interview from national noise:

Q: Ok, first off, where did you guys come up with the name Factory 81?

Bill: "Our singer Nathan went shopping at a thrift store. He picked up a work shirt from Chrysler that said 'Dick'. It still had 'Chrysler, Factory 81' on it. It kind of fits with the whole Detroit scene, so we just went with it."

Q: How long has Factory 81 been together?

Bill: "About 3 1/2 years now."

Q: I understand that you are based out of Detroit MI, are you all originally from that area?

Bill:" Yup, we are all from the greater Detroit area."

Q: Who are some of your main influences?

Bill: "Tool, The Deftones, big guitars. Black Sabbath, Alice In Chains. Those are the big, main ones that really impacted me."

Q: The imagery on 'Mankind' is very interesting and symbolic. Could you elaborate a bit on what it's meaning is and how you came to use it for the CD artwork as well as your website?

Bill: "The cover art was designed by us. Bill on his PC and then Dan Dinsmore, he spiced it up. As far as the inside, we let the artist at Mojo Records do their thing. The main thing was let's see what they come up with. Kristine Ripley was the artist. The symbol represents chaos and the zodiac signs around it represent everyone. Chaos within the world. The website was done by Raphacore (they have also done Disturbed's website)."

Q: About how long did you guys spend in the studio on this release?

Bill: "About 3 weeks tops, not very long. Initially, we recorded it on an Indie label, so we had a very small budget. We literally did this album for under $3000. A lot of the songs are one-takes. We had to practice real hard so that the songs would be down. Recording and mixing was done in about 4 days. The next album we will have a much bigger budget."

Q: Are there any songs on the disc that were more memorable than others while recording?

Bill: "Well, my favorite track is 'Diary'. One track that stands out is 'Track 81'. We had never really did something like this before. It was a rif that was just jammed around in practice, and we threw it out there and Nathan ad-libbed the whole thing."

Q: How has touring been so far for you guys? Do you have any favorite bands that you have shared a bill with?

Bill: " Mudvayne! Mudvayne has been really good to us. On the first tour with Mudvayne we got really close with One Minute Silence. Everyone was so supportive, they showed us the ropes, didn't screw with us. We didn't know what to expect, especially since we were sharing equipment."

Q: What are some things that you have found that you absolutely cannot live without on the road?

Bill: "My laptop. It goes everywhere with me. I don't know what I would do without it! Also Sony Playstation. The Tony Hawk game, it has kept us all sane. We are currently still in a van, we have a tv/vcr combo that is good to have around as well."

Q: If you could pick any artist, living or dead to tour with, who would it be?

Bill: "Tool, without a doubt. I love those guys."

Q: What are some of your plans/hopes for Factory 81 in the future?

Bill: "Well, there will be a lot of touring going on. Another tour with Mudvayne and One Minute Silence on the west coast. We have not played out there yet, and I get lots of emails from fans out there, so I am looking forward to it. We are planning on doing a festival tour in the summer too."