Announcements and news from Vertical Alignment
Vertical Alignment releases “Land and Sky Single”
June 11, 2010
In the first installment of music from the forthcoming “The Trail of Tears Suite,” Vertical Alignment has released “Land and Sky Single” with three advance songs from the concept album. The initial release has been two of the songs on the World Wide Web and a CD with all three will be forthcoming later in June 2010. Produced by Peter J at Thunder Studio in the Charleston, SC area and mastered by Dutch Noss in Nashville, TN, the songs have been in the works for over two years.
The first song is the title cut, “Land and Sky.” Peter J relates, “This was the song that began ‘The Trail of Tears Suite’ over three years ago. I wrote it after a trip to Oklahoma where I met a Cherokee whose great grandmother walked the Trail of Tears.” The song features the vocal talents of Mike Florio of the New York City area. “This song was also the first in the Suite that Mike and I worked on together,” adds Pete. “I remember we had a time finding the key in which Mike was comfortable.”
Mike Florio remembers that he volunteered to write “Native Son” after Peter J conceived the song idea of a tribute to Cherokee humorist Will Rogers. “Pete sent me a bunch of Will Rogers’ quotes that he wanted to use and I came up with the music pretty quickly,” Mike says. “I had some trouble making the Rogers quotes flow as a lyric. I ended up writing my own and leaving spots to drop in the quotes later.” That idea bore wonderful fruit as Peter J more recently met America's premier Will Rogers impersonator, Randall Reeder, who has become a major part of the project. Randall voices a number of Will Rogers quotes in the song. Both he and the Will Rogers Museum have verified the authenticity of these quotes.
Randall also voiced a short Will Rogers monologue based on authentic quotes. It is this that became “Country Boy,” a short song that serves as an intro to "Native Son." Peter J continues, “Randall's enthusiastic participation in the project has been amazing. He was always willing to do whatever he could to make this a sparkling tribute to Will Rogers and we all are indebted to him.”
Vertical Alignment is making “Land and Sky" and “Native Son” available for free on their website for a limited time. A CD of the single release will be available later in June 2010 on ThunderSongs.
Pete Jorgensen’s novel “Generations of the Eagle”
now in international distribution
June 7, 2010
After over two years of writing, proofreading, and rewriting, Pete Jorgensen's novel “Generations of the Eagle” has been released to international distribution. The book is the detailed background story of “The Trail of Tears Suite,” an over two hour musical event by Vertical Alignment. Author Pete Jorgensen relates, “At times the music wrote the book. There were also times when the book wrote the music. The two are inextricably intertwined.” The book will soon be seen at major web retailers such as Amazon.
“Generations of the Eagle” traces the story of a Cherokee named Soaring Eagle from the time of his great-grandfather into the near future. A central part of the tale relates the time of the infamous Trail of Tears where over four thousand Cherokees died. The story continues into the 20th century and the life of Phillip Shouting Crow, great-great-grandson of Soaring Eagle. “The book is equal parts historical fiction and fantasy / science fiction. The family of Soaring Eagle shares a mysterious secret that guides them beyond the future. It is this secret that truly drives the story.”
There were a number of people who were instrumental in bringing the novel to completion. Chief among them was Lisa LaRue who is the Acting Historian of the Keetoowah Band of the Cherokees. “Lisa opened up sources that I would not otherwise have had,” says Jorgensen. “As a Cherokee, she brought the true perspective to both the book and 'The Trail of Tears Suite.' Lisa helped me keep the story accurate to both history and Cherokee tradition.”
Many others contributed to the proofreading process. “My number one proofreaders were my wife Terri and my daughter Rachel. In addition, I had comprehensive help from Bart Boge and also Eddie Jerlin,” says Jorgensen. “Eddie helped put the finishing touches on the book with his insightful creative suggestions.”
“Generations of the Eagle” would be incomplete without “The Trail of Tears Suite.” Vertical Alignment looks forward to releasing the music that is the book in its entirety early in 2011. The final first edition of the book is now available at Lulu.com.
Vertical Alignment launches all new website
June 7, 2010
In preparation for the release of a variety of new music, Vertical Alignment has launched an all-new website. Featuring a fresh look, the site offers improved navigation and lots of new information. Band founder Pete Jorgensen developed the web space in a little over two weeks. “I wanted easy navigation and fast loading,” says Jorgensen, “so I avoided a Flash based site. This space is built with CSS, PHP, and MySQL. These protocols are lightweight, fast, and translate into an enjoyable experience for those who visit the site. This is the first major update in over five years and I am pleased with the results.”
The new space features a history page which gives an overview of the nine years since the start of Vertical Alignment back in 2001. There is also a category covering the releases of the group. “I have included singles, CD’s, and web-based download only releases,” continues Jorgensen. “I also note planned future releases from the soon coming ‘Lost In Space Special Edition’ all the way through ‘Horizon's Queen.’” Also mentioned is “The Trail of Tears Suite” from which the group will release two advance singles this week.
A new innovation on this site is the VA Free! section where the band offers select music for free. “The listeners of VA have been a blessing to us and we’d like to return the favor,” comments Jorgensen. The division will offer a varied selection of Vertical Alignment music both old and new. From the band’s first released song “Once In A Dream” to brand new advance singles from “The Trail of Tears Suite,” listeners will find a formidable array of music. “We've just started the VA Free! space so it is small now. It will grow,” says Jorgensen.
The site also features band videos. There are three to start, all from the “Lost In Space” release. The “Dancing in Vacuum” video features appearances by Buzz Aldrin and none other than Buzz Lightyear. “NASA has made a lifetime worth of pictures, audio clips, and video clips freely available on the web,” continues Jorgensen. “One of the very best features Buzz Aldrin preparing Buzz Lightyear for his Space Shuttle journey. It includes shots of Lightyear weightless in the Shuttle. Don't say the guys and gals at NASA don't have a sense of humor.”
Vertical Alignment will use their new space to keep VA listeners updated on the band. It will also be a source for new free VA music and videos. Be sure to visit at http://verticalalignment.com .