First of all, thanks to you Gerre and Tankard to take some of your time to answer this interview and speak about the long career of Tankard that I hope lasts longer, than a day without beer appears.

After 23 years of career, what do you think of the evolution of Tankard and of its career, does current Tankard look like the Vortex and Avenger of yesterday?
No, it does really look like the beginning days, we are now 23 years older an much more fat.We just began with the band because of fun and never thought to reach something by making a lot of noise! But the spirit is still the same, we have fun to play that kind of music and that is the most important thing concerning tankard.

Between very fast and punk albums as Chemical Invasion or B Day, more melodic and dark albums as Iron Faced, delirious album as Disco Destroyer which reminds us Tankwart, it sounds like there was several Tankard. Is Tankard multi-facetted ?
I think tankard was always thrash, of course with different faces, especially the album the tankard was a bit more melodic. Tankwart was a funproject covering old german songs in punkrockstyle. But tankard always was 100% thrash!!!!!!

Tankard knew relatively few changes of line up. What motivated these rare changes and do you keep in touch with certain members? Is Tankard a sort of family around the core Gerre / Frank whom it is hard to integrate or to leave?
Now our line up is ready since 1998, that means more than 7 years until today!!!! Tankard is really like a little family, it´s great that I´m together with frank from the very first beginning. All line up changes in farmer times were based on personal reasons, only our old drummer arnulf we had to kick out. I hope that this will be the line up to the very end...so the next 23 years we will keep on going like this!!!!!

What did alter the change from two guitars to one ?
As axel left the band in 1994 we decided to go one with four members, because we thought not to find another person who fits to us. Since these days we never thought to try it again with a second guitar player!

Today, the time between two albums is about 2 years (what stays little) when it was only 1 year at the beginning of your career. Take you yourselves more time for the creation or your job and gigs limit the time of composition and recording?
As everybody in the band has a regular job we are not able to release so much and play a lot of tours. But we spend all our free time into the music!

How takes place the composition of a song of Tankard and its lyrics?
First of all somebody has an idea for different parts, then we gonna work it out together and try to find some melody lines for the vocals. After that we try to find an idea what the song should be out and ask some friends to help us writing the lyrics!

On your albums, notably for the writing of the lyrics, we see Mike Kipper's names and Kitti Pohl as well as the names of ex-members. Which roles play these persons for Tankard and is there other people supporting you actively behind the scene?
These are persons who helped us with the lyrics, Mike Kippness is an American friend of us and kitty Pohl was my former girlfriend. Our old guitar player Andy Bulgaropulos helped us with the lyrics for the last two albums too.

Who is Bomber Schmeisser than you immortalize on Kings of Beer and then B Day, will he become a recurring person in the same way as the alien?
He is a good friend of mine, we played together football over 20 years ago, no he´s got a little bit fat!!!!!!!

Few thrash bands crossed with integrity the middle of the 90s, are you proud to be one of those there and did change the return of the old good thrash success anything in Tankard?
Not it really didn`t change something, except the people are a little bit more interested in the band now, because thrash is more popular. But we are proud never changing the style. we are still really into thrash and I can`t see to leave this way

Did you think one day of abandoning or of modifying Tankard, notably in the middle of the 90s when the thrash was not more fashionable?
No, not really. We were always into that kind of metal. Before we do the songriting we really don`t think over how it has to sound. The songs come straight from the heart.

Why did you create Tankwart, felt you not free to go as far as you wished it with Tankard in spite of cover like "Centerfold" or "Ich Brauch Meinen Suff"?
We had the idea long before releasing the first tankwart. We just wanted to cover old German songs in punkrock style, but now the project is over. We prefer to play our own stuff!!!

Why do you sing in English and not in German?
Because it wouldn`t fit to that kind of music to my opinion! And of course we want to be international rockstars...

How important are the gigs for the group?
More important than studio work. First of all tankard is a funband and this everybody can see live on stage!

What is your best and your worst souvenir of gig or recording? What about your first gig in the "other" Germany after the fall of the Berlin´s wall ?
that was very exciting, one of the best gigs was rock hard open air in 1990, the whole day it was raining except the 60 minutes tankard played...hahahaha, the first Japan tour in 99 was great!!!!!! Sorry but the worst things I forgot I´m really too drunk to remember

Is it sometimes difficult for you to juggle between the job, the family, the gigs and the beer. What are your priorities?
Music, beer, football!!!! But I can only speak for me

Would you like to reach a level allowing you make your living with Tankard or do you think that the current situation lets you more freedom and guarantees the conservation of your spirit?
The situation we have now is perfect, we don´t have to live from the music, so we can do what we want and don´t have any pressure!

What become your ideological fights begun in "Open all night" and "Chemical Invasion"?
We won it both!!!!!!

More seriously, in spite of the fact that Tankard´s Lyrics are supposed to be for just ironic and funny and without big message, we perceive with certain songs as "Days of the Gun" or "Nation over Nation" that Tankard has too some messages to make pass, Do I make a mistake?
We always try to do a good mixture of funny and serious lyrics. Of course we are first of all a funband, but we always want to have some serious lyrics, because life is not only fun!!!!!!!!

By way of wink to the public having come see you in the killer fest, what is happened to Andy who arrived by bleeding on stage? (Struggle for the last beer?)
He is really a crazy guy, he hurt hishelf with his own guitar, I guess he had too much beer hahahahaha...

Is Tankard already working on a next album?
We are supposed to go to the studio in january, the next days we gonna start to write some new material!!!

Do you think of becoming one day Stone Cold Sober?
I just was once stone cold sober, in 1992, please never again!!!!

A last word for French public?
Thanx a lot for your great support, we really hope to come back soon to party again with you crazy metalheads!!!!!!!!!