Welcome to the official home of...

"Computer music that even my sister likes"

Click here to download the MODplug plug-in for Netscape or Internet Explorer.
Then listen to the VRB selections above.

[ News & Releases] [ Meet the Band ] [ Other Resources ]

News & Releases

May, 8, 2000 - After a long hiatus, the VRB is back with a medley of dance tunes by the tracker CyberZip, entitled "The Virtual Cyberzip.

I've enjoyed these three songs by CyberZip, and thought they would go good together. If you ever heard of the "Stars on 45", you'll hear something very familiar.

Click on the Title to download the song.

Release	Opus	Release Date	Title	Time	Size (of ZIP file)	Description
1	2	1/16/97	Tuzie	3:59	116K	A pop-type song that has been bouncing around in my head since 1984. It is dedicated to my wife, Susan. Reviewed by the Weekly MOD Review.
2	3	8/6/97	TheTwo Become One	3:50	130K	Another upbeat song taking two melodies (one from, again, around 1984 and one more recent) and creating a marriage in music. Placed in the 11-20 bracket of the Rookie division of Music Contest 5 (read the comments from the judges). Reviewed by the Weekly MOD Review. Note: Some file names in the ZIP file uploaded to Hornet were incorrect. They have been corrected here.
3	5	5/89/00	The Virtual CyberZip	8:05	1,872K	A medley of 3 tunes by the tracker Cyberzip; "Burning My Heart (Martyn's Magic Mix)", "Will We Ever Meet" and "My Need". Click on the song titles to download the originals from Trax In Space.

Release - Order in which songs were released to the public.
Opus - Order in which songs were written. (Not all music is released.)

In order to play these files, you will need a player program. The VRB suggests ModPlug Player (for Windows 95/98/2000/XP)

[ News & Releases] [ Meet the Band ] [ Other Resources ]

Meet the Band

Brass

The incredible trio of Dewey, Blaire and Howe!

Thomas E. Dewey (no, you New-Yorkers, not that Thomas E. Dewey):

Tom Dewey is a versatile brass instrument player, a talent he attributes to his years in the Camillus (New York) Bagpipe & Brass Brigade.

Linda Blaire (no, you horror-flick-watchers, not that Linda Blaire):

Linda got her start in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania blowing a loud plastic noisemaker horn at every Steeler game in the late 1970's.

Andy Howe (yes, you lobster fisherman, that Andy Howe):

Andy made a name for himself off the shores of Portland, Maine. Instead of lobster traps, he'd don scuba gear and grab them himself. This exertion built up his lung capacity, and now he can hold those high notes loud and long.

Woodwinds

Kenneth Glockenbachersteinamonsky ("Kenneth W."):

His last name is a bear to spell and pronounce, but he can't go by "Kenny G.", since that's taken (and he hates being called "Kenny"). So our principal reed-man goes by the stage name "Kenneth W." (His middle name is Wienerschnitzamennemer, which is what friends called his great-great-grandfather...for short.)

Rhythm

Gronk (Drums):

We don't know Gronk's real name. Whenever we ask him his name, that's the noise he makes. Most communication with Gronk is like that. As best we can tell (based on hand signals and crude drawings), he used to play drums for numerous acid rock bands back in the 60's. The continuous loud volumes he was subjected to seem to have affected his speaking ability. However, he does seem to be able to hear just well enough to follow the music.

E. Bonnie Avery (Piano):

Enid (hence she uses her first initial) hails from Floral Park, Long Island, New York, where she played piano in Carnegie Hall. (She occasionally forgets to add that the hall was empty except for the cleaning crew.) She also did a stint with the "Floral Park 5, 6 or 7" (depending on who showed up for the gig) jazz ensemble. Her favorite song is "Ebony and Ivory" since it's about pianos.

Liz Velazquez (various):

Liz's primary area of expertise is with melodic rhythm instruments (vibes, xylophone, etc.), but she can bang a bongo with the best of them. She learned to love rhythm at Jessamine Co. High School, near her home town of Wilmore, Kentucky.

Louis Lewey (Guitar):

The VRB picked up Louis while on tour in Manchester, Connecticut. He was teaching guitar to child prodigies at Lincoln Elementary School, but wanted to do some performing of his own. His first appearance in a VRB song was for release 2, "The Two Become One".

LeGrand Bass (Bass):

("LeGrand Bass" is a stage name, and he won't let me divulge his real name, and it's "bass" like the guitar, not "bass" like the fish.) LeGrand comes to us from Danby, New York. He played bass for years with the Danby Federated Church's youth group until he got a music scholarship to Ithaca College, just down the road.

Strings

The Hiney Family Orchestra (Thor, Red, and Ophelia):

The Cleveland Symphony will just have to do without this trio (though we're not sure if the Symphony knows they're missing). Heirs to the Hiney Wine fortune, they had everything they could possibly need. But instead of becoming part of the "idle rich" and sitting around on their hineys, they took up music and add a rich sound to the VRB.

Other

Doug Payton (P.R., song writing and arranging, manager):

Doug's a mix of principal arranger and public relations manager that you don't come by often. Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, his first arranging feat was getting all these players together. While he writes music only as a sideline, his day job (which he isn't giving up just yet) is with a software consulting firm. He can be reached by E-mail at frodo@thepaytons.org.

[ News & Releases] [ Meet the Band ] [ Other Resources ]

Other Resources

	The MOD Archive - A large collection of MOD files to listen to.
	ModPlug Central - The site that has the plug-in for your browser to hear the VRB on the web also has a player that plays virtually all MOD file formats, plus a Windows95-based tracker that's still in development.
	United Trackers - A great resource for information from the tracking scene (competitions, software information, articles, E-mail newsletter, interviews, etc.).