Matthias Röhr

Matthias Röhr
Also known as	Gonzo Matt Roehr
Born	April 16, 1962 (1962-04-16) (age 49) Frankfurt
Genres	Hard rock
Years active	1980-present
Labels	Rule23 Recordings
Website	GonzoMusic
Notable instruments
Tausch Dragonfly Gibson EDS-1275 Gibson Flying V

Matthias "Gonzo" Röhr (born 16 April 1962 in Frankfurt) was the guitarist of the rock-band Böhse Onkelz from 1981 to 2005. His stage name Gonzo derives from Double live Gonzo, an album of Ted Nugent. Since the split of the Böhse Onkelz he is known as Matt Roehr.

Youth

Röhr grew up in the area of Frankfurt in a strictly Catholic family. The four Röhr brothers and sisters rarely saw their father due to his work schedule in a grocery store and later in his own kiosk in Frankfurt. Röhr's family moved often within the Frankfurt area.

Musical career

Röhr begun playing the guitar at age twelve. Despite his strict education and his youth, Röhr discovered what was important in his life. The repetitive church visits and the ministers, who always tried to make him a better man, weren't parts of the life he wanted; but the music was. He and his friends pooled their money together to pay for guitar lessons. After a few weeks he quit the lessons, because he wanted to play "real" music and not folk-music or endless scales. Soon after, Röhr sold his guitar, bought an electric bass and joined a school band. When he entered the Frankfurt punk scene in 1980, he had already played in several bands. In 1981, he joined the Böhse Onkelz as the bass player. After the first album, Soundtrack zum Untergang 2, he switched to guitar and played it until the band split in 2005.

In August 2006 he played the guitar for Rose Tattoo at the Wacken Open Air for the deceased Peter Wells.

In April 2007 Matt started the recordings for his first solo album “BARRA DA TIJUCA”, which took him four months through studios in Brazil (Rio de Janeiro) and the U.S. (Miami, New York). He joined forces with legendary rock singer Charlie Huhn (Ted Nugent, Humble Pie, Gary Moore, Foghat) and Brazilian and German top musicians. The album was released in Europe in October 2007 by GonzomusicRecordingCo (GRC). In 2010 Röhr released his second studio album "Out of the great depression".

Guitars

Röhr uses the guitars from Gibson (EDS-1275 Doubleneck, Flying V, Les Paul, SG), Fender (Stratocaster), Guild (SG Custom) and Tausch Dragonfly (665 S, Dragonfly).

Books

"Meine letzten 48 Stunden mit den Böhsen Onkelz", Matthias Röhr, ISBN 3-931624-36-6

Discography

for the Böhse Onkelz albums see Böhse Onkelz discography

• 2007: Barra da Tijuca
• 2008: UHAD2BTHERE! Live
• 2010: Out of the Great Depression
• 2011: Blitz & Donner

External links

• Official Homepage of Matthias Röhr
• Official Homepage of the Böhse Onkelz

Persondata
Name	Rohr, Matthias
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	16 April 1962
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death