Crimson Moon: How did the band get started?
Tzery: We first started as a cover band, like most of young people’s bands but over the years, we decided it would be best to start writing our own material. We had some urges let’s say, to express ourselves. And so we did. Some riffs or drum patterns or vocal lines do the trick for us and then we jam along and see what we can keep or store it for later.
Crimson Moon: What kind of music do you play?
Tzery: We play modern hard rock in it’s most generic aspect let’s say or at least that’s what we tell to everyone who asks us.
Crimson Moon: How has the fan response been?
Tzery: The fan response so far, has been amazing. We received multiple critics for our first and second album and to be honest, almost all of them are good. So this builds up our confidence even more.
Crimson Moon: Where did the band name come from?
Tzery: The name is an anagram of the old word ‘’gan-zi-gun-nu’’ which means ‘’The medicine that heals the mind’’. It’s a word that was used back in the ancient Assyrian medical practice. It’s quite interesting to be honest and music for us has always been the gateway to either relax or feel pumped. So it is a medicine metaphorically.
Crimson Moon: Introduce the band members.
Nick: Vocals
Thanassis: Lead Guitars
Dionysis: Rhythm Guitars
Manolis: Bass
Tzery (George): Drums
Crimson Moon: How many albums/CD’s have you released?
Tzery: Our first release was our first studio album titled ‘’Welcome to the Show’’, which we released back in February 2015.
Our latest release, is our second studio album titled ‘’Time is Now’’. We released it back in June 2020 but like the rest of the world, Covid hit us and hit us hard.
Crimson Moon: Tell me about some of the songs on the latest CD?
Tzery: At first were ‘’random songs’’ to be honest, just ideas pouring out of our heads however, during the recordings of the album, I think our producer told us that, that this is a great theme album. And also it is what almost everyone told us after it’s release. For example, the song ‘’Time Is Now’’, is for when you have that extra voice in your head that says, ‘’Stop sitting on your ass all day and do something’’. ‘’Insane’’ is for addictions in general, that put you through hard times and you feel like almost everything in the world kicks you at your lowest point. ‘’Jump in the Pit’’ is the ‘’I don’t care anymore about the others’’ feeling someone has, when you have found yourself and try to grab with both hands whatever good at this point, comes to you, that makes you feel great.
Crimson Moon: Who writes the music? Lyrics?
Tzery: We all write music and lyrics. Some guitar and bass riffs or some drum patterns here and there even some vocal lines, make a mix of what we then create and record. We all have a say on what is good for the each song and if someone is not happy about something, we always take it on a vote. We are 5, so it’s kind of easy.
Crimson Moon: And where do the lyric ideas come from?
Tzery: We would say from life itself. Not to be poetic or anything, but it’s true. From big events good or bad taking place in all of our lives, to the small moments or details someone is experiencing, from the moment they wake up till they fall asleep.
Crimson Moon: Has the Covid Pandemic impacted the band at all?
Tzery: Yes and it was almost fatal for the band. As I mentioned above, we released our second album ‘’Time Is Now’’ back in June 2020. We had plans to do a release party for the album, as it had first came out on the internet and we had some time to perform live, so we wanted it so bad and the people who enjoyed the album were asking us when we are going to play. So we prepared everything by ourselves, photographers, promoters, we even thought to set up somewhere in the club cameras, to film it. Then Covid came. So, we canceled our sold out release party (3 days prior to the event) and we stayed home with practically nothing. After a few more setbacks, the biggest one was our then singer could not continue due to health issues, and some long talks between us about the band’s future, we decided to continue.
Crimson Moon: Do you have any side projects?
Tzery: We have some other bands playing here and there, some jams or a big event that we play as a guest for a song or two, but nothing gets in the way of the band.
Crimson Moon: What is the music scene like where you guys are from?
Tzery: We are based in Athens, Greece. Metal / Rock scene here is very good. We have some great bands that are already make tours around Europe and some around the world. Also smaller bands, at least the last few years, are being more supportive on other smaller bands like themselves, which is very good for everybody, especially in a country that does not have Metal and/or Rock as it’s primary music.
Crimson Moon: Who are some of your musical influences?
Tzery: That is a question for 3 pages long answer, as there are way too many. But I’m going to name a few. Metallica, Guns n’ Roses, Black Stone Cherry, Godsmack, Nickelback, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Overkill, Motorhead, Shinedown, Breaking Benjamin, Megadeth and I am going to stop here.
Crimson Moon: What is the band like when you play live?
Tzery: As energetic as it can be. We love playing live. We love the feeling of it, the faces we make to each other, the vibe, the mistakes we might do, the moment. Whenever we get asked, studio or live, it’s always live. And to top it all, the best feeling is the crowd’s applause. To hear a sound from 20 or 50 or 200 people that says ‘’What you did, was awesome.’’, is the best feeling ever.
Crimson Moon: Have you guys ever played in another country?
Tzery: Not yet I’m afraid. But we really really want to and given the chance, we will definitely go out and play. Either on a festival or even plan a small tour for us.
Crimson Moon: Do you do anything special warm-ups you do before you play live?
Tzery: I wouldn’t say special, but we are warming up good. We stretch, we do our warm up routines, sometimes singing songs and we say to each other to play good and we wish to ourselves to have a good live.
Crimson Moon: What made you want to be in this band?
Tzery: For me personally when I first joined the band in 2016, it was the consistency on what the guys were doing. And that is still very much active today. Consistency. We always talk with each other about the band’s content, either for songs or how we can continue progressing and be better. There is a mutual respect for our daily lives and jobs and when we meet for the band, it’s for the band.
Crimson Moon: If you weren’t in this band would you still be involved in the music industry?
Tzery: For sure. I love playing drums, I love playing live and I love listening to music. I would probably be in another band or I would already be a drum teacher.
Crimson Moon: As a musician what advice can you give to fellow musicians just starting out?
Tzery: Never back down. Keep writing songs or come up with ideas even when they sound stupid and find other people who share the same love for music as you. Whenever you feel disappointed, we get it. We’ve been there and we will be there in the future for sure. But never stop expressing yourself no matter what you do. Because in the end, your songs are your children. And you got to love your children right? No matter what.
Crimson Moon: What does the future hold for the band?
Tzery: Since it’s not been that long we resurfaced from a three year hiatus, due to Covid and our former singer leaving the band due to health issues, first thing is do as many rehearsals as we can, since we also now have a new singer. We need to be ready, as on May 26th in ‘’An Club’’ in Athens, we’ll be celebrating 20 years for the ‘’Made In Hell’’ studios, which is also the studio we rehearse and record our albums. After that, we have the honor of playing in the ‘’Rockwave Festival’’ on July 9th , which is one of the biggest stages in Greece. Apart from those 2, we are looking to do some more shows in Greece, but nothing is sure yet.
Contact them at:
https://www.facebook.com/ganzigun
https://www.instagram.com/ganzi_gun
https://www.youtube.com/@ganzigun4643
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0mMKcKrDii9ldVAyzLmU4t?si=JeAYMdAbR0WKbJhg0z9YdA&nd=1
ganzigunband@hotmail.com
