For a while I want to have one of the great German Thrash bands on our blog. Before deciding, I was thinking "Sodom, Kreator, Destruction, Tankard ... which of these bands I listened steadily this year, or nearly constant? Tankard". Yes, during most part of the year I was listening to their old records again and again. So I asked them for an interview, the boys agreed, and here are the results. In principle it would be make it by Gerre (singer) who would answer the questions. At the last moment was Olaf (drummer), who left us answers very, very interesting, besides being a really cool guy.
Puro Ruido: Hello Gerre! First of all, thank you for accepting the interview. How are things over there?
Olaf: Hi Manel! Sorry but Gerre is too busy to get this done without a big delay and you will know the reason if you go straight down to point 13.
Olaf here- the drummer from the bunch of clowns and I try to do this well but some
questions might be difficult to answer for me. Specially about the very early days of the Band...
PR: Is ending another year in the life of the group, and are 31 years kicking ass! What conclusions can you to make this year?
O: We’re about to pass a very successful year with lots of great shows around the world
And we’ve met a lot of loyal fans and friends out there on the road and if I think back I just can guess that no one of us has expected that this train is still rolling after such a long time.
PR: In January this year you played for the first time in Argentina, but it was not the band's first visit to South America. The first time was in 2007, and played in Chile and Brazil, right? What feelings have been on both tours in South America? Have a good time in Argentina?
O: The first time we went to South America was very special cause we didn't know what we had to expect from the situation. It was a little chaos all the time and it starts at the check in desk at Frankfurt Airport but we didn't realize it at this time. We had two different types of tickets and for that reason we missed our connection flight from Sao Paolo to Santiago. After little discussion with some Airliners we made it to Santiago! Without luggage!! No Instruments!!! Nothing!!!! And we've needed a full week to get all the stuff back. We had to change planes every day in Sao Paolo and always picked some of our bags at the lost and found office. The last missing Item arrived after the last Show in Brazil and we happily traveled back home full equipped. One Show in Cascavel was canceled cause the airline was bankrupt and we didn't had a chance to get there in time. So we used the day off in SP to move to the airport again to find some missing Items like Guitars and stuff... Another strange thing that I remember was the Show in Santiago when we had a Hotel just across the street to the club where we had to play the first show in South America. 4 lanes of cars up hill and 4 lanes of cars downhill and no chance to cross the street by foot. We had to use a car driving half a mile down and do a U turn to get in there...
Argentina this year was also very strange for us. It was so hot on stage that we just could drink some water during the show which is absolutely unusual for us. Later that night I was in a Bar close to our Hotel for some real drinks and had a really god time there. I moved to bed at 4:28 in the morning and the wake up call was at 4:50 to catch the flight back to Brazil. Not much sleep but I enjoyed every minute with my friends in Argentina. We also had a day without playing a show on this Tour cause the last one in Bogota was canceled for some reasons I don't really know. But we had to move to Colombia cause our flights back home to Frankfurt were booked from there. Once again we've met a couple of really nice people witch made us a really great stay at Bogota...
I could tell you many many more about these trips but for sure I tell you that if you like that strange things will happen you just have to travel....
PR: Let's make a little history. Why did Gerre decide to leave the bass to Frank (who in the early days was the singer) and become the lead singer of Tankard?
O: Gerre didn’t like to go to the Bass guitar lessons alone so Frank joined him. After a few hours they realized that Gerre has no talent for that and that’s the story.
PR: Usually thought to Tankard is a fun group, which is only Thrash and Beer, and vice versa. But you have always had a serious side, especially in some lyrics. Has Tankard both of fun and of seriousness?
O: Sure we have also a serious matter in doing this but we don’t take our self too serious at all and if you really think about it you will agree that we are the most serious Metal Band in the world. We are true! We don't sacrifice virgins frequently we don't fight against Dragons or other animals we never ever run through the woods with sword and stuff like that in our hands. Our skills in magic are also not on a high level but we like to party a lot like all the other Metalbands do. But once we are on stage we also feel free to do some serious stuff. Maybe we are funny but we are not stupid and we see what's going on all around the world.
PR: Speaking of fun, there's a very funny story, and I wonder if it's true or if it is a myth. In the late 90s you played in the Czech Republic, at a festival. There were two scenarios, and Frank jumped into the audience, but was returned to another scenario hahaha. Is that true? I guess in many years of career, have experienced all sorts of crazy experiences, rare, and some dangerous (like what happened in Yugoslavia, when your car was stoned)
O: Yes this is a true story that Frank entered the wrong stage after he tries to return to us but what I don't like to tell you is that I had 18 cans of Czech Beers before the show and
no one has complained after we finished and so we had another 5 or something like that...
If you like to jump across borders you have to travel....
PR: You were there when history of Thrash was beginning. In fact, you were pioneers in German thrasher scene. At that precise moment, you were aware of what was happening? You perceived that something big was brewing?
O: Sadly this is like sitting in a red VW Golf car. “If you sit inside you can't see it”
But at these days we've seen so many different styles of Metal and nobody could know that this will now called historic. We will continue cause we like what we do and maybe this is the point. We don't see it like a business or a job. We are far away to pay our bills with running the Band and playing 150 shows a year. There is no need for it. We do about 30 and it feels great to have some weekends without the Band but after 2 weeks off we are always happy to meet again and push our butts in the Van to move to the next show.
PR: The Tankard's second demo is called "Alcoholic Metal". Why did you choose to put this title to the demo? It was only a funny title, or was also a reaction in opposition to something? I mean, in those days, part of the music of Heavy metal that existed, it was serious enough, there were no many bands with the sense of Tankard's humor, everything opposite!
O: At this time we the Metalworld was full of things like that. Death Metal, Black Metal, Speed Metal, and after Sodom came up with Witching Metal the time was right for something new and that was Alcoholic Metal!
PR: Tankard is basically a metal band. But I always found influences of 80s Hardcore. Am I correct in this assessment? I do not want to say that Tankard should be a group of Hardcore Metal, but Tankard is not only Metal for me, that there is anything more in the music of the group that gives an incredible freshness to the music of the band.
O: As you look back in the late 80' when Metal becomes harder and harder there where a few Hardcore Bands pretty well accepted in the Metal Scene and specially me was impressed by these kind of music. Unfortunately I wasn't in the Band in these days so I can't answer that question...
PR: You are fans of the Eintracht Frankfurt, club for which you made a song, certainly? In what context did this song, did it be for some motive especially?
O: We recorded this Song for the 100 anniversary of the club in 1999 and since these days they still play it on every home game. In 2006 we performed it at the Cup Final against Bayern Munich in Berlin to support the bunch of fans in the Eintracht corner.
The funny thing in this is that I am the one in the Band who doesn’t care much about this kind of game....
PR: Have thought of re-activate Tankwart? Or is it something that was fun in a particular time and nothing else?
O: We actually don’t have plans to reactivate Tankwart but never say never...
PR: Recorded the Big Teutonic 4, together with Kreator, Sodom and Destruction. And played together in the Beastival. How good was reception of people to this event so special for fans of Thrash?
O: The people loved it and had some kind of euphoria but at the end of the day it was like always: “A Kreator Show with a bunch of support Bands”
PR: Ok, the last question. What's next in the life of Tankard? Any plans for 2014?
O: We just started with song writing for the new album and we enter the studio at the end of January. Lot of work to do but we love it. So sorry again that Gerre couldn’t answer to you this time.
PR: Man, thank you very much for taking some of your time to answer my questions. If you want to add something, do it freely. Cheers!
O: Hola amigas y amigos. Watch out for our new release somewhere in summer 2014 adios.. and cheers...Olaf
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