The Factory

There were so many great local bands from the 80's that most of the country never got to hear since they just never made it national. The Factory is apparently one of those bands. Never heard of them? Well, neither had I and that's a real shame. If you read the liner notes, you'll get the story of how this band from the 80's is just now finally being released. These are the original recordings from 1985 and 1986, which have finally been mastered and released 24-25 years later!

The Factory has a really wonderful sound with a pure heavy rock and roll beat complimented by a saxophone! That added sax played by Bill Massey gives them quite a unique sound, one very reminiscent of The Rolling Stones, but mostly they remind me of LA Guns for some reason. I think that it is the sound of singer Vance Bockis's voice, combined with the music that makes me think so much of LA Guns. Backing him vocally and also playing guitar are Robbie Limon and Bruce Katsu. Scott Sartorius is the bassist and Mark Kermanj controls the drum beautifully.

The Factory's self-titled CD contains 10 songs, all of which are wonderful. The CD starts out with a very hard hitting punk-like song called "Self-Submission," which just sets the tone for the music to come. They slow it down some with "Where The People All Gone Too," but then speed it right back up again. The tempo of this album is a rollercoaster ride continually slowing down and then kicking you away again. Personally, I love this mixture as it keeps you going, but also gives you a bit of time to slow down every now and then. They were recorded in three different sessions at three different studios in Virginia and Maryland in about a year's time. So these guys basically recorded what they could when and where they could and played a lot of live shows while doing so. I really wish I'd had the opportunity to catch one of these shows as I bet it was so awesome to see live!

Fair warning, The Factory's music will get stuck in your head. It is simply addictive. Each morning, I wake up now with a different song in my head. This morning, it was the slower melodic piece "Where The People All Gone To." Yesterday I had the faster, almost punk sounding, "Self-Submission" stuck in my head all day. But this is a very good thing. Their music is so very catchy that I really wish I knew that there would be more coming one day. Their sound is so infectious that you just crave more of it the more you listen to it. I can understand why Rick Ballard held onto the cassette for so many years and never let it get lost. A band like this deserves to be heard!