Steven “Ace” Acker is many things - songwriter, producer, guitarist, advertising & marketing guru, graphic designer, author (to name a few)!
I met him at a fundraiser in my hometown in 2019 and we have since become good friends. I am pleased to formally introduce Ace to Sun King Rising fans and followers. You will be hearing a lot more about him and his incredible work on Delta Tales as well as the second SKR record now in the making.
MAY THE SUN RISE ALWAYS OVER YOU. from Karyn.
Steve (Ace) Acker has been a long-time figure in the music industry, since his early teen years in Warren, OH. Most notably, Ace was a founding member of LAW. LAW quickly became one of the most popular bands in the Youngstown area, before capturing the attention of Roger Daltrey and being signed to MCA Records. LAW became the opening band for the Who, and subsequently Bob Segar, Edgar Winter’s White Trash, Alice Cooper, Jethro Tull, Boston and Earth Wind & Fire.
Ace left the band at the end of 1977, relocating o Jackson, MS where he produced a hit record for Mississippi State University called “Bulldog Blitz.” Ace also wrote a eulogy for John Lennon that was selected by Yoko Ono to be included in the Spirit Foundation book, “A Tribute to John Lennon.” (Very cool!)
Embarking on a lengthy career in advertising, Ace lived in Nashville for many years. He created numerous award-winning commercials and campaigns for ad agencies in both Jackson and Nashville, including an adult literacy program for Dollar General Stores that received the Presidential Award for Private Initiatives from President Ronald Reagan and the Benjamin Franklin Award from the Saturday Evening Post.
On August 30, 2007, Acker was signed to a development and production deal with the Studios @ SST in New York, for whom he wrote songs and documentary themes. After the studio was destroyed by Superstorm Sandy in October of 2012, Ace moved back to Mississippi before eventually returning to the Youngstown area. He has since reconnected with John Hanti of SST Studios and both are involved in the production of the second SKR record, as well as their forthcoming book. (btw, Ace is moving to Pittsburgh, PA on May 1).
In November 2018, LAW’s former manager invited Ace to spend a few months in Kissimmee, FL to work on his music. Struggling financially at the time, Ace offered on his Facebook page downloads of his extensive anthology for a donation of the buyer’s choice. One generous donor caught Ace’s attention. It came from John Blangero.
This was how the friendship began. A year later, John asked Steve to produce his first album, “Delta Tales.” Now they are working together on the second album.
I asked John to describe Ace in a sentence or two, John says, “Ace has been the catalyst for SKR. He takes my vision and makes it happen, while giving me his valuable opinion on what we should do.”