In Oklahoma, especially mid-state, the dirt is iron-rich red clay. Doc, a friend of mine whose heritage was part Cheyenne, grew up in that area. He said that part of the Indian culture is to respect the earth, connect with it, and draw strength from it. So, when he left home he took a little pouch full of that dirt with him to give him strength. Since then, I’ve heard other stories of people carrying off a smidgen of Oklahoma red dirt for grit, for fortitude.
      Okies do seem to have an uncommon inner strength so maybe there’s something to that. My Dad, for instance, also grew up in the area, and Grit could have been his middle name. No matter what happened, he kept his chin up and kept going, finding a way to make it through adversity. This is what the song, "Oklahoma Red Dirt Grit" is all about.

Lyric
Every time I see    
A Brighter Day
All Hell breaks free    
Comes my way 

My Friend Doc    
He knows
The Earth’s our Rock
Our Heart and Soul.

Digging down to get a bit 
Of Oklahoma Red Dirt Grit 
Not to worry  
You and me
Just need a bit of grit

I may appear      
Meek and Mild 
But never, ever fear
I’m my Daddy’s child 

Grit’s his middle name.
He’s not afraid to try, 
No matter what troubles came 
He’d find a way to get by.

Hit hard but not a crack
He’s got the grit to fight back. 

Digging down to get a bit 
Of Oklahoma Red Dirt Grit 
You and I just need a bit 
Of Oklahoma Red Dirt Grit 
Oklahoma Red Grit.

Grit. Grit. Grit

Oklahoma Red Dirt Grit

Imagine trekking across the desolate desert alone. A hot dry wind blows right through you. A feeling, like loneliness, possesses your mind and body, and you know a change is on its way, you hope for the better. 

The wind carries the needles from a nearby Prickly Pear Cactus your way. You are hit. The needles pierce your skin, and, like loneliness, the sting stays with you. You are seized by the Cactus breeze. 

You stop at a little café. A waitress dressed in black brings your order with a forlorn look and a lonely smile. You identify. The loneliness seems like a living thing, like a hurt, a pain, a needle sting. You’ve both been seized by a Cactus Breeze.

Lyric:
On a desert road, the hot dry air,
Blows through a prickly pear,
Oh, Oh I’m seized,
by a Cactus Breeze.
 
Heading to better than where I’ve been
A change is coming; just don’t know when.
Oh, Oh I’m seized,
by a Cactus Breeze                                            
 
At a little café, I stop for a while.
There’s a waitress in black with a lonely smile.
Oh, Oh We’ve been seized,
by a Cactus Breeze
A Cactus Breeze, a Cactus Breeze.
 
Loneliness seems a living thing.
Just like a needle sting 
Oh, Oh a prickly seize,
by a Cactus Breeze
 
They say you learn from your past.
In time, you know at last,                                                                                   
The prickly seize,
of a Cactus Breeze.
Oh, oh a Cactus Breeze.
Oh, oh a Cactus Breeze.

Acknowledgements:
Cactus Breeze, written by Jo Ann Vickers (aka Jo Wilburn), Dan Wilburn, and Mark Tokach, began with the guitar track instigated and originated by Dan and Mark. Mark named it Cactus Breeze. Jo thought the name fit the mood and wrote the lyrics and melody around that title. Later, she learned that Mark used that name because it's the street he lives on, meaning this is from Cactus Breeze. Happy coincidences.  @JoDan_Music

Cactus Breeze

Through the musical ambiance of a mystic forest’s tangled vines and towering trees, you move down a twisting path toward your castle-in-the-sky dream. You cross the dragon’s lair; you cross his land, where he may appear out of nowhere breathing fire to bring you down or lending his back to fly you higher. The question of which one is always present, but you keep on because the dream is who you are, and your eye is on the castle in the sky. Maybe you’ll reach it, maybe you won’t, but what matters is the quest. The quest is everything.

Black Castles Lyric:
Black Castles tower so high, 
A lonely dream on a midnight sky.
Can you reach the castle gate 
Face the dragon, face your fate?

Enter the dragon’s lair
Step lightly, beware
He says he is your friend
Travel his land to what end?

Oh, the dragon breathes his fire                                     
Will he take you out, or take you higher,                       
Fly you to the light,                    
Or burn you in the night? 	                     

Girl, you build your dreams so high                                  
Black Castles on a midnight sky.
How can you reach the prize,  
Afraid to look in the dragon’s eyes?

Oh, the dragon breathes his fire                                     
Will he take you out, or take you higher,                       
Fly you to the light,                    
Or burn you in the night? 	                     

Black Castles tower so high, 
A lonely dream on a midnight sky.
Rise above on wings of truth
Fly high into the clear blue.

Rise above and fly, fly.

Acknowledgments:
Black Castles, written by Jo Vickers (aka Jo Wilburn,) was produced and given life by Dan Wilburn, an excellent engineer with gold and platinum record credits, who took pains to create the ambiance for the song. Jo added the vocals and acoustic rhythm. Besides the smooth bass line and the drums, Dan added the electric guitar dragon growls for a bit of attitude. Mark Tokach added the melodic twelve-string guitar and the electric leads that give the song its flavor. Brian Foster added percussion. 
A.I. gets the official credit for the song cover art. It was A.I. Generated and then modified by Jo Wilburn, but Jana Owens Instigated the creation of it and she’s the hero in my mind.

Black Castles

With its hard rock drive, straightforward words, and aggressive attitude, the song takes you there, inside the Dragon’s Lair. 

You can’t always control what’s going on around you or in your mind. Madness. Sadness. Conflicts. But the quest for truth goes on. With all the confidence and pride that you can gather, you step to meet whatever lies ahead.

What you do comes back around to you; a trip through Hell can be terrifying and clarifying. You take it because you’ve got to pay your dues. 

Good or bad or ugly you keep on, another step, and another, inside the Dragon’s Lair.

Lyrics:
Can’t stop the madness
Hear it going down
Sick of the sadness
I see it all around

The truth we dare
With foolish pride
Without a care
We step inside
The dragon’s lair

Time to pay the piper
It’s not a grim jest
Trying to decipher
It’s worthy of the quest

Won’t run, won’t hide
Take the time to reveal
Fucked up, got caught
It don’t matter how I feel
Laid guilt, laid blame
Honesty I could not steal
Right place, right time
The gates of hell are real

The truth we dare
We’re justified
Without a prayer
We step inside
The dragon’s lair

Dragon's Lair

With its rock edge and storied lyrics, Midnight Highway captures the rhythm of the road. There’s a mysterious, exciting but vulnerable feel to driving down a dark two-lane highway at midnight. Driving away from a love that seems to be gone. Driving away from your life to who knows where. Thoughts run through your head in time to the beat of tires crossing the road sections. Questions arise and somewhere down the road, maybe a few answers.

Midnight Highway was written by Jo Ann Vickers (aka Jo Wilburn.) Dan Wilburn engineered, produced, played bass, and added some special effects. Mark Tokach played the guitars, Brian Foster the drums, and Jo Wilburn sang vocals and added a little percussion.

Lyric:
Me and my guy had a big fight. 
I got in my car, drove off into the night                            
I couldn't tell ya where I’m going 
So mixed up, no way of knowing                          
Heading south, just crossed the state line                       
Leaving Tennessee and my guy behind                         
Northbound traffic passing in a mad dash                     
Like my thoughts that come and go in a flash


Down the midnight highway under a starless sky
I’m lost in my mind, yellow lines blinking by  
Like the beat of a heart, like day after day
Taking me so far down the midnight highway                                                                            
   
Flashing back on when we got together
How I thought our love was forever
Now I ride this road lonesome and lost
Saved my pride but at what cost?
Shake my head, switch on the radio
Music’s too sad, I turn to a talk show
A lonely heart cries about losing his girl
And too much love lost in this old world

Down the midnight highway under a starless sky
I’m lost in my mind, yellow lines blinking by  
Like the beat of a heart, like day after day
Taking me so far down the midnight highway                                                                    

Thinking about all our ugly fights
Trying to prove what we say is right
When out of the black there’s a roadblock
I slam on my brakes, screech to a stop
Strum my fingers on the wheel then I see
A blue Chevy wrapped around a tree 
An ambulance pulls away, way too slow
Police motion for me to go and I know
 
Someone lost their love tonight, someone new is alone
Someone will be crying, no last chance to atone
Someone in real misery, not like we make on our own
Now I know what to do, I’m making a U, and heading back home

Down the midnight highway under a starless sky
I’m lost in my mind, yellow lines blinking by  
Like the beat of a heart, like day after day
Taking me so far down the midnight highway                                                                    

Down the midnight highway                                                                    
Down the midnight highway                                                                    
Yeah
Down the midnight highway
***

Midnight Highway

Dan Wilburn is a true innovator with a unique ear for what works in a song. He knows but often disregards the rules to create something truly new and different. 
Page # 1 is a worthy example. The hard-edged music and conversational spoken-word lyrics are an experience not to be missed.

Page # 1 was written by Dan Wilburn. He engineered, produced, added the vocals, played bass and some guitar. Mark Tokach added lead guitars and Brian Foster the Drums. 

Author's Note
I know we’re all different, but maybe we can all get along. That’s the song.

Page # 1

“Moments” is a nostalgic look at loving moments we remember. Those moments are based on choices that we made at that time. The loving and tender choices become the best memories, ones that bring a smile, and nourish the soul. Love and loving memories are what it’s all about.

Moments

“Stressed” is about confronting the everyday negative BS of this world, getting beat down by it and coming out on the positive side.

Lyrics:
So now I’m just a little stressed out
This life is changing daily
The work, the taxes and the people
I’m cool, then I’m tired, now I’m crazy

My mind is racing, my head is aching
Welcome to reality
Too much pride got locked inside
Now I cannot find the key
I hear my heart breaking
Like someone drove a stake in
All the dreams of the future I once had 
What’s behind the disguise
Will it be a big surprise
I haven’t got a clue, I’m going mad

Where did I miss my eternal calling
Close to the edge and now I’m falling
Far away from all I knew
Is it hype or is it true
Tell me now, help me see
Is it them or is it me
Does it matter, I don’t know
Think I got to go

So now I’m just a little stressed out
Not a whole lotta love in the system
‘Bout the work, the taxes and the people
Give me a break, I can’t go near them.

Hearing there’s a reason I find quite pleasing
The theory is open for debate
Give the dog a bone make sure he’s not alone
Any questions on my mental state
The road that I’m taking
Seems to be the thing that’s making
All the darkest of my fears come to light
If I really am insane 
There’s no reason to explain
I might as well go out and fly a kite

Where did I miss my eternal calling
Close to the edge and now I’m falling
Far away from all I knew
Is it hype or is it true
Tell me now, help me see
Is it them or is it me
Does it matter, I don’t know
Think it’s time to go

So now I’m just a little stressed out
Need one more rhyme with some feeling
To the work, the taxes and the people 
What a fool I am for revealing

I toss and turn, when will I learn
My teeth grind to create
Is it worth the cost of getting lost
Tempting the hand of fate
I’m searching for a way 
To believe that I can stay
In this game that I have come to know so well
It’s out of circumstance 
That I’m given half a chance 
May society not drive me straight to Hell

Where did I miss my eternal calling
Close to the edge and now I’m falling
Far away from all I knew
Is it hype or is it true
Tell me now, help me see
Is it them or is it me
Does it matter, I don’t know
Think I’m good to go

Stressed

Backyard Bonfire, a smooth rock song that flirts with country, is about letting go of the dreams and angers of a failed relationship with best wishes for the other person and looking forward toward a new day.

Backyard Bonfire

Wishing Well

JoDan Music’s principal members are Jo and Dan Wilburn with friends added on each project. We aim to produce stellar music without regard to a specific genre. 

Jo Wilburn has been a professional singer and entertainer, an actor, voice-over artist, radio on-air personality, announcer, show host, spokesmodel, public speaker, published writer, and, before any of that, or sometimes during, a software engineer. 
Through it all, songwriting has been her constant passion and ongoing pursuit. 
Raised in a small town in Oklahoma, Jo moved from Oklahoma to Texas, to Puerto Rico, to Nashville, to Branson, and back to Texas. She now lives in Austin. 

	Dan Wilburn grew up in Nashville hanging out in studios with his well-known engineer father learning the technical side of the music industry. 
After almost a decade of touring, playing bass, writing, and recording a wide variety of music, his world changed. 
His father died while building a new studio. Dan came off the road, completed the studio, and became part owner and head engineer, working with such artists as Bobby Brown, Bobby Boyd, Method Man, CeCe Winans, Lamar Campbell, Kirk Franklin, and many others. He has both gold and platinum albums to his producing and engineering credits.
He has continued his bass playing with many popular regional bands. Through hard work and dedication, Dan has developed a unique style that is solid while keeping a creative edge and intense attitude in his sound.
He now lives in Austin Texas. 

Lots more music to come.

JoDan Music

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