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Post-punk troubadour Vicki F is back with a new single "There is a God" that is heating up on streaming platforms. The song, masterfully co-produced by Ethan Isaac and Tom Stewart of Factory Underground Studio, final mixing and mastering by and mastering by Kenny Cash, combines elements of Americana, and coffee-house acoustic singer-songwriter, with lush background textures like Pet Sounds-era Brian Wilson meets Phil Specter (before he lost his damn mind).


Yet it's the lyricism of the song that is catching some off guard, evocative to some and provocative to others, as Vicki questions the presence of God in context of personal experiences.


"I think a lot of us struggle with whether some kind of God exists. I wanted to get at my own struggle with belief in God in writing “There is a God.” I believe in love, and I think love tells me there is a god. This is where the lines come from, “this is the dance, and love is not just chance..."


"I also think that unfortunately there is a lot of competition we feel in living. And that is why the giving out trophies for free [in the song's lyrics] was so striking to me. It made me think that God would/does give us trophies just for doing our best - winning is not a necessity," said Vicki F.


Vicki F will once again work with Marc Alan and John Shyloski for an official music video for the song, which is scheduled to be released in August. Alan and Shyloski are the video team who captured her roof-top performance from her music video of "Downtown."


Stream "There is a God" on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/06yM8icdvEyLApRwmvTZ89?si=_AtkBMhIRUy_NWDMOXJwjA


Stream "There is a God" on Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/there-is-a-god/1694381838?i=1694381839



Updated: Jul 7

Farmer Pete Campbell's latest organic produce didn't come from the dirt of his Ridgefield CT farm, but from the Factory Underground Recording Studio of Norwalk.



Amongst many of the people in Pete Campbell's life, the Ridgefield, CT-based musician, guitar craftsman and Maple syrup producer, is known simply as Farmer Pete. That's because when he isn't slinging a guitar, and writing songs, you'll find him with his hands in the dirt of his beloved Horse Shoe Farm.


Now, while some may find the idea of a commercial farmer turned recording artist quirky and interesting in itself, what ties it all together is the man himself. Farmer Pete likes his music the he likes his produce, organically grown, all natural, and delivered straight from the heart.

Listening to his well crafted songs, the honest emotion, lyrical creativity, and memorable melodies, one gets the feeling that there is a lifelong musician behind the guitar. This actually couldn't be further from the truth. In reality Campbell is really just getting started in music, which may be the most surprising part of the story.


"My younger brother got into music first. I always looked up to him, but I never really believed I could do it, even though I always wanted to. After Covid turned the world upside down, I decided I couldn't wait anymore. I had things inside me that I had to get out. The seeds were planted a long time ago, but I only started writing songs last year, and it's like my dream has finally started to grow," says Campbell





Seeking an outlet for his music aspirations, Campbell found his way to Norwalk, CT-recording Factory Underground Studios, which he first heard about through pals in the jam band Goose. (Goose had mixed their first album Moon Cabin at Factory Underground in 2016.) Finding a safe haven at Factory Underground, Campbell began working with producer/engineer Thomas Stewart in 2022, forming a musical relationship that was immediately fruitful - with over twenty songs written, and most nearly finished recording.


The first song of this immense body of work, "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow," has been released by Pilot Light Records, officially marking Pete Campbell's commercial debut. The song, which is a mix of country, blues, folk and Americana, features Jeff Arevalo (percussionist of the band Goose) on bass, and his brother Matt Campbell on lap steel guitar and dobro. The track is now available on major streaming platforms, including Apple Music and Spotify. It's the first of many songs to follow, with at least four new singles and an EP to drop before the end of 2023.


About his other passions, including guitar building and producing Maple syrup- if you haven't guessed it, they grow a lot of Maple trees on Horse Shoe Farm. Some of the trees are tapped for Maple sugar and some become beautifully hand crafted guitar bodies, milled by Campbell right on the farm. It's all a labor of love for Campbell, who seems to love nothing more than sharing what he grows with friends and family.


With the release of "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow," Pete Campbell couldn't be happier to finally share the songs that have been growing inside him for many years.

Connecticut punk rocker Vicki F has released a new music video for her acoustic, post-punk version of Petula Clark's classic "Downtown." The video was captured "Let It Be-Style" on a rooftop in downtown Norwalk CT.



NORWALK, CT, April 12, 2023 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Fairfield CT-based singer-songwriter Vicki F, aka Vicki Ferrara, has released a new music video for her cover of the classic 60's song Downtown, as originally recorded by Petula Clark. The video, which is now streaming on YouTube, was filmed on a commercial rooftop in downtown Norwalk CT, close to Factory Underground Studio where Vicki F recorded the song.


The recording was produced by Ethan Isaac, co-owner of Factory Underground, and mixed by co-owner Kenny Cash. The video was produced by Factory Underground, directed by Marc Alan along with co-director and cinematographer John Shyloski, who also edited the film. Additional drone footage was provided by Jeffrey Willet. The recording was released on the Pilot Light Records label, a subsidiary of Factory Underground Records.



Downtown is a childhood favorite [song] of Vicki F, from days long before she performed at CBGB and other legendary punk venues such as Max's Kansas City and Ron's Place...

The song Downtown is a childhood favorite of Vicki F, from days long before she performed at CBGB and other legendary punk venues such as Max's Kansas City in New York City and Ron's Place in New Haven, CT in the early 1980s. It was in that time that her band Troupe DiCoupe blazed a trail through the early New Haven CT punk scene and began performing in New York City, sharing a stage alongside other emerging notables such as Blondie and the Talking Heads.


Troupe DiCoupe was an eclectic band with a unique mix of electric punk rock, featuring trombone, saxophone and congas, that put on an exciting show. They certainly caught the eyes and ears of CBGB owner Hilly Kristal who gave the band a Saturday night slot after a single weekday evening audition.


Troupe DiCoupe would go on to release a double album entitled So Young, So Desperate, which was rereleased on Spotify and other streaming platforms in 2019. By all accounts, these were wild days in Vicki's life - performing in Troupe DiCoupe under the pseudonym Trudi- ones that she would eventually need to leave behind.


"This was a period when I was in and out of a lot of relationships, and drinking a lot. I don't know if I would have survived if I kept going at that pace. It was then that I met my wife Michelle, who brought a lot of stability to my life, and it was then that I decided to sacrifice making music to have children. I made the right decision, because we are still together, with two grown sons that we could not be more proud of," said Ferrara.


During her period away from music, Ferrara found herself pursuing an entirely different passion - one for the law. This, combined with her passion for family, led to her becoming a prominent attorney in the state of Connecticut, representing couples seeking children through adoption and surrogacy.


Music, meanwhile, had become a part of her past - a memory that she tried unsuccessfully to distance herself from, with the occasional twinge of longing: "I would go to concerts and see myself on the stage, and I always wondered "What If...," she says.




It would be the passing of a close friend that prompted Vicki to finally return to music. As she was singing to her dear friend in her final moments, Vicki says that she felt her friend's spirit come into her, willing her back to music. It wasn't long before she dusted off her favorite acoustic guitar and began writing. She has not stopped since.


Finding her way to Factory Underground Studio in Norwalk CT, she began to work with studio co- owner/producer Ethan Isaac, who felt a personal connection to her music and her story. With Isaac's guidance she released her debut solo EP Definite Yes in 2019, and a second EP, Perfect Here in 2021. Vicki continues to write and record, releasing new works in 2022 and 2023, including Put the Critic in the Coffin an original song about eliminating self-doubt, and her latest recording, the cover of Downtown featured in her music video.


About the look and feel of the video: "For the cover art on Spotify, I had wanted to evoke the type of cover art that was popular in 1964, with a cool artist portrait and oversized, stylized lettering. We needed a portrait of Vicki for the cover, so I turned to Factory Underground photographer John Shyloski. We had a great time with Vicki, shooting in the streets of South Norwalk, CT,' said Marc Alan.


So when it came time to shoot the video, it was only natural for Alan to work with Shyloski as the cinematographer and video editor.


"I had worked with John on a couple of other videos before, so I knew what he was capable of. I had the idea of shooting this on a roof-top setting, something like the Beatles did in "Let it Be." I actually envisioned something very close to what you see in the actual music video, with the song being performed during twilight, during that magic time when the sunset is on the verge of becoming night. We had to shoot very quickly, as we began losing light," Alan said.


"Unfortunately, it was a rather gray overcast day, so John really had to pull out all the stops in getting it filmed in pretty low light conditions. In editing the video, he did wonders with color correction, adding interesting lens flares, and filtering the video to bring out the warmth and sunset I wanted," Alan explained.


"While I can say that the final video really captured the images I had in my head all along. But the truth is that without John Shyloski's technical skill, that vision would have remained in my brain. I think that that's why we make a great team," Alan said.


Pilot Light Records is a label dedicated to the promotion of the emerging, independent recording artists, a subsidiary of Norwalk, CT-based Factory Underground Records and Factory Underground LLC.


Pilot Light Records

16 Isaac Street

Norwalk, CT 06850

(203) 275-8672

https://www.PilotLightRecords.com

https://www.FactoryUndergroundRecords.com

https://www.FactoryUndergroundStudio.com


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