From the StarTribune
Last update: July 14, 2005 at 11:37 AM
Ed Ackerson: Producer, rocker, everyman
Published July 15, 2005
One of the few things lying around Ed Ackerson's studio last week that did not pertain to the recording process was the new issue of Magnet magazine, featuring a cover story on Hüsker Dü, the Replacements and "the rise and fall of [Minneapolis'] '80s scene."
The magazine proved to be a good talking point for the Polara leader, who's quoted inside. Back then he was a bright-eyed Stillwater teenager immersed in the music community. These days, he's 39 but no less involved.
"I got so much out of the scene when I was a kid," said Ackerson, who plays his first Polara gig in two years tonight for the 24-hour Day of Music.
"So many people were supportive and gave me a chance," he said. "It gave me this halcyon dream of what the Minneapolis scene can be. I'd like to think I provide that kind of help to some of the people coming up now."
Fittingly, Ackerson's Flowers Studio -- housed in a former Uptown flower shop -- played host last week to some yesteryear rockers and one of today's most buzzed-about new bands: Golden Smog and Missing Numbers. The Smog clan has been in and out of Flowers for the past two months, laying down enough great tracks to fill two albums, Ackerson said.
Missing Numbers, meanwhile, is one of about a dozen younger bands Ackerson has produced over the past year. Others include the Melismatics, Astronaut Wife and Mood Swings, all of whom release their CDs on Ackerson's record label, Susstones. (Yep, he's a record mogul, too.) He also has worked with acts so far off the radar that I had to fact-check their names, like Beight ("bait") and So It Goes.
"Some of the best records I've worked on are ones nobody's ever heard," he said.
Ackerson hasn't gotten rich producing albums by little-known rock bands -- certainly not rich enough to afford the kind of equipment at Flowers. The studio was paid for, in large part, with the money Polara got for signing a couple of big record deals in the '90s, with Interscope and then Palm Pictures.
"Instead of paying $250,000 at somebody else's studio, I figured, 'Let's just buy our own place,' " he recalled.
Probably his biggest studio job so far was working with "The Wall" producer Bob Ezrin on the Jayhawks' "Smile" record. Jayhawks bassist Marc Perlman remembered the two studio wizards making a good pair.
"One of Ed's best assets is his ability to combine his intellect with simple feel and instinct," said Perlman, who, by the way, is Polara's new bassist. "Like Bob Ezrin, he's stayed on top of the technology without sacrificing old-school recording techniques."
Over the past year-and-a-half, Ackerson and Jayhawks frontman Gary Louris have produced several albums together, including the recent debut by Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion, plus upcoming albums by Ohio songwriting great Tim Easton and L.A. rock band Limbeck. Rumors that Ackerson and Louris will soon be working under the Neptunes-like producers' acronym G.O.D. (Genius on Demand) are unfortunately untrue.
Unlike a lot of musicians turned producers, Ackerson genuinely doesn't seem to regret becoming more of a behind-the-scenes guy.
Polara will be doing more shows this year besides tonight's (10 p.m. in Peavey Plaza). The band -- also including keyboardist Jennifer Jurgens and drummer Pete Anderson -- just finished another new EP to go with the recently released feedback-rouser, "Green Shoes + 4." But Ackerson doesn't hold out any dreams of his group becoming more renowned.
"I never believed the hype about us being the American Oasis or the new Smashing Pumpkins, and in a lot of ways I'm happy that didn't come true," he said.
"I'd rather be here doing this -- making these great records that I believe in -- instead of having one big hit in 1998, and now we'd be playing the Taste of Omaha or wherever."
Friday, July 15, 2005
Sunday, July 10, 2005
Review: Alejandro Escovedo - 7/8/05 - First Ave. - Minneapolis, MN
Alejandro Escovedo brought his expanded "Texas Orchestra" to First Avenue for a truly memorable show on Friday night. He mentioned that he first played at the club with Rank and File in 1982, so he's closing in on a quarter century of Twin Cities shows. I've seen him here a bunch of times over those years, including the aforementioned early R&F show and one a couple of years later when the '80s "cowpunk" movement was in full swing, aka the birth of the modern "alt-country" era. I've also seen him once in Madison, 3 times in Chicago and twice in Austin, and, unlike others who have slipped off his bandwagon in recent years, I always look forward to seeing him again. He looked and sounded great, and was genuinely moved at the very warm reception he received from the reverential crowd of 800 or so. During the first several songs, the ovations were really quite special; there's no doubt that a lot of his fans were thrilled to see him back in action for his first Twin Cities appearance in almost 3 years.
Besides playing shows outside of Texas for the first time in a while (he evidently has sworn off extensive touring, so we're left with the occasional "special" show, like those he's done earlier this year in Seattle and Chicago), the other big news was Alejandro's teaming up with his former True Believers cohort, Jon Dee Graham. Jon Dee opened up the night with a 45 minute solo acoustic set that featured several new songs, along with some choice cuts from his 4 albums. The last two of those albums were recorded for New West, which Jon Dee pointedly referred to his as "former" record label. There clearly has been a parting of ways and, judging from some oblique comments onstage, the divorce was a messy one. He even said at one point, "I'm legally prevented from talking about this," which, of course, was followed by some talking about it! He did solicit fans to buy a new homemade CD of his (on the "Freedom" label - yikes! shades of Prince in his "slave" period?) which features acoustic renditions of some new songs. One of the new songs is called "Betrayed." For a variety of personal reasons I'll leave the lyrics to someone else, but suffice it so say that its unbridled, very personal vitriol -- along with a scathing "thank you" on the back of the CD -- insures it a place alongside other classic record label "love" songs like the Pistols' "EMI" and Graham Parker's "Mercury Poisoning." The irony of all of this was that Jon Dee played a fine, at times powerful, set to the largest TC crowd of his career and they totally ate it up. And, of course, this was all before he wowed the punters with his six-string prowess during the headline set. Bottom line: there are a hell of lot of more people who know about JDG now than before the show.
I've been lucky enough to have seen Al with a variety of rock and "country-rock" combos, as well as the "string quartet" line-up, but the 7 piece band he had for this performance brought the best of both worlds. Long time cohorts Bruce Salmon, Susan Voelz and Hector Munoz were joined by a cello player I don't think I've seen before (Al stuck close to him much of the night for cues and stuff), Mark Andes on bass (from Spirit; he's played with JDG before) and JDG himself, who brought a whole dimension of rock that I hadn't seen since those very cool, long-forgotten Buick MacKane shows back in '97. It was great to see some actual twin electric guitar fireworks at an AE show again on songs like "Crooked Frame," "Everybody Loves Me" and "Put You Down." For most of the set, JDG kicked it Hendrix-style on the lap steel. BTW, the lap steel is a funny instrument to go nuts on - it was more than a little funny to watch Jon Dee writhe around and "get into it" all the while sitting in a chair! Talk about ants in your pants...
The setlist had a handful of new/new-ish songs and a whole bunch of familiar titles, largely from the Ryko era. For the first time in memory, there was no Iggy. No "Castanets" either. However, given that Al's setlists change at a rather glacial pace, I don't think there were many complaints, especially since there were 3 bona fide new ones, 4 if you count "Deerhead." The real revelation, though, was in the power and complexity of the arrangements. Despite the familiar look of the setlist, this was not more of the "same old same old." With the expanded line-up - particularly Jon Dee's smoking electric gtr and lap steel contributions - many of the songs you've heard a million times before were shaken and stirred, allowed to breath, or just plain restructured. "Sex Beat" began with a really cool synth intro that slowly transformed itself into a pulsing electronic rhythm that only became recognizable after a few minutes. "Everybody Loves Me" started out with Bruce Salmon slicing and dicing a GWB speech on his laptop, the loops cascading into a wash of echoes until it all segued into a blistering rock intro. For those perplexed by this tie-in to our clueless leader, the "everybody loves me / but I don't know why" couplet eventually hammered the point home - a brilliant piece of cultural linking for sure. On the other end of the sonic scale, "Rosalie" was especially fetching - despite the expanded line-up it seemed more fragile and delicate than ever, punctuated by beautiful violin and lap steel solos.
There were no new covers in the encore, but they were both satisfying in a comfort food kinda way. No AE show is really complete without a tip of the hat to Ian Hunter and "Sway" was picture-perfect -- sadly beautiful and heartbreaking, perhaps the finest reading I've ever heard Al give this lost Stones classic.
After the show, Al sat at the merch table chatting and signing for what seemed like forever. He literally stayed until the last dog was hung - a class act all the way. Intriguingly, he mentioned a gig in Austin in early September which will feature a full blown True Believers reunion with his brother Javier on a bill also featuring Los Lobos. What will make this particular show special is that these two kingpins of the mid-80s "roots" movement will be hopping into the way-back machine by playing only material from 1985 setlists
Before the show, I ran into my old friend Terry Katzman, longtime Mpls scenster, Oar Folk employee and former owner of the much-missed Garage d'Or record store, and we talked a good long while about Al's many memorable local appearances, including 3 wonderful in-store / picnic / keggers at Garage d'Or. Talk about your good times. With Al's new lease on life, let's hope the good times continue to roll.
Alejandro Escovedo
First Avenue - Minneapolis, MN - 8 July 2005
Baby's Got New Plans
Way it Goes
Five Hearts Breaking
Deerhead on the Wall
Notes on Air (new song, from "13 Ways to Live" comp)
Everybody Loves Me
Sex Beat >
dub interlude >
Crooked Frame
Rosalie
I Died a Little Today (new song)
Avita's Lullabye (new song)
I Was Drunk
Velvet Guitar
Put You Down
ENCORE
All the Young Dudes
Sway
(110m)
AE: acoustic and electric guitars, harmonica, lead vox
Jon Dee Graham: electric and lap steel guitars
Mark Andes: bass guitar, bg vox
Bruce Salmon: keyboards, laptop, bg vox
Susan Voelz: violin, bg vox
Matt "The Hoople" Fish: cello
Hector Munoz: drums, percussion
Besides playing shows outside of Texas for the first time in a while (he evidently has sworn off extensive touring, so we're left with the occasional "special" show, like those he's done earlier this year in Seattle and Chicago), the other big news was Alejandro's teaming up with his former True Believers cohort, Jon Dee Graham. Jon Dee opened up the night with a 45 minute solo acoustic set that featured several new songs, along with some choice cuts from his 4 albums. The last two of those albums were recorded for New West, which Jon Dee pointedly referred to his as "former" record label. There clearly has been a parting of ways and, judging from some oblique comments onstage, the divorce was a messy one. He even said at one point, "I'm legally prevented from talking about this," which, of course, was followed by some talking about it! He did solicit fans to buy a new homemade CD of his (on the "Freedom" label - yikes! shades of Prince in his "slave" period?) which features acoustic renditions of some new songs. One of the new songs is called "Betrayed." For a variety of personal reasons I'll leave the lyrics to someone else, but suffice it so say that its unbridled, very personal vitriol -- along with a scathing "thank you" on the back of the CD -- insures it a place alongside other classic record label "love" songs like the Pistols' "EMI" and Graham Parker's "Mercury Poisoning." The irony of all of this was that Jon Dee played a fine, at times powerful, set to the largest TC crowd of his career and they totally ate it up. And, of course, this was all before he wowed the punters with his six-string prowess during the headline set. Bottom line: there are a hell of lot of more people who know about JDG now than before the show.
I've been lucky enough to have seen Al with a variety of rock and "country-rock" combos, as well as the "string quartet" line-up, but the 7 piece band he had for this performance brought the best of both worlds. Long time cohorts Bruce Salmon, Susan Voelz and Hector Munoz were joined by a cello player I don't think I've seen before (Al stuck close to him much of the night for cues and stuff), Mark Andes on bass (from Spirit; he's played with JDG before) and JDG himself, who brought a whole dimension of rock that I hadn't seen since those very cool, long-forgotten Buick MacKane shows back in '97. It was great to see some actual twin electric guitar fireworks at an AE show again on songs like "Crooked Frame," "Everybody Loves Me" and "Put You Down." For most of the set, JDG kicked it Hendrix-style on the lap steel. BTW, the lap steel is a funny instrument to go nuts on - it was more than a little funny to watch Jon Dee writhe around and "get into it" all the while sitting in a chair! Talk about ants in your pants...
The setlist had a handful of new/new-ish songs and a whole bunch of familiar titles, largely from the Ryko era. For the first time in memory, there was no Iggy. No "Castanets" either. However, given that Al's setlists change at a rather glacial pace, I don't think there were many complaints, especially since there were 3 bona fide new ones, 4 if you count "Deerhead." The real revelation, though, was in the power and complexity of the arrangements. Despite the familiar look of the setlist, this was not more of the "same old same old." With the expanded line-up - particularly Jon Dee's smoking electric gtr and lap steel contributions - many of the songs you've heard a million times before were shaken and stirred, allowed to breath, or just plain restructured. "Sex Beat" began with a really cool synth intro that slowly transformed itself into a pulsing electronic rhythm that only became recognizable after a few minutes. "Everybody Loves Me" started out with Bruce Salmon slicing and dicing a GWB speech on his laptop, the loops cascading into a wash of echoes until it all segued into a blistering rock intro. For those perplexed by this tie-in to our clueless leader, the "everybody loves me / but I don't know why" couplet eventually hammered the point home - a brilliant piece of cultural linking for sure. On the other end of the sonic scale, "Rosalie" was especially fetching - despite the expanded line-up it seemed more fragile and delicate than ever, punctuated by beautiful violin and lap steel solos.
There were no new covers in the encore, but they were both satisfying in a comfort food kinda way. No AE show is really complete without a tip of the hat to Ian Hunter and "Sway" was picture-perfect -- sadly beautiful and heartbreaking, perhaps the finest reading I've ever heard Al give this lost Stones classic.
After the show, Al sat at the merch table chatting and signing for what seemed like forever. He literally stayed until the last dog was hung - a class act all the way. Intriguingly, he mentioned a gig in Austin in early September which will feature a full blown True Believers reunion with his brother Javier on a bill also featuring Los Lobos. What will make this particular show special is that these two kingpins of the mid-80s "roots" movement will be hopping into the way-back machine by playing only material from 1985 setlists
Before the show, I ran into my old friend Terry Katzman, longtime Mpls scenster, Oar Folk employee and former owner of the much-missed Garage d'Or record store, and we talked a good long while about Al's many memorable local appearances, including 3 wonderful in-store / picnic / keggers at Garage d'Or. Talk about your good times. With Al's new lease on life, let's hope the good times continue to roll.
Alejandro Escovedo
First Avenue - Minneapolis, MN - 8 July 2005
Baby's Got New Plans
Way it Goes
Five Hearts Breaking
Deerhead on the Wall
Notes on Air (new song, from "13 Ways to Live" comp)
Everybody Loves Me
Sex Beat >
dub interlude >
Crooked Frame
Rosalie
I Died a Little Today (new song)
Avita's Lullabye (new song)
I Was Drunk
Velvet Guitar
Put You Down
ENCORE
All the Young Dudes
Sway
(110m)
AE: acoustic and electric guitars, harmonica, lead vox
Jon Dee Graham: electric and lap steel guitars
Mark Andes: bass guitar, bg vox
Bruce Salmon: keyboards, laptop, bg vox
Susan Voelz: violin, bg vox
Matt "The Hoople" Fish: cello
Hector Munoz: drums, percussion
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