BIG Sky 12 is a music project developed at Lonesome Dog Studio in Columbia, SC. Not an actively performing band but rather local musicians and friends who worked together in the studio under the guidance and direction of Jerry Axson. The goal was to record some great music showcasing their talents and skills and to have fun doing it and after a year of dedication and hard work the end result is a 12-song offering titled “The Savage And The Tamed”.

 

The core musicians at the heart of the project are Jerry Axson on vocals, guitar, keyboards, and songwriting, Lisa Brillinger on drums and percussions, and Jim Morse on vocals and bass. Other guest musicians who dropped by to contribute their time and talent were Pamela Dale who supplied 12 string acoustic guitar on the Jim Morse penned “Running Days Gone” and Ashleigh Lane Morse, formerly of the The Ruby Brunettes, who played piano on the same song as well as composing and performing the beautiful instrumental follow up track “Andante (Graceful and Flowing)”.

 

Using a simple formula Axson would compose and write the songs in the studio then supply a rough mix down to the main players where they would in turn individually work up their signature parts to be recorded as a final take. After all parts were laid down and each player was satisfied with their final performance Axson would create a final mix down for everyone involved until group approval then a final master mix and on to the next song.

 

With songs ranging from Power Pop to Country Pop there is a broad representation of musical styles to sample from on this release. The success of the project rested solely on the simplicity of the idea behind it. No band, no politics, no apprehensions, and no egos. The structure of the creative process that was present allowed a tremendous amount of breathing room for all the players involved and that made it possible for everyone to relax and bring their best performance to the table.