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Good Charlotte Say Anything

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WALDORFWORLDWIDE

The twin brothers that make up the core of Good Charlotte were born on March 11, 1979 in the "middle-of-nowhere-suburbs", Waldorf, Maryland. The brothers, Joel and Benji Madden were turned on to music by their older brother, Josh. Their influences started with bands like Rancid, Minor Threat, the Cure and the Smiths. Benji started learning to play the guitar at 16 while Joel developed his vocal talent.

GOOD CHARLOTTE

After their bassist, Paul guitarist Billy joined the twins, Good Charlotte took their name from a children's book and played their first gig in a neighbor's basement for an audience of 20. Benji recalls, "We only played our own song so we weren't good enough to learn anyone else's songs!"

GOOD CHARLOTTE, THE BOOK

That children's book they took their name from has a similar theme to what they have come to represent, it's about a young girl that gets picked on by other kids because she is different. These guys know what it is to be outcasts.

MOTIVATION PROCLAMATION

The brothers dedicated themselves to their music, although they had almost no money for equipment and no connections in the industry. They cut their first demo, wrote their own bio, and began mailing packages off to a list of record companies obtained from a magazine. "I wrote this letter saying, we're Good Charlotte and if you sign us now it will be a lot cheaper than if you wait!" recalls Benji. "Our ignorance was kind of a blessing. We couldn't be discouraged by knowing too much about how the business really works."

EAST COAST ANTHEM

When the twins graduated high school in 1997, their mom presented them with two open airline tickets to California as a graduation present. "Some of our favorite bands like Green Day had started out at this East Bay club called 924 Gilman Street. So when we graduated, that summer we made a pilgrimage to visit the club. We'd never even been on a plane before, but we have an aunt in Berkeley who let us crash with her." This gave the band a whole new kind of outlook when they returned home to the east coast.

THANK YOU MOM

While living in Annapolis, Maryland, the band won a local contest, and their song "Can't Go On" was included on a sample CD of local area talent. This helped them attract the attention of a manager, and Lit offered a supporting slot on a series of sold-out East Coast dates. "We had no money, no transportation, and no way to do the gigs. Our mom was living in like a shed on a neighbor's property, and the only thing she really owned was a mini-van. She said, you guys take the mini-van to play the shows and I'll catch rides or walk to work. That just shows you how she's been there for us the whole time." "Thank You Mom" is a hidden track on their first album, about a minute after the last listed song, "Change". The song is a rich acoustic tune and shows where these "I'm so punky" rockers' hearts really are.

MY BROTHER'S PLACE

Despite their spiked hair and pierced exterior, "Good Charlotte" is a poppy-slightly-emo-punk sound that is clearly distinct from the rest of their peers and the fans have taken notice. You'll most likely never mistake them for anyone else. Their recent hit album, "The Young and the Hopeless" is a prime example of their punkrock-independent attitude.

THE YOUNG AND HOPELESS

Honesty is the thread that runs through every song on The Young and Hopeless and binds Good Charlotte to their devoted fans. "I don't think we're better than any other band," says Benji, "although I do think we're more sincere, more real, than some of them. We want to be judged for what we're really doing, not put in a genre with a bunch of other bands with which we have nothing in common."

LIFESTYLES OF THE RICH AND THE FAMOUS

"We have a lot more to say than some of the bands we're compared with, and I hope people will hear it on this album. The kids that we were, five years ago just want to give those kids something to help them through the day." "Our goals right now as a band are to make the music we want to make, and give our fans what they have given us - positivity, dedication, loyalty, hope, truth, and a place to belong. we really just feel like the luckiest guys in the world, cause after all we just fans too."

- Joel Madden

Good Charlotte Say Anything

Good Charlotte is a pop rock band from Waldorf, Maryland that was formed in 1996 by Joel and Benji Madden. They took the name 'Good Charlotte' from a children's book: Good Charlotte: The Girls Of Good Day Orphanage by Carol Beach York. They have released 3 albums, most notably 2002's multiplatinum seller The Young and the Hopeless, which spawned the chart topping singles, "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous," "The Anthem," and "Girls and Boys." The band's third and most recent album is 2004's The Chronicles of Life and Death. The band is fronted by twin brothers Benji and Joel Madden. Other members of the band include their friends Billy Martin and Paul Thomas.

Biography

After attending a Beastie Boys concert at the age of 16, guitarist Benji and singer Joel decided to start their very own band, although Joel had never sung before, and Benji had never played guitar. They started Good Charlotte in 1996 when they recruited childhood friends Paul Thomas (bass) and Aaron Escolopio (drums). They soon moved to Annapolis, Maryland where they were introduced to Billy Martin by a friend.

After releasing an EP, entitled Another EP, in 1999, Good Charlotte released their first self-titled album in 2000, which was not a huge commercial success. Singles that were released from that album include "Little Things", "Motivation Proclamation," and "Festival Song".

Aaron was the drummer in their debut album, Good Charlotte, before leaving the band in early 2001 to join the band Wakefield with his brother, Ryan. He was replaced with Dusty, who was just a temporary drummer, who had left the band before the recording of their second album, The Young and the Hopeless. As a result, veteran professional studio drummer Josh Freese plays for that album.

2002's The Young and the Hopeless was much more popular and marked the band's emergence into mainstream music. The single that made them famous, titled "Lifestyles of the Rich and the Famous", topped charts around the globe. Singles that followed from that album included "The Anthem" ,"Girls and Boys", "Hold On" and "The Young and The Hopeless". The album received a 3x-platinum certification from the RIAA, landing the band on Saturday Night Live, the covers of Rolling Stone and Alternative Press, a two page feature in the New York Times, and spots on CNN and The Today Show. Good Charlotte were also hugely popular on MTV, where the Madden Brothers once served as hosts on the late night music video show "All Things Rock." Their music videos were favorites on both MTV and MTV2, with "The Anthem" going on to receive the "Viewers Choice Award" on MTV's 2003 Video Music Awards.

Chris Wilson was the band's drummer for their third album, The Chronicles of Life and Death, which was released in 2004. The singles released from that album include "Predictable", "I Just Wanna Live", "We Believe" and "The Chronicles of Life and Death". This album was considered a departure from their previous 2 albums. In May 2005, Chris left the band for personal health reasons. Benji also told Kerrang! magazine that Chris leaving the band was the worst part of 2005 for him.

Their most recent "Noise to the World Tour" with Simple Plan featured Dean Butterworth, who has previously played with Morrissey, as the band's current temporary drummer.

Style

Good Charlotte's hair and clothing styles are mostly derived from a variety of punk bands from the 80s and 90s. Some of these bands include: Agnostic Front, The Cure, MxPx, The Casualties, The Exploited, Rancid, Sex Pistols, Minor Threat, Social Distortion, NOFX, H2O, Anti-Flag, and Blink 182. Several of these bands are credited in Good Charlotte's early album notes.

Famous facts/trivia

Joel & Benji used to host the MTV show All Things Rock.

The band was featured in one episode of the MTV animated series Undergrads performing "The Click," which is the theme song for the show.

Good Charlotte has a cameo in Not Another Teen Movie as the band playing at the school prom.

Joel & Benji Madden helped write and produce 3 new songs on Hilary Duff's Most Wanted Hits.

Good Charlotte's fourth CD is expected to be in stores in mid to late 2006.

Ben Lee makes reference to the band in his song "Catch My Disease", with the line "They play Good Charlotte on the radio, and that's the way I like it." Similarily, the band are referenced in the Simple Plan song "Grow Up" with the line "GC, Sum & Blink and MXPX rocking my room"

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Both Chad Koch & Mar are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

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