Good Charlotte
by: Brian Stillman/Guitar World
March 2001
It was bound to happen. As rock bands--be they of the pop,
punk, metal, or rap persuasion--enter the next millennium, the guitar heroes of
yore slowly fade into the mists of time. Page, Hendrix, Gilmour...once these
names fueled rock and roll dreams. Now, in the hearts of today's youthful
generation of axslingers, they're often recalled as nothing more than relics of
a bygone musical era.
"My guitar heroes are much less conventional," says Good Charlotte's
lead guitarist and co-founder, Benji (the band members don't use last names),
"I love Noel Gallagher, they guys in Rancid, Art Alexakis. They might not
be amazing guitar players, but they have their own style. And that's something I
hope to accomplish myself."
"I tried to get into Led Zeppelin's music, I really did," adds rhythm
guitarist Billy. "But I'm much more interested in what's happening
today."
As Good Charlotte rides high on their self-titled Epic debut and its hit single,
"Little Things," it's hard to imagine that, until four years ago,
neither Benji nor Billy played guitar. It wasn't until Benji and his twin
brother, singer Joel, went to a Beastie Boys concert in high school that they
were bitten by the music bug. "After we saw them play," says Benji,
"we knew it was only a matter of figuring out which of us would play guitar
and which would sing." Once that decision was made, the brothers quickly
enlisted Billy to create the band's twin guitar attack.
"It is pretty amazing to go from not playing at all to having an
album," concedes Benji. "But to tell you the truth, we never had any
doubt that it would happen. We had 100 percent faith in this band from the
beginning--I truly believe that if you want something bad enough, you'll get
it."