I've given up any hope of ever being a rock star, but I still like to play music and write lyrics and poetry as a hobby. On this page you can gain access to some of the lyrics and poetry that I consider to be my best work. There is even audio data you can download so that you can listen to me in action. Enjoy, and if you are big-time record company executive that can't wait to sign me for his label, I'm all ears. Or even if you just want to let me know what you think, I'd be happy to hear from you. Don't try to steal my stuff, though, because it's all copyrighted.

I will occasionally add to or change the contents of this page, so please continue to visit every once in a while. Also, for other homegrown music, check out my old friend Sammy. He tends to go for more of a slick, synthesized sound than I do, and he is very adept at it.

• I Once Knew A Woman

• Think Again
  Sometimes lyrics come to you and even you're not sure exactly what they mean or where they come from, but you start to get some vague ideas over time. This can often be a good thing, because the lyric ends up being more open-ended in meaning. This is one of those lyrics.

• Groovin' For You
  This boogie blues lyric is what I like to call a "puff piece" -- nothing deep or significant, but fun nonetheless.

• The Cage

• Stepping Out
  This is actually a mixture of prose and poetry. The poetry part of it, which was called "Take the Night," was written long before I put the prose wrapper on it. This is another one that doesn't necessarily have a specific meaning; I was just kind of going for a certain feel.

• In Full Bloom
  The idea for this lyric came to me in the airplane back from our Hawaii honeymoon.

• Lullaby

• It's A Tragedy

• Alien Pie
  What is sacred these days? What are the new myths?

• I Never Saw A Woman Look So Determined
  Watch out for a woman with that certain look in her eye.

• Missed Connections

I provide audio files in one of two formats. The first is MPEG Layer II audio (MP2). This is a compressed format that requires an MPEG audio decoder to play. Most computers these days come with MPEG audio decoding capability, in which case you should be able to just double-click on the file to play it. If you do not have a decoder, you can get one from the MPEG website. Even though they are compressed, MPEG audio files are still pretty huge (1 MB for every two minutes at the compression rate I use), but they are a whole lot smaller than the original PCM audio (e.g. WAV) files (10 MB per minute). For now, I only have one of these files posted, but I will add more as time goes on.

The other format is MIDI (Musical Instrument Digitial Interface). In case you live under a rock, MIDI is a standardized interface that dictates how synthesizers and other electronic musical devices represent such music parameters as instrument type, note tone and duration, etc. Since MIDI files do not store the actual audio waveform but rather just describe the instruments and notes used, they are pretty small. However, they are only good for instrumentals. You will need a sound card with a general MIDI-capable synthesizer in order to play MIDI files (general MIDI is a subset of MIDI that assigns particular instruments to particular codes so that songs created on one device will sound similar when played on another device).

• Groovin' For You (MP2 file, 2053017 Bytes)
  This is just a simple boogie blues ditty, but it's a lot of fun, even if my skills as a lead guitarist leave a little something to be desired.

  Recording Notes:
  All words and music written and performed by Victor Wilburn.
  Copyright © 1998 Victor Wilburn. All rights Reserved.
  I used a Korg X2 keyboard for the drums, bass, and organ. The "live" parts were recorded with a Martin acoustic, a Gibson SG electric, and a Lee Oskar Harmonica. The SG and the harmonica were fed through a Mesa Boogie Subway Rocket amplifier with an Alesis Microverb 4 effects processor in the effects loop.

  
  

• Whispers in the Dark (MIDI file, 93533 Bytes)
  This is a dark-sounding MIDI instrumental. The structure is very simple, and it's a little rough in spots, but I think there are a lot of cool things in it, too. I originally used many non-general-MIDI instruments when I composed this, meaning I had to change them to roughly equivalent general MIDI instruments, so that the instrumentation isn't exactly as originally written. Also, the sound quality you get from your sound card synthesizer (even if you have a good one) will not match what I get from my Korg. But all in all, it sounds pretty good when played back on a computer.

  Copyright © 1998 Victor Wilburn. All rights Reserved.
  

  
  

• Groovin' For You (MIDI file, 70519 Bytes)
  This is simply the synthesized drums, bass, and organ from the MP2 file above in MIDI format for those of you who really like to get into how a song is put together or have a MIDI synthesizer and for some reason want to monkey with my arrangement.

  Copyright © 1998 Victor Wilburn. All rights Reserved.