article from hd online:

For Factory 81 guitarist Bill Schultz, nothing in the world could compare to the excitement he felt while flipping through the 100-odd pages of heavyweight rock magazine Metal Edge in the early 1990s.

Nothing, that is, until his band was featured in the magazine’s hallowed, glossy pages more than 10 years after his insatiable interest in heavy metal began. In its March 2001 issue, Metal Edge included the Motor City-bred Factory 81 in its "21 Bands to Watch in 2001" column, tipping its hat to the band’s "innocently unfocused naiveté" on songs like "Nanu" and "Rotten Strawberries."

"It’s such an honor for this band to be included in Metal Edge," Schultz said in a telephone interview earlier this week from his Warren, Mich., home.

"It was always the magazine that I read growing up, and it’s incredible for us to be featured in it. It brought us more exposure in another respected national magazine, and it earned us some positive feedback from fans and new listeners."

Factory 81’s uphill battle began in 1999 when they recorded their debut album "Mankind" on a shoestring budget of just $3,000. The disc was then released on Medea Records, a tiny independent label lacking enough financial backing to put the band out on tour. The band soldiered on though, managing to build a solid local following at Detroit clubs such as the Wired Frog.

But even Schultz was surprised when Universal Records picked the band’s debut up for global release, on its Mojo Records imprint.

"We never expected this record to become this big," said Schultz. "We made it for ourselves, of course, and we had no idea that it would ever take us this far. Now, we tour the country in a van, playing for people who know our music, nearly 2,000 miles away from home. Life’s been moving so quickly, but we’re staying humble."

The pace has increased so much in recent months that Schultz doesn’t seem to know what to do with himself during the two-week-long respite (vocalist Nathan Wallace has been sidelined with a bout with mononucleosis) before heading to Huntington for its area debut at the WAMX 106.3 FM Anniversary Party.

"We’re jittery," Schultz said. "You get to a point, being out there on the road, that you finally get into a bit of a rhythm, with the quick pace and the hurried lifestyle. It’s difficult to make re-adjustments when you return home. Instead of waking up in a different town everyday, maybe even in a different time zone, you wake up in your own bed in your hometown. It’s hard to describe that feeling."

But, rest assured, Factory 81 should be healthy enough to make the trek to the Tri-State.

"Oh, we’ll definitely be looking forward to the gig," Schultz said. "We’ve never played a festival show before, and it will be fun to play along with so many great bands and for so many people."