The full time members
of Vertical Alignment…
Jim Braunreuther: vocals and keyboards
Jim sang all through his childhood but didn't first pick up an instrument until he was eighteen. "I borrowed my brother's guitar and taught myself to play," recalls Jim. "I used his Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young book to teach myself different chords. It wasn't until my second year in college that I began to study music seriously." A video viewing of Leonard Bernstein explaining how Beethoven wrote the end of the 5th Symphony impelled Jim into music. He launched into music theory, piano, guitar and voice classes and rapidly expanded his musical knowledge.
"Not feeling complete as a musician after only four years of instruction, I was looking for other opportunities to learn," continues Jim. "When I heard about the Musician's Institute in Los Angeles I was determined to go there to continue my instruction." Jim worked every spare hour of overtime he could for about three years to save enough to make the move to California. "I learned more in one year at the Institute than I had learned previously." Jim studied under such greats as Joe Pass, Frank Gambale, Robben Ford, Carl Schroeder, and Tim Bogart of Vanilla Fudge.
Jim returned to the east coast and began teaching music in Florida. He eventually moved to Charleston, SC where he has been involved in music education ever since. He advanced into an administrative position for Charleston County Schools where he coordinates the Fine Arts programs for the county. Jim has been singing with Vertical Alignment for the last several years.
Monty Pierce: guitars and bass
Monty Pierce started playing music very early in life. He and his two brothers formed a band and were equipped by their very supportive father with everything they needed to begin. “I still have the old Acoustic brand guitar amp from those days,” says Pierce. “I think it pushed 150 watts. There is a warning label on the back of the speaker cabinet that says ‘Caution: sound levels will exceed 120 db within 10 feet of this enclosure.’”
Monty began studying under accomplished jazz session player Vince Lewis while he was still a senior in high school. “Vince opened up a whole new world of guitar playing for me,” continues Pierce. “He taught me a style of playing that turned my fingers into pretzels.” Monty studied with Vince for three years.
During 1979 and 1980 Monty and Pete Jorgensen collaborated in writing a number of tunes to the song lyrics of J.R.R. Tolkien in “The Lord of the Rings.” “We tried to get rights to use the material by writing to Tolkien's publisher in London,” says Pierce. “They informed us that the rights had been sold to Fantasy Films.” The duo were never able to publish any of their work and it still lies dormant today.
Monty has three educational degrees but his electrical engineering degree led to his interest in advanced music technology. He went on to become a very specialized schoolteacher while continuing his music. Monty played with the Christian rock band “Sceptre” during his tenure in Greenwood, SC in the late eighties and early nineties. “Playing with Sceptre was an interesting experience that exposed me to many new things,” continues Pierce. “It was during that time that I began to explore the potential of the MIDI guitar with my then new Roland GR-50.” Monty recently resurrected the GR-50 and incorporated it into his current rig.
Monty moved to the Lowcountry in the year 2000 and again began active collaboration with Pete & Terri. “This collaboration grew into the project that we now call Vertical Alignment,” concludes Pierce. “I’m looking forward to completing work on ‘Signposts’ and starting on our next project, ‘Joseph's Dream.’”
Mike Adams: drums
Terri Jorgensen: bass and djembe
Pete Jorgensen: vocals, guitars, keyboards, ethnic flutes, sequencing
From his earliest days, Pete Jorgensen has loved music. He grew up listening to Romantic era Classical music and moved on to Progressive Rock in his early years. “I always loved the intricate sounds of bands like Genesis and Yes,” Jorgensen says. “Many of their songs were small concertos.” This foundation shaped his musical direction in later years.
Pete began playing guitar at the age of twelve. “I am left-handed and my parents gave me a normal right-handed acoustic for Christmas,” Jorgensen continues. “I didn't know any different and learned to play right-handed.” Within a few years he began writing songs. Pete played his early works in coffee houses and small venues from Wisconsin to Vermont in those early years.
After committing his life to the Lord, Pete discovered the Jesus Music of such artists as Resurrection Band, Phil Keaggy, and Kerry Livgren. “Livgren’s music was a real eye-opener for me,” Jorgensen says. “As a former member of Kansas, he was the first Christian musician I had heard doing progressive rock.” This had an influence on Pete’s songwriting as he sought to portray the Lord’s purpose in his music and to reach a higher level of musicality in his playing and compositions. “Since that time I only write new music out of a revelation of the Lord’s intention in the earth today.”
In a small town in northern West Virginia in the early eighties, Pete & Terri Jorgensen opened “The Omega Room,” a small Christian coffee house that hosted area bands and individuals with a Christ centered message. Pete & Terri formed their first Christian rock group, “The Omega Band” in that time. They did new original tunes written by Pete and cover tunes by Christian bands like David and the Giants.
In the late eighties in Rock Hill, SC Pete formed the art rock band “Tabernacle.” The original group consisted of eight musicians including a gal on violin. “Tabernacle was truly bombastic music,” says Jorgensen. “Without knowing it at the time, we definitely were pushing into progressive territory.” The band went through several iterations before disbanding. At one time they appeared with “Sceptre,” the band to which Monty Pierce belonged.
In the early nineties Pete formed the band Ground Zero. “We called our music ‘alternative art rock,’” he said. “We performed mostly the original material that I wrote for the band. The style paid tribute to the then emerging alternative rock, but always leaned towards the more progressive sound that I love. The early music of King's X was also a strong influence.” Ground Zero performed in various venues in North and South Carolina. They released a “double EP” in this time which featured their hard rocking style on the first side and the progressive music of Peter J on the second side.
In that same time, Pete and his wife Terri both became closely involved in MorningStar Fellowship of Charlotte, NC. For almost four years they played in the fellowship’s praise band led by Leonard Jones. The band performed primarily new original material composed by Jones, but they also did several of Pete’s works. His song “Come” was included on the first MorningStar music release, “Come Dwell Here.” “Working with Leonard was a challenge,” Pete says, “but he had an enormous influence on my songwriting. To this day I use the things that he taught me. He was and is an astounding musician and songwriter.” Much of the music that Pete wrote in that time came out of his experiences at MorningStar.
Pete now resides in the coastal Lowcountry of South Carolina along with his wife of 27 years Terri and two daughters Rachel and Melody. He is currently working with various musicians in the progressive rock band Vertical Alignment. The band’s music varies from the progressive pop sound of “Kingdom of Summer” to lengthier and more involved progressive pieces such as “Freedom’s Call.” “I like to explore different styles in my writing, but all of my tunes still reflect my prog roots,” Jorgensen concludes. Vertical Alignment is preparing their first CD release now entitled “Signposts.”
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