Factory Damage

"Nightmares" from the debut album will be on the soundtrack and score for the Horror Indie Film, "Hallow's Eve-Slaughter on 2nd Street", which is due out 10/31/08. - www.hallowsevemovie.com

The metal band Factory Damage gets accepted to contribute to the score of the multi-platformed video game Rage and Fury. Impressive enough, it also marks the first time in history an unsigned band gets published in a major game release and it's accompanying soundtrack.
"Ed had sent me their demo...", notes Mr. DuBetz, "...and when I heard them it was an easy to call to make. They have a solid intense sound that will blend in nicely with the way the game is being produced. This is a favorable partnership that gamers will be glad was made." Congratulations Factory Damage!

Rage and Fury Video Game Link:
www.dubetzdesigns.com/Rage_Fury.html - www.dubetzdesigns.com

FD was asked to contribute a tune to the upcoming all music themed issue of the Comic Book - SLAM BANG #4 VOL III
"The End Times" will be on the cd.
This issue will be out in early April. We want to thank Allen Freeman of Fan-Atic Press for the opportunity and the honor of being asked!!

www.fanaticpress.com - www.fanaticpress.com

1. Welcome to Kick Acts, Ed. Tell us a little about yourself.

First off, I would like to say thanks to Kick Acts for the time and consideration. It’s greatly appreciated! I’m a Metal head who loves collecting Old School Metal records (vinyl) and I love creating original music. I’m married to my wonderful wife Cathi, and have 2 great kids that I know of… (LOL) and have great friends and a great life! Wouldn’t change a thing.

2. You’re currently slinging the guitar in a band called Factory Damage. Tell us who’s in the band, how we can find you online and any upcoming shows where we can come see you.

Chris Hedges - Lead Vox
Ed Young - Guitar
Scott Doughty - Drums
Val Batts - Bass

Our main websites are: www.myspace.com/factorydamageband and www.factorydamage.com We have a House Party coming up 5/29, other than that, we’re working on new material and getting our newest member of the family, Val, up to speed on all the tunes we have. Keep checking back on the above mentioned websites for future gigs.

3. You guys are an original metal band. Do you throw in cover tunes like the other local bar bands? What sets you apart from other metal bands?

We have some covers that we do. We’re actually in the process of putting a few more covers into our set, along with new original material. A Bar Band, we’re not. We play just about anything from Festivals to Bars and everything in between. We don’t give into current trends and nowadays it seems like there’s only Death/Black Metal bands out on the scene. While we do play fast, its not all about palm mutes for us, its about great hooks, a great chorus, and killer riffs. Some of our tunes are suited for radio and some aren’t. We’re on the fence. We can play with the Heavier bands and we can play with the lighter side of Metal/Rock bands. It’s tough to slot us in any specific Metal category. We’re just really diverse and that’s what sets us apart from the others.

4. How long have you been a musician? Tell us about some of your experiences.

Well, I’ve been playing Guitar for 20 years off and on. I would say seriously playing for about 15 years. The first 5 years, I was on and off the wagon. The coolest experience I’ve had thus far would have to be sharing the stage with Kerry King of Slayer. He was down in O’boro a few years back doing a clinic. I got up on stage with Kerry and played “Black Magic” and played it right on the money. Kerry toasted me and the whole bar was chanting “ED! ED! ED!”. That’s one experience I’ll never forget!!

5. Do you have a greatest gig story you’d like to share? Worst gig?

The first time we played the BBQ-Fest here in town sticks out to me. We started the set with very few people in the crowd, but by the time we hit the 4th song on the set, there were a SEA of people. Mosh pits everywhere! A kid got his tooth knocked out! We were playing Megadeth’s “Peace Sells” and a kid fell off the stage, knocked himself unconscious, blood went everywhere, and the Owensboro Police Department came in and shut us down. Very exciting! Don’t get me wrong, we don’t want anybody to get hurt, but looking back, it was a killer show for us! That kid ended up being OK, so all is well. Worst gig…the very next week after our killer show @ the BBQ-Fest, we played a bar with no one in it but bands. We’d get done playing a song, and all you could hear were crickets and the occasional other band members clapping. It was terrible and typical. One week your a Metal God, the next, you might as well not have gone @ all! But that’s band life. You got to take the good with the bad.

6. What can you tell us about the most entertaining gig you ever played?

We played a show here @ Frankie’s sports bar with Left with Scars and the Midnight Biker Chicks. Frankie’s was sold out! 400 plus easy. It was so busy, they were turning people away @ the door, cops were directing traffic out in front of the bar, and by the end of the night, Frankie’s had sold completely out of Alcohol! It was AWESOME!

7. Tell the readers about hobbies other than music.

Love watching college basketball and college football when I get the chance and hanging out with my family.

8. Who are your musical heroes and influences? Why?

Tough question. I would have to say Dave Mustaine from Megadeth would be the biggest influence/hero for me. He has a very unique style of playing and isn’t a conventional player. Dave is a smug one, but he’s usually right on the money. I love the way he tells it like it is, and if you don’t like it, tough SH*t! I also dig a lot of Hendrix stuff! The man could play. Enough said!

9. Do you have any advice for someone just getting started in playing music? Anything they should avoid?

If you’re just starting out, learn to play by ear. Its your best bet and YOU can develop your OWN style of playing, opposed to starting out reading music and learning scales. This way you create your own rhythm personality, instead of doing it the “Corporate” way. Learn scales after you’ve been playing by ear for a while. That way you don’t sound straight out of the Musicians Institute. Be yourself. Be original, and don’t follow the Pied Piper!

10. # 10 is called “Shout It Loud.” It’s were you get to talk about whatever you want to talk about. So go ahead Ed and “SHOUT IT OUT LOUD!”

I’d like to give a SHOUT OUT to all of our Men and Women in the U.S. Military! They do an AWESOME job protecting our great country! My brother is in the Air Force and is heading to Iraq this summer. I pray for his and everyone’s safe return home. I salute them all!
- www.kickacts.com

When the members of Owensboro’s Factory Damage share the stage later this month Warbringer, it will be just one of many milestones the band will experience in the next few months.

Dark Sky Records decided to include Factory Damage on its latest “Underground Rising” compilation - which is a bit of a coup, since it guarantees the FD song “Nightmares” will receive worldwide distribution. Meanwhile, the band is working on a CD of its own, and has recorded a song for the independent (and locally shot) horror movie “Hallows Eve.”

The band’s music is even being included on a video game, which is tentatively scheduled for release in the summer of 2009 - and the song “Nightmares” is getting spun regularly on the daily “Out to Lunch” program on WKTG, 93.9 FM.

Landing a supporting spot with Warbringer means the Owensboro metal band will come to the attention of many potential fans. Combined with the appearance on “Underground Rising, Volume 3,” Factory Damage’s star is on the rise.

The band - vocalist Chris Hedges, guitarist Ed Young, bassist Jack Midkiff and drummer Scott Doughty - performs occasionally in Owensboro. But recording and preparing for the Oct. 21 show with Warbringer has taken up a lot of the band’s time lately.

“We haven’t recently done a lot of gigs, because we’re trying to get the record finished,” Young said. Warbringer has gained an international following through its Century Media release “War Without End.” Landing a spot with Warbringer was the result of Factory Damage’s inexhaustible work ethic. When not practicing or writing music, the band members are working to spread the word about themselves to the world outside their home town.

“That’s the biggest gig we’ll have done,” Young said.

Young managed to connect with Terry Harper, the promoter who books Louisville venues like Bulldog Cafe, Uncle Pleasants and Headliners Music Hall. Harper was impressed enough to give the band a choice spot with Warbringer.

“Persistence pays off,” Midkiff said.

Dark Sky Records, however, discovered Factory Damage themselves. “They said they ran across our MySpace page and really liked the song ‘Nightmares,’” Young said. “Apparently, ‘Nightmares’ has some popularity to it.”

While some record labels are more trustworthy than others, Factory Damage is getting a solid deal from Dark Sky. The band will receive royalties from “Underground Rising” sales, without having to give up rights to the song.

For the new album, which is still untitled, the band did part of the recording in Nashville. Producer Miles Fuqua mixed and mastered the album.

While thrash metal is certainly an inspiration, Factory Damage’s sound is not so easily categorized. “Nightmares,” for example, blends a stoner-doom metal groove with a Sabbath vibe and a sudden thrash metal attack. The broad musical palette shows the band is more than just the sum of its influences.

“The best way to classify our sound is a thrash hybrid,” Young said. “It has elements of thrash, but it has so many other elements.”

The band’s ability to build on thrash metal while creating their own sound will be evident on the new disc, Hedges said.

“None of the songs on the new album sound the same,” Hedges said.

“This album will appeal to everyone that likes metal,” Midkiff said.

Lyrically, the band doesn’t take the simple, or simplistic, road.

“A lot of the songs (on the album) are more political and war-driven,” Young said. “We never just wanted to sing about (sex). We want to do songs about real life.”

The band doesn’t have a release date for the new album as yet: They’re currently holding an album art contest, with the winning design gracing the cover of the new disc. Once the album is released, the band has made arrangements to have the disc reviewed by metal magazines such as Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles. The band also has an interview scheduled with Hard Rock Radio, a Web-based radio station.

The hope is to also get the album into area Best Buy stores, and to sell it on-line through “iTunes.” Eventually, the band wants to start playing out as much as possible, Midkiff said.

“We’re going to start within a 300 mile radius,” Midkiff said.

The band is interested in a record deal. But Young said the band members are satisfied with just making music.

“It would be nice to get signed, but if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen,” Young said.

Factory Damage will perform 7 p.m., Tuesday Oct. 21 with Warbringer, Blade of the Ripper, Red Eyed Lies and Snapped at Bulldog Cafe, 10619 West Manslick Rd. in Louisville. Tickets are $10. Tickets can be purchased from the band by e-mailing moofaster@hotmail.com. The band will also through in some Factory Damage swag from anyone who buys a ticket from them.

Tickets are also available at www.tickeweb.com.

For samples of the the band’s music, visit www.myspace.com/factorydamageband.

October 3, 2008
Categories: metalliblather . . Author: jmayse . Comments: No Comments

- www.omimetal.wordpress.com

For three and a half years front man Chris Hedges, guitarist Ed Young, drummer Scott Doughty and self-proclaimed bassist extraordinaire Jack Midkiff have been glued together by a mutual love for music and the bonds of camaraderie. As a result, Factory Damage has left a path of fiery destruction reaching from the familiar venues of Owensboro to the streets of Louisville where they jammed alongside Century Media’s premiere L.A. thrash band Warbringer last month at Bulldog Café.
According to Midkiff, metal fans want to see a live show with less theatrics and stage gimmicks and more passion and personality, “They want strong music and strong lyrics.” Coupling a stage presence that demands respect and a repertoire of original songs such as “Home of the Dead” that tackle important sociopolitical issues, there is no doubt that Factory Damage delivers a set that every metal fan can relate with.
Although their sound has arguably been classified as “stoner metal” given their subtle instrumental grooves, such a generalization is far too limiting and does little justice to the music which has definite thrash influences as well as the significant hard rock and metal undertones that their thriving fan base craves.
Drummer Scott Doughty feels that their sound is the result of many elements working together. For instance, guitarist Ed Young insists that some of his most profound inspiration comes from bands including Overkill, Testament, and Megadeth to name a few. For Midkiff—a Black Label fan—Judas Priest is responsible for his initial interest in playing music. Hedges feels his vocal style has been influenced by the likes of Alice Cooper and Black Sabbath. Doughty, on the other hand, has duly noted the evolution of drumming in newer metal bands such as Shadows Fall, Killswitch Engage, and Lamb of God. With such an eclectic collection of individual influences present throughout the body of their work, it is difficult to categorize Factory Damage in such a restrictive genre as stoner metal.
Despite their undeniable success which has culminated most recently with October’s Warbringer show and their inclusion on Dark Sky Record’s Underground Rising compilation which will be available internationally, online, and in local record stores throughout the tri-state, the band has overcome many obstacles in the last few years. Factory Damage is a living testament to the plight of original music in Owensboro’s local scene.
According to Hedges, many venues in towns like ours aren’t as open to the prospect of change as they should be. Rather than booking original bands that promise to deliver a show and bring in multitudes of patrons, most local venues favor cover bands that boast played out songs and tend to draw only mediocre crowds. Exceptions to this standard that embrace change such as Oscar’s on highway 54—one venue where the band hopes to play this month—tend to enjoy increased sales and patronage on the nights that original bands like Factory Damage and other local gigs such as Left With Scars command the stage.
Although securing live shows in the area is, perhaps, more difficult than it should be for talented original bands, Young is quick to point out that radio stations often follow suit with their airtime. Granted, Factory Damage does enjoy occasional play time on 93.9 KTG. However the lack of overall exposure is taxing on local bands and inherently stunts the growth of the region, as well. With such a daunting lack of publicity, Factory Damage relies heavily on word of mouth and Myspace—www.myspace.com/factorydamageband—to fuel their band’s momentum.
In addition to the apparent lack of commercial support, another challenging aspect of performing original music is writing original music. Although the politically minded band is never in short supply of inspiration, evolving with the times can prove difficult and has been the ruin of many great bands.
Midkiff and Young often struggle to maintain originality and appeal in a musical world where every chord has been played in nearly every progression imaginable. Conversely, Doughty has adopted the mindset of “If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it,” and feels that certain aspects of their sound will never require modification.
Despite adversity at the turn of virtually every corner, the band trudges onward. Young believes that embracing failure and staying the course are the keys to success for local original bands, “There is always a window of opportunity.”
And Factory Damage persistently searches for it.
- News 4 U - Ben Glenn