Don'tAskMeWhy
Jan 20th, 2004, 01:32 AM
from "Law of Inertia" magazine:
Defending Your Life….
Good Charlotte
They’ve been marked as the least punk “punk” band of our decade. Granted that hasn’t been very long, but we at “Law of Inertia” thought it was about time to give Good Charlotte a chance to defend themselves. Heart throb and guitarist Benji Madden goes head to head with Rebecca Swanner for your reading pleasure. You be the judge.
You’re going to be on tour till almost Christmas. What’s cool on your bus to keep you occupied?
-It’s got DVD players and stereos and TVs and we have TVs in our bunks.
What have you been watching?
-Michael Moore.
Bowling For Columbine?
-Yeah. And the one he did before that. Roger & Me. The Family Guy. Anything Jet Li.
Have you ever studied the martial arts?
-Yeah. I’m a black belt in Tae Kwan Do.
Wow. You could kick I disagree. Before you do, let’s get back to your roots. Living in DC, were you influenced by the DC hardcore scene?
-We definitely were a little bit. When you’re growing up around there that’s what all the older kids who listen to punk like. Musically I don’t know how much we were influenced by it because I think our music is a lot more melodic. A little more simple than Fugazi, a little more complex than Minor Threat. We were more into the new wave of punk, like Rancid, Green Day, Social Distortion.
You were in Rancid’s video for their single “Fall Back Down”. How’d that happen?
-I first met Tim [Armstrong] in the lobby of a hotel. I went up and gave him a demo. He called me the next day and said he liked [it]. Once we got signed we became friends with them over the years of going to shows and meeting them on the road. When it came time for them to do another video they were like, “Hey you want to come be in it,” and I was like “Yeah of course, I’d be honored.” On the next record you might hear Tim or even Lars’ voice on something. I don’t know if I can promise it yet, but it’s always been something we’ve wanted to do.
Do you have a Rancid tattoo?
-Yeah. Lars did a couple lyrics (“Journey To The End”) under it when we were on tour together.
That’s dedication. We read that Joel adores Morrissey-
-That’s his idol.
Is there anyone that’s your “guy”?
-Mike Ness [Social Distortion] has always been one for me. I started wearing eyeliner in high school because I saw “Another State Of Mind” and I thought he was the coolest. He was always lamenting. All of his lyrics are like hard times and gave me hope. He was so punk and I thought it was awesome.
How did you get into punk? Was it through your skateboarding?
-Some [of it was] through that and some through older kids. I was always treated badly by jocks [and] the thing that pissed them off the most was punk rock. Whether or not I was punk, I don’t know, but I sure believed it.
Do you still consider yourself a punk?
-Yeah. I mean, I have PUNX tattoos in 6-inch letters across my stomach and I guess a lot of people would say that just means you have PUNX tattooed across your stomach. To me, I’ll have that when I’m eighty. That’s something that’s there forever.
You and your two brothers have a tattoo of an Irish flag. Tell me, is it hard being a twin?
-I like it. I would hate it if I didn’t have my twin brother. It’s like a team.
I bet you tortured girls growing up, didn’t you?
-Not really. We never really had that many girls so there wasn’t much torturing going on except for us being tortured.
Right… how about now? Don’t teenage girls chase you everywhere?
-Well they’re all too young and girls that are my age just go, “Oh you’re in a band so you’re probably a scumbag.” It really hasn’t changed that much. [laughs] I’ve had my fair share of girls who have been nice and come up to me [but] I’m pretty shy. I don’t want to sound stupid or anything, but I always think they’re playing with me.
Speaking of being shy, is it true you all got into a fight at a Shai Hulud show?
-Well, not with Shai Hulud. They’re good guys. No comment. It’s all good though. My nose has never been broken. I didn’t raise a finger. How about that? [Laughs]
Was getting out of Waldorf, Maryland a major motivator for getting the band off the ground?
-It’s weird, I never thought of it like we’ve got to get out of Waldorf. I always thought of bigger than that. It was doing something with my life. Maybe getting some respect for something. But, who knows, I don’t even know if we have that. It was just what we loved. We didn’t really know how to do anything else.
Defending Your Life….
Good Charlotte
They’ve been marked as the least punk “punk” band of our decade. Granted that hasn’t been very long, but we at “Law of Inertia” thought it was about time to give Good Charlotte a chance to defend themselves. Heart throb and guitarist Benji Madden goes head to head with Rebecca Swanner for your reading pleasure. You be the judge.
You’re going to be on tour till almost Christmas. What’s cool on your bus to keep you occupied?
-It’s got DVD players and stereos and TVs and we have TVs in our bunks.
What have you been watching?
-Michael Moore.
Bowling For Columbine?
-Yeah. And the one he did before that. Roger & Me. The Family Guy. Anything Jet Li.
Have you ever studied the martial arts?
-Yeah. I’m a black belt in Tae Kwan Do.
Wow. You could kick I disagree. Before you do, let’s get back to your roots. Living in DC, were you influenced by the DC hardcore scene?
-We definitely were a little bit. When you’re growing up around there that’s what all the older kids who listen to punk like. Musically I don’t know how much we were influenced by it because I think our music is a lot more melodic. A little more simple than Fugazi, a little more complex than Minor Threat. We were more into the new wave of punk, like Rancid, Green Day, Social Distortion.
You were in Rancid’s video for their single “Fall Back Down”. How’d that happen?
-I first met Tim [Armstrong] in the lobby of a hotel. I went up and gave him a demo. He called me the next day and said he liked [it]. Once we got signed we became friends with them over the years of going to shows and meeting them on the road. When it came time for them to do another video they were like, “Hey you want to come be in it,” and I was like “Yeah of course, I’d be honored.” On the next record you might hear Tim or even Lars’ voice on something. I don’t know if I can promise it yet, but it’s always been something we’ve wanted to do.
Do you have a Rancid tattoo?
-Yeah. Lars did a couple lyrics (“Journey To The End”) under it when we were on tour together.
That’s dedication. We read that Joel adores Morrissey-
-That’s his idol.
Is there anyone that’s your “guy”?
-Mike Ness [Social Distortion] has always been one for me. I started wearing eyeliner in high school because I saw “Another State Of Mind” and I thought he was the coolest. He was always lamenting. All of his lyrics are like hard times and gave me hope. He was so punk and I thought it was awesome.
How did you get into punk? Was it through your skateboarding?
-Some [of it was] through that and some through older kids. I was always treated badly by jocks [and] the thing that pissed them off the most was punk rock. Whether or not I was punk, I don’t know, but I sure believed it.
Do you still consider yourself a punk?
-Yeah. I mean, I have PUNX tattoos in 6-inch letters across my stomach and I guess a lot of people would say that just means you have PUNX tattooed across your stomach. To me, I’ll have that when I’m eighty. That’s something that’s there forever.
You and your two brothers have a tattoo of an Irish flag. Tell me, is it hard being a twin?
-I like it. I would hate it if I didn’t have my twin brother. It’s like a team.
I bet you tortured girls growing up, didn’t you?
-Not really. We never really had that many girls so there wasn’t much torturing going on except for us being tortured.
Right… how about now? Don’t teenage girls chase you everywhere?
-Well they’re all too young and girls that are my age just go, “Oh you’re in a band so you’re probably a scumbag.” It really hasn’t changed that much. [laughs] I’ve had my fair share of girls who have been nice and come up to me [but] I’m pretty shy. I don’t want to sound stupid or anything, but I always think they’re playing with me.
Speaking of being shy, is it true you all got into a fight at a Shai Hulud show?
-Well, not with Shai Hulud. They’re good guys. No comment. It’s all good though. My nose has never been broken. I didn’t raise a finger. How about that? [Laughs]
Was getting out of Waldorf, Maryland a major motivator for getting the band off the ground?
-It’s weird, I never thought of it like we’ve got to get out of Waldorf. I always thought of bigger than that. It was doing something with my life. Maybe getting some respect for something. But, who knows, I don’t even know if we have that. It was just what we loved. We didn’t really know how to do anything else.