Interview for DEATHTHRASHER MAGAZINE by ARMANDO MUTILATOR : 

DT: Did you ever play under the name of TANKARD? of did you use any other before? ... if so why the name TANKARD? Who take the word "TANKARD" for the name of the band?.
Gerre : First our names were vortex and avenger, then we found the name TANKARD in a dictionary and we thought this name really fits into our music!!!! I think it was FRANK our bass player and AXEL, our farmer guitar player who found the name!

DT: Your current line - up?.
Gerre : FRANK THORWARTH: bass, OLAF ZISSEL: drums, ANDY GUTJAHR: guitar, GERRE (that's me): vocals

DT: Do you like 70's Progressive Rock bands?.
Gerre : No, not really, I was grown up with the NEW WAVE OF BRITISH HEAVY METAL in the beginning of the eighties.

DT: What topics do you consider in your lyrics? .
Gerre : Love, peace and alcohol hahaha......as we don't take ourselves too seriously, we are more a fun band, so we have a lot of funny lyrics too! We always try to create a good mixture of fun and serious stuff!!!!

DT: Tell me about your "HEAVY METAL VANGUARD" (Demo 1984).
Gerre : It was the first recording, very bad sound and slow songs. To listen to it
nowadays it is very funny! We didn't get a record contract with that Demo, what a wonder?????????? Haha..........

DT: What do you think about PSYCHO (The Movie)?.
Gerre : Not bad, but I'm not really into movies, I prefer to listen to good music during a couple of beers.

DT: Do you like Soccer?.
Gerre : Yes of course, my favourite team is EINTRACHT FRANKFURT, I watch as much games as possible, also away games. This season it will be very hard to stay in the First Divison, but we will reach it!!!!!!

DT: Are you into Cannabis?.
Gerre : No!

DT: Your fave bands?.
Gerre : OVERKILL, ANVIL, EXCITER, EXODUS, IN FLAMES, KREATOR, ANTHRAX, ..............................

DT: Are you satisifed with "ALCOHOLIC METAL" (Demo '85)?.
Gerre : Not really, but it was much better than the first Demo and we got a record contract with that it.

DT : Do you like TED BUNDY (The Movie)?.
Gerre : What????????????????????????????????????? I´m too drunk to remember if I had watch this.........

DT: Tell us about your "ZOMBIE ATTACK", is your best gem?.
Gerre : Ok, it was our first one, and I'm still really into it. I was very proud to held my first own record in my hands!!!!! I think you really can hear some Punk influences, a very catchy album. 

DT: Do you like Gore Movies?.
Gerre : No, I just watch soccer on TV, I don't go very often to the cinema.

DT: Do you like VENOM?.
Gerre : Yes of course, once I slept at TONIS (ABBADONs) place, I guess I was 16 or 17 years old, and we visited VENOM in New Castle, England, hahaha.......that was a lot of fun!!!! Their first three albums are fucking brilliant, also the last one (resurrection) is quite cool.

DT: CHRIS BARNES OR CORPSE GRINDER, BON SCOTT OR BRIAN JOHNSON, ROB HALFORD OR RIPPER OWENS, BRETT HOFFMANN OR JASON BLACHOWICZ?
Gerre : EXPORT or LAGER BEER?????

DT: Your musical productions? (include rehearsals, demos, etc), and your best productions?.
Gerre : 
1984 HEAVY METAL VANGUARD (DEMO)
1985 ALCOHOLIC METAL (DEMO)
1986 ZOMBIE ATTACK
1987 CHEMICAL INVASION
1988 THE MORNING AFTER
1989 ALIEN (MINI-LP)
1989 HAIR OF THE DOG (BEST OF)
1990 THE MEANING OF LIFE
1990 OPEN ALL NIGHT (LIVE VIDEO)
1991 FAT, UGLY AND LIVE (LIVE ALBUM)
1992 STONE COLD SOBER
1993 TWO-FACED
1994 AUFGETANKT (TANKWART)
1995 THE TANKARD
1996 HIMBEERGEIST ZUM FRÜHSTÜCK (TANKWART)
1998 DISCO DESTROYER
2000 KINGS OF BEER
2002 B-DAY
2004 BEAST OF BOURBON

it's on you which one you prefer, the meaning of life album was the biggest seller! My favourites are ZOMBIE ATTACK, STONE COLD SOBER, THE TANKARD and B-DAY!

DT: What do you think about Occultism, Satanism and Black Magic?.
Gerre : Nothing, it is the same bullshit like Religion!!!

DT: Do you like STRYPER?.
Gerre : I don't care, we throw beer instead of Bibles................

DT: Are you into Serial Killers? ... What do you think about HENRY LEE LUCAS, RICHARD RAMIREZ, CHARLES MANSON and JOHN WAYNE GACY?.
Gerre : No, thanx, I'm a serial drinker...........

DT: What do you thing about H.R. GIGER's art? .
Gerre : I'm into Metal, not into Art, sorry!!!!

DT: Do you like KISS?.
Gerre : Big kisses from big blond women, yes of course!!!!!!!!

DT: Tell me about the classic Gem "CHEMICAL INVASION"
Gerre : This album was our break through in Germany and Europe, we sold over 30000 copies. This was the first time SEBASTIAN KRÜGER did our artwork for an album, great!!!

DT: Do you like American PIT BULLS, are you into Dog Fights?.
Gerre : Honestly, I really don't like any dogs, they have to fuck off!!!

DT: Which was the best audience you ever play for?.
Gerre : Greece, Turkey and East Germany (at the time it exist)! 

DT: Do you know BORIS VALLEJO's Art?.
Gerre : Sorry, idon´t know!!!!

DT: Your 10 Best Albums for all the times?.
Gerre : 
EXCITER: Heavy Metal Maniac
EXODUS: Bonded By Blood
ANVIL: Metal On Metal
JAG PANZER: Mechanized Warfare
OVERKILL: Years Of Decay
VENOM: welcome to hell
METALLICA: Kill em All
IN FLAMES: Reroute To Remain
RIOT: Fire Down Under
OMEN: Battle Cry

DT: Do you like the Old Heavy Metal?.
Gerre : Yes of course, I was grown up with all that stuff in the early eighties, I love it!!!

DT: Tell us about your "THE MORNING AFTER".
Gerre : Very hard to get up in the early morning when you did drink too much...........................................

DT: Do you know Peruvian Magazines?.
Gerre : Sorry, I don't know, can you send me some stuff??????

DT: Do you like AC/DC?.
Gerre : Yes, the old stuff of course. The IF YOU WANT BLOOD album from 1978 was my very first hard album!

DT: What do you think about ADOLFO CHUIMAN "EL REY DEL RECURSEO"?.
Gerre : ????????????????? Please help me, who is this guy?????

DT: Tell me about "ALIEN" (Mini LP).
Gerre : We brought it out in 1989 to get on tour, because we were not able to do this after the morning after release. I really like the song 666 packs.

DT: Tell me about your "HAIR OF THE DOG".
Gerre : First it was only for the English market, that the fans learn to know TANKARD. But the cover was so brilliant, that the album came out in whole Europe!!!! I think this is the best tankard cover ever!!!

DT: Do you like Swedish Death Metal?.
Gerre : Not really, I'm more into Thrash and Speed!

DT: Tell me about "THE MEANING OF LIFE".
Gerre : Our most successful album, that was the best time for TANKARD. We still play dancing on our grave and space beer live!!!

DT: What do you think about JUDAS PRIEST - "THE REMASTERS"?.
Gerre : Looking forward for the next album, I hope it will be the killer!!!

DT: Tell us about your "OPEN ALL NIGHT" (Live - Video).
Gerre : We recorded it in East Germany at a Festival with KREATOR, SABBAT and CORONER. It was a concert in front of 6000 people, fucking great!!! The Festival took place 4 months after the wall came down!

DT: REV. JIM JONES was your idol?.
Gerre : No, my idol is UWE BINDEWALD, the best football player of my favourite team EINTRACHT FRANKFURT!!!!

DT: Are you crazy for Cocaine?.
Gerre : No, thanx!!!! We are beer drinkers, nothing else!!!

DT: "FAT, UGLY AND LIVE" is available?
Gerre : I don´t know really, because our old Record Company doesn't want to Re release our old stuff, so it's very hard to find them!!!

DT: Tell me about "STONE COLD SOBER"
Gerre : Very cool album, I like it very much!!!!

DT: What do you think about IRON MAIDEN's "ROCK IN RIO" (dvd)?
Gerre : Great!!!!!

DT: Tell me about "TWO - FACED".
Gerre : The last album of our drummer ARNULF, we had to kick him out, because he was really to difficult to handle!!!! Cool album, what else to say??? I think two-facd and nation over nation are the best songs on this album!!!

DT: Do yo like DISCOVERY CHANNEL?
Gerre : No, sorry, I just watch football!!!!

DT: Do you remember SHOKO ASAHARA & DAN MOROBOSHI?.
Gerre : No, I'm too delirious to remember!!!

DT: SPIDERMAN or HULK?.
Gerre : SPIDERMAN jes, but I wasn't a big fan of him!!!

DT: Tell us about your "TANKWART - Aufgetankt", are you satisfied with this creation?.
Gerre : We covered some Old German songs from the eighties in Punk Rock style, we had the idea for that a long time before. 

DT: What do you think about ACCEPT? Do you know UDO?.
Gerre : I don't know him personally, but I really loved their old stuff!!!!

DT: Tell me about "THE TANKARD".
Gerre : The most "melodic" TANKARD album, very hard working with the vocals. I really like it although the cover is fuckin bullshit. But I think the fans didn't like it very much, it is too soft for them.

DT: Tell us about "TANKWART - Himbeergeist zum Frühstück"
Gerre : 1996 we brought out a second one called HIMBEERGEIST ZUM FRÜHSTÜCK, there we covered some old German songs from the seventies. But now we prefer to play our own stuff, so there will be no more TANKWART album, I guess.

DT: Do you prefer "DISCO DESTROYER" or "KINGS OF BEER".
Gerre : Diso destroxer, the sound of kings of beer isn't that good!
 
 

DT: Your fave beer?.
Gerre : BINDING RÖMER PILS from our hometown city Frankfurt!

DT: Tell me about your last production "B-DAY" (2002).
Gerre : We worked for the very first time wit ANDY CLASSEN as a Producer, he did a great sound and we a good album, I really love it!!!!

DT: Do you like JACK DANIELS?.
Gerre : Sometimes, but what a headache the next morning!!!!!

DT: Your last comment for DEATHTHRASHER Readers... where can they find your stuff?.
Gerre : We wanna great all the Thrashers in Peru, we really would love to come to South America to Thrash and party with you!!! Keep on banging!!! Cheers
Gerre