: A Tribute To Ed Ackerson'' (Susstones, 2020)
Personal life
Ackerson was married to his BNLX bandmate, Ashley Ackerson. The couple have a daughter.
Death
Ackerson was diagnosed in 2018 with stage IV pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...
. He kept his illness private and continued working, but revealed the diagnosis publicly after Pete Townshend of The Who wished him good health and a speedy recovery onstage during a St. Paul concert in September 2019. Ackerson died less than a month later, on October 4, 2019. Friends and former bandmates set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for his family's medical expenses. A concert celebrating Ackerson's life was held at First Avenue February 15, 2020, which was also the 25th anniversary of Polara’s debut. Ackerson's bands played, as well as the Jayhawks, the Kraig Johnson Experience, Mark Mallman, and Two Harbors.
Tribute album
On October 5, 2020, the first anniversary of Ackerson's death, the Susstones label released a 30-song tribute album via Bandcamp, ''Closer To Heaven: A Tribute To Ed Ackerson'', featuring 30 bands reinterpreting Ackerson songs. Artists included The Jayhawks, Motion City Soundtrack, Tanya Donelly, Dandy Warhols
A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance. A dandy could be a self-made man who strove to imitate an aristocratic lifestyle desp ...
, and The Ocean Blue
The Ocean Blue is an American indie pop band formed in Hershey, Pennsylvania in 1986. Its original members included David Schelzel on lead vocals/guitar, Steve Lau on keyboards/saxophone, Bobby Mittan on bass guitar and Rob Minnig on drums and v ...
. The title was taken from Polara's last single, which had been released as a digital-only track in 2009 and was nearly forgotten until its rediscovery during work on the tribute album; Susstones re-released it also on the same day as the tribute album's release. Profits from ''Closer To Heaven'' went to an education fund for Ackerson's daughter.
References
External links
Ackerson's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ackerson, Ed
American male singer-songwriters
American rock songwriters
American rock singers
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
Singer-songwriters from Minnesota
Record producers from Minnesota
Guitarists from Minnesota
20th-century American guitarists
21st-century American guitarists
20th-century American male musicians
21st-century American male musicians
1960s births
2019 deaths
Deaths from cancer in Minnesota
Deaths from pancreatic cancer
People from Stillwater, Minnesota