Ed Ackerson

Edwin C. Ackerson (July 18, 1965 – October 4, 2019) was an American musician and producer from Minneapolis. He owned a recording studio in Minneapolis, Flowers, 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. 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," 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-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," 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 Fine'''s 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, 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-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, Matt Hendrickson of Rolling Stone called him "the kingpin of a resurgent Minneapolis music scene." A third album, Formless/Functional, followed in 1998. Despite a generally warm reception by critics (Trouser Press' Ira Robbins called it "stylish and sophisticated" A final album, Beekeeping, 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. 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.

BNLX In 2010, Ackerson started a new group, BNLX (named after the abbreviation for Belgium-Netherlands-Luxembourg) The 2015 BNLX album Good Light tied for 15th place in that year's edition of the same poll.

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 was known for being collaborative and inventive in his work, and was described by many who worked with him, including the Jayhawks' Gary Louris 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.

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, 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 Columns-list|colwidth=26em| The Blue Up?, Now EP (Still Sane Records, 1988) The Hang Ups, Comin' Through (Clean Records, 1993) The Hang Ups, He's After Me (Clean Records, 1993) John P. Strohm, Vestavia (Flat Earth Records, 1999) Mason Jennings, Birds Flying Away (2000) Mark Mallman, The Red Bedroom (Guilt Ridden Pop, 2002) Kraig Jarret Johnson, Kraig Jarret Johnson (2004) Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion, Exploration (New West Records, 2005) Tim Easton, Ammunition (2006) Golden Smog, Another Fine Day (Lost Highway, 2006) The Replacements, Don't You Know Who I Think I Was? (songs "Message To the Boys" and "Pool & Dive," 2006) Golden Smog, Blood On The Slacks (Lost Highway, 2007) Motion City Soundtrack, My Dinosaur Life (song "History Lesson," 2010) Farewell Continental, ¡Hey, Hey Pioneers! (2011) I Was Totally Destroying It, Vexations (2012) Motion City Soundtrack, Go (Epitaph, 2012) Soul Asylum, Delayed Reaction (2012) A Great Big Pile Of Leaves, You're Always On My Mind (2013) The Replacements, Songs for Slim (2013) The Jayhawks, Back Roads and Abandoned Motels'' (Legacy, 2018)