In terms of other artistic outlets, DeLorenzo has been away from theater for a few years. "I haven't had time, thankfully, because I've been too busy with this music stuff. I'm definitely looking to do some performing in front of the camera again, probably this fall. I've been asked by a friend of mine who had great success with a film he did called "Chump Change." He was a big fan of the Femmes, so we started talking. He didn't realize I was an actor, and he said 'Oh my God, I've got a new script that I'm just finishing up and you've got to be in it.' So I'm looking to maybe start doing something with him this fall. And I did another cameo in a film by a Milwaukee filmmaker, her name is Rebecca Banks. It's called "Still Life." I think they just finished a rough edit of it, they're still working on it."

Perhaps DeLorenzo's most intriguing (at least to long-time Femmes fans) recent endeavor, came on a project that doesn't even bear his name.

"This is something that probably most people don't realize," explains Victor, "but on the Femmes web site there is a song called 'Y2K.' Well, it's not even really a song. It more of a jam with us screaming some lyrics over the top. But that was done last December at DV (Dave Vartanian's) Studio.

"Brian (Ritchie, the Femmes' bassist) came to my show when I was playing at the Hi-Hat with A Bucket of Balls. We sat around and talked, and the next day we got together and he said, "Hey what are you doing later on? Why don't you come over to DV and let's record something." So it was us, Sigmund Snopek and Brian's son Silas, and we made this Violent Femmes song. That's the way it's listed: 'Welcome to the New Millennium.' With no Gordon, and no Guy (Hoffman, the Femmes current drummer)."

How did it feel to play with his old colleague? "I was really kind of tickled, because when we first started, the Violent Femmes were just Brian and me. We worked as a rhythm section and called ourselves the Violent Femmes, a name that Brian came up with. We worked with whoever wanted to work with. So here we are in December 1999, working on the song, and it was him and me again. It did feel good. There are no credits listed, and it was our own way of coming full circle."

For a drummer who has traveled the world playing to sold-out venues, Vic has surprisingly little interest in gaining notoriety back home.

"I think if I wanted to change the situation, I could do a lot more with publicity," admits DeLorenzo. "But I'm not overly concerned about it, because I was always more interested in the music. I was never so hung up on the fame part of it. I wanted to support my family and I wanted to indulge myself artistically."

Explains Vic, "For the most part, I enjoy the anonymity. My great mentor is Marcel Duchamp, and his idea of the perfect creative life was to work constantly at what you wanted to do, but never really feel the need to push it on anyone else. If people want to find it, they will find it sooner or later. I'll let other people sort it out after I'm gone."

That said, it's easy to understand why DeLorenzo has chosen to remain in his hometown. "I love Milwaukee. I could live anywhere, but I love having a family and living in Milwaukee because there are so many things at half the cost of other cities. It's been proven by myself and the Femmes that you don't need to live in a big music Mecca to have an international reputation. We always rehearsed and did our work here in town and then took it out on the road."

These last few years have been good to DeLorenzo, who is just about where he'd like to be in his career and in his life. "I'm very happy. It seems over the course of the last three years, it's getting better and better and better. I would consider going back to the Femmes for one, if they asked me; and if we decided to embark on what we decided here in this room (20 years ago), which was we were going to work on writing together and see where the next phase of the Femmes would take us."

But is there any chance of that happening? "I don't know," admits DeLorenzo. "One thing that being in show business has taught me is that you never know what is going to happen. But once it does, either be ready to use it to your advantage or disavow it."