Good Charlotte Band Facts
Twin
brothers Benji and Joel grew up in a lower middle-class family in the town of
Waldorf, Maryland-"the middle-of-nowhere suburbs," says Benji.
"Ours was definitely a dysfunctional family situation," he admits,
"but luckily me and Joel always had each other. When things started to fall
apart, we just got into music." Inspired by a Beastie boys concert, Benji
began teaching himself guitar at 16; Joel gravitated towards lead vocals.
"Right away, Joel and I started thinking up songs," Benji recalls.
"We'd go straight to our room after school, singing and playing for hours
every day."
After Paul joined, the band decided to name themselves Good Charlotte after the
book Charlotte’s Web, and played their first gig in a neighbor's basement for
an audience of 20 soon after. They also began making their first demo and
mailing it to different record labels. "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."
Benji and Joel graduated high school in June 1997, and for a graduation present
the twins' mother presented them with a pair of open airline tickets to
California. "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."
The brothers returned to Maryland, newly inspired and more determined than ever.
They left home and moved to Annapolis, played many more shows both electric and
acoustic, and worked "all kinds of shitty jobs-I've had over 30 of
them," says Benji. "It was a struggling time in our lives, but it was
also a great time. It's good to be hungry sometimes."
When Billy joined on second guitar, Good Charlotte was complete. 'My Brother's Place' would often be packed with GC fans who would clear
out before the headlining band played leaving 12 or so left when the main
act hit the stage. The band won a
local contest, and their song "Can't Go On" was included on a sampler
of area talent. They attracted the interest of a manager, and Lit offered a
support 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."
"By the time we played New York with Lit, in December 1999, all the labels
turned out. We signed our deal in May 2000, in the studio where we were
recording, and the album Good Charlotte (Epic) came out in September."
By then, the quintet was on the road non-stop. Three months of dates with MXPX
segued into the 2001 W.A.R.P. tour, then into more gigs up until Christmas Day
(off), followed by still more gigs including a trip to Australia and New Zealand
(where their debut went platinum). Through this intensive roadwork, Good
Charlotte built an avid fan base-and MTV took notice, giving extensive airplay
to the band's videos for "Little Things," "Motivation
Proclamation," and "Festival Song."
Odd Facts
Information from GoodCharlotteRocks.com