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How well do Benji and Joel know each other? Joel on Benji What were Benji's best and worst subjects in school? Joel: History or English, I know he's gonna say one of theose. His worst was Math. Benji: My best were History and English and my worst was Math. How often does he dye his hair? Joel: Every two weeks. Benji: Every two, three weeks. Has he ever stolen anything? Joel: (Laughs) Um, no. He won't admit it. Benji: A couple of hearts, but...(laughs) No, I've never stolen anything. When was the last time he got into a fight? Joel: Um... a couple of months ago. (laughs) Who'll be reading this? No-one? OK, then I'll tell you all the good stuff! Benji: The last one was with this kid who jumped up on stage and hit Joel. But there was some bouncers too, these big football players were picking on this guy, and I was like, "Hey, chill out." They just like jacked me and I was slammed. I shouldn't tell you the story but I destroyed the club. We're involved in a non-violence organisation. I really am into kids not fighting, I think it's really bad. But thse guys were huge! Shut up, they were! What was the first thing Benji asked Mandy Moore? Joel: The first thing he said to Mandy was..."Hi!"(laughs) He said, "Why don't you drive?" Benji: (Laughs) Oh I don't! Let me think... "Hi!" I really don't know. Like, "What's up?" I probably asked what kind of music she was into. She was like, "Oh, I like everything!" What's his favourite TV show? Joel: I'm gonna say The Simpsons. Benji: I'm gonna give a different answer so he gets it wrong. No, it's The Simpsons. He got all the easy ones! What's the best thing he can cook? Joel: I know what he's gonna say - linguini with clam sauce. It's good, really good actually. It's very tasty. It's exquisite! Benji: Linguini with clam sauce. Did he get that right? He's winning this! What's one thing that he hates? Joel: I'm gonna say either collage or raves. Benji: One thing I really hate is stuck up people. I hate snotty people! And I hate traffic. He said raves? Oh yeah, I hate raves! Does he wear boxers or briefs? Joel: He wears boxer-briefs. Benji: Boxer-briefs. Where's his favourite place to go for a holiday? Joel: I don't think he's ever been on a vacation, but if he did he would choose California. Benji: California Benji on Joel What is Joel's favourite Good Charlotte song? Benji: Oh..."Change". Joel: Right now it's probably "Festival Song". Has he ever gone skinny-dipping? Benji: No. Wait. Oh...no. Joel: (Hesitates) Yes (laughs). Yes. Benji: He's a liar! He doesn't have the guts to go skinny-dipping! What is his worst habit? Benji: It's either hitting on girls or chocolate milkshakes. He said spitting? Oh he's such a loser! Man it's sounding pretty bad, like I don't know him at all. Joel: My worst habit is probably that i spit a lot. I spit when I walk down the street, all the time. I don't spit when I'm indoors, but if i'm outside or on stage I spit a lot. I don't know why. What is the worst thing he ever got in trouble for at school? Benji: Probably being a class clown. Joel: Fighting. Me and Benj beat this kid up really bad and we got kicked out of school for it. He was picking on both of us. Yeah, he totally deserved it. Who's the most famous person he's met? Benji: We meet a lot of people. Let's see, he met Fred Durst...give me a hint. Joel: I've met a lot of famous people. Probably Billy Joe from Green Day. What's his favourite food? Right now he's eating these protein bars, but he eats vegetables, chocolate milkshakes and anything with ketchup on it. He eats a lot of healthy stuff. Pizza, spaghetti... Joel: I like a lot of food. I like spaghetti. Does he prefer Brittany or Christina? Benji: I'd say Christina. Joel: I think Brittany seems like the cooler girl, but if I had to choose one of them to get down with I'd say Christina. Like, if I could tape her mouth shut! (Laughs) I guess Christina. What is his most prized possession? Benji: He'd say our dog Cass. Joel: Oh man, my dog Cass. You know Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali's old name), the greatest boxer of all time? Well, my dog's a boxer-the greatest boxer of all time! When was his first kiss? Benji: It was Michelle Welch, in 10th grade and it was horrible. He always talks about how bad it was because she was sticking her tongue down hos throat. I had to help him recover from it. Joel: 10th grade, unfortunately. I was 16. That sux, right? Every other guy I know had his first kiss when he was 12. Her name was Michelle Welch and it was horrible. How long does Joel take to get ready? Benji: He'd day 15 minutes nd that I take longer. "Benj takes forever! He's gotta spike his hair!" Hey, I gotta look good for the girls, man! Joel: No more than 10 minutes. 15 minutes on a bad day. The Final Countdown Hmmm, it would seem Joel knows an awful lot more about his brother. Some might say too much. Joel lost a point because although Benji does hate raves, he didn't say this until he heard Joel's answer. 8 out of 10 He didn't start off well, but Benji made a good recovery. Still, it wasn't enough to beat Joel. Benji says Joel made up his answers to sound cool and that he also got all the easy questions. 4.5 out of 10
This is one of my favorite images This is my good friend Hal. I took this picture on his birthday. I think he likes to be in pictures.			Getting the Goods Annapolis, Maryland natives Good Charlotte have a simple mission - make music with a message that still manages to get you out of your seat. Their self-titled debut is a straightforward batch of punk influenced tracks that accomplishes this mandate. Enough said. Let's get down to our interview with band members Benji, Billy, Joel and Paul. Question: What made you decide to try to make it in the music biz - can you narrow it down to a specific event, album or concert experience? Joel: I think we all have a record that changed our life. If we went around the table they'd all be different, I think it was a collective of records, shows and musicians that inspired us on individual levels. Benji: A lot of us had nothing else to do other than start a band. Billy: For me, it was one of those things where I'd be at shows, watching musicians and I'd just get a feeling inside where I knew that's what I had to do. I felt the need to get up there. Benji: We love to do this and, honestly, most of us couldn't do anything else. This is our life skill. If it weren't for music, we'd probably be serving fast food. Question: I've seen the Beastie Boys mentioned in several interviews as one of your major influences. Joel: That's kind of been blown out of proportion. We mentioned going to the 'Ill Communication Tour' in some interviews, and we did go and loved it. The Beastie Boys are a great band and very inspirational to us, but that wasn't like the show that changed our lives. It was a combination of concerts - The Beasties, Rancid.... Benji: Rage Against The Machine, Silverchair... They were my favourite. Silverchair - I remember seeing them when they were like 15 and they'd already sold millions of records. I thought that was so cool. Joel: It was everything we saw live, man. After every show I'd go home and all I could think about was starting my own band. Question: I found the Beastie Boys connection interesting because they put out music that seems, on the surface, to be all about having fun. But there's much more going on if you take the time to dig. Joel: That's a lot like us. Our music isn't all that serious - we're not like the Beatles where we're gonna change the face of music. We are fun and lighthearted, but we do sing about some real and serious things. We do have a message. Question: Something that I've never really seen touched on in any of your interviews is the obvious hip-hop influence in your tunes. What's your hip-hop experience? Billy: I love Tupac. I think he was the greatest of all time. Benji: I think we all agree that Snow is an artist that.... (erupts in laughter) Billy: No, for real, I listen to Snoop all the time. I love that dude. Paul: I think music is either good or it sucks. There's some good hip-hop and there's some bad hip-hop. Stuff like The Roots, Tribe Called Quest and Common are good and get overlooked all the time. Benji: (pointing at Paul) He likes Fat Albert. (starts singing the Fat Albert theme song) (all laugh) Question: All of those hip-hop acts you mentioned have very powerful live shows. Is that part of what you appreciate about them? Benji: That's such a big part of it. The live show is probably the most important thing for us. You can make an awesome record, but if you just stand there on stage the crowd will lose interest in you fast. Billy: We love our fans and they are really important to us. The reason we love the shows is that it gives us the chance to be there with them. The fans are as much a part of the experience as the music. We want to deliver for them so that they get what they deserve. Paul: It's a chance for them to get involved. Unlike just sitting at home, listening to a CD and reading the liner notes, a concert is a chance for them to get up and interact with us. Billy: Even when we're in the studio, we're thinking about how the songs will work on stage. We consciously add parts that will be good sing along moments, or build-ups to get the crowd working. Question: How much do you alter your songs when you hit the stage? Benji: With all the touring we've done, we've gotten much better at feeling out crowds. I think we're at the point where we can work out how to get the fans involved by playing up certain sections of songs. Question: This year was the first that you guys were involved in the big stadium and festival tours. How did you deal with that transition? Joel: It was weird at first. You have to make everything so much bigger in order for it to work in front of these huge crowds. In a club, it's much easier to just jump into the crowd and everyone goes crazy. Here, people in the back wouldn't even notice! You really have to put in much more effort to keep people's attention. Question: You guys get the "Revenge Of The Nerds" tag thrown on you a lot. How do you react to that? Benji: It's true man! If you had one look at our high-school yearbook photos, you'd know the truth. Billy: We weren't always this cool! (laughs) When I was in high school I had dreadlocks down to my shoulders and used to wear make-up all the time. Paul: I was seventy pounds heavier and wore cardigans. Benji: I wore the same Social Distortion T-shirt every day. It was gross man. It wasn't even a real one - I made it myself. Believe me, it's better that you're meeting us now!
Good Charlotte Interview June 29, 2001 Los Angeles Warped Tour Mainstream Shaun: How did you meet and form the band? What made you decided to start a band? Benji: We met in high school, and we went to a lot of shows together and after every show we would always be like â€œWe gotta start a band man, We gotta start a bandâ€ and we just did. Mainstream Shaun: I hear you guys have been playing the guitar for a long time. Benji: We have been a band for almost 6 years, and we started playing right when weâ€¦.. (Will from Fenix TX runs by yanks off Benjiâ€™s Beanie an says â€œAHHH heâ€™s got a Mowhawkâ€) Benji: Thatâ€™s Will from Fenix TXâ€¦..Heâ€™s an A-Hole! BYE WILL! Paul: I was already Jamming with them, I was already playing, I knew how to play a little bit. Mainstream Catherine: Paul, You have lovely nail polish on too! Paul: (In a gay voice) Oh Stop! Mainstream Shaun: Who are some of your musical influences? Have you gotten the opportunity to meet any of them? Joel: Just one, Rancid right now. Paul: MXPX, We did a tour with them. We were always listen to them when we were growing up. Meeting them, and like touring with them and becoming friends with them was Really Rad! Mainstream Shaun: How has the absence of Aaron affected the band? Did he leave on a positive or negative note? Benji: Positive, Positive, Everything is Positive. Billy: We are still on tour so itâ€™s all good! Benji: You have to take everything as it comes, and I honestly feel like the band is on another level right now. Joel: We are just moving forward, thatâ€™s the bottom line. Mainstream Christine: What was your inspiration for writing â€œMotivation Proclamationâ€? Billy: Itâ€™s about being down, being the underdog. Mainstream Christine: Were you having a bad day when you wrote that song? Joel: A bad life. Benji: Inspiration was the Inspirationâ€¦.. Billy: Having a bad life. Benji: We really wanted to inspire ourselves, you know? You know? Paul: Its a good song right? (All) YEAH! Benji: Itâ€™s a good CD too! Mainstream Christine: Do you like to play pranks on each other? (Paul takes Interview Questions Paper) Paul: Do you like to play pranks on each other? Whatâ€™s the worst, or funniest prank you have pulled on one another? Benji: We stole all of Paulâ€™s clothes and made him play naked. â€¦â€¦One time we cut Billyâ€™s arm off. Mainstream Kim: Oh and it grew back? Billy: No its fake. â€¦.Pranks? Do we really play pranks on each other? We donâ€™t really play pranks on each other. Benji: One time they shot me! Billy: You know the normal put their hand in hot water while they are sleeping so you wake up you have pee all over yourself. Benji: One time we dropped a boulder on Billyâ€™s head. Paul: I dropped an anvil on Benji. Joel: I killed Paulâ€™s whole family. Benji: I put rat poison in Billyâ€™s food one time. Billy: I murdered Paulâ€™s entire family. Paul: Iâ€™m still getting over it, but you know its all right, heâ€™s a nice guy. It was funny though. Benji: One time I ripped all of Billyâ€™s toenails off. Billy: And he ate them! Paul: OK Next questionâ€¦. Benji: One time I ripped Joelâ€™s nipples off! â€¦â€¦One time I pierced Paulâ€™s butt cheeks together. (ALL) Laughingâ€¦â€¦ Mainstream Christine: Would you ever consider turning in your instruments to learn choreography and become a Boy Band? Benji: Ummâ€¦.After you shot me in the head. Paul: No, she said would you ever consider actually becoming a boy band? Joel: But we are a boy band. Mainstream Catherine: No, like the Backstreet Boys. Benji: Have we ever murdered a boy band? YES! There was a band called P-Town, and we shot them! Mainstream Christine: Would you ever switch your instruments to become one of them like N* Sync, Would you ever want to be one of them? Benji: NO! Mainstream Catherine: For better ratingsâ€¦â€¦.Just in theoryâ€¦.. Benji: Would you want us to? (ALL) No! Benji: I would rather, take dry wall screws and nail them into my toes. Joel: I would rather kill Paulâ€™s entire family. Mainstream Catherine: I thought Paulâ€™s family was dead already. (GC) Oh Yeahâ€¦â€¦ Mainstream Christine: Have you ever met a fan so many times that you remember them and actually tell them that you remember them. Benji: All the time we do. Billy: We do it all the time. Mainstream Catherine: Even if you didnâ€™t remember them, would you say you did? Benji: If I didnâ€™t remember them, I would be like â€œIâ€™m sorry, I donâ€™t remember youâ€ Billy: Sometimes I do, Sometimes I donâ€™t. Benji: If I remembered you, I would remember you. But if I didnâ€™t, I didnâ€™t. Paul: Like if someone asked â€œDo you remember me?â€ And I honestly donâ€™t I donâ€™t lie. Benji: Sometimes I just I say NOPE. Paul: We meet so many people every day, Sometimes its hard. Benji: When I meet girls I like, I throw up on them! Mainstream Christine: What do you think about a band being considered a sellout? What elements do you think a band needs to have before being considered a "sellout"? Benji: I think little kids have no idea what they are talking about. Billy: I donâ€™t really think there is such a thing as a band selling out. Benji: I sell out every day, I say â€œGive me 5 bucks, and Iâ€™ll give you a kiss.â€ Billy: I think selling out is changing what you believe, and I have seen some good bands. Like people say Blink 182 sold out. They didnâ€™t sell out. Benji: Yeah those guys are just doing what they are doing. They are a really good band, they didnâ€™t sell out. Billy: They are a really good band, and they are finally getting the recognition they deserve. Mainstream Catherine: If you could sum up life into a Bumper Sticker, What would it say? Benji: Life is Benji, The rest is just details â€¦â€¦.Benji is Life! (ALL) Laughingâ€¦. Paul: Oops I did it again! Benji: I have what you want. Joel: (To Benji) You Wish! Billy: Princess! Joel: Iâ€™m Lost. Mainstream Catherine: Are there any plans to travel to the UK and do some single releases in the near future? Benji: Hopefully. Paul: Yes, we really hope so. Benji: Yeah, we really want to. Mainstream Catherine: It seems as if Joel and Benji have a lot of hostility towards your Dad, Now that you guys have achieved fame, Has your dad tried to make contact with you? Benji: No, we killed him! Paul: Donâ€™t get it wrong, We all hate their dad. Joel: He fell off a roof, and now heâ€™s dead. Benji: He got hit by a truck yesterday and now heâ€™s dead. Mainstream Catherine: (Benji and Joel) Do you feel as though its a better experience to be in a band with your twin, Does it relieve pressure knowing that you have a sibling there with you? Benji: Oh yeah, We know each other really well, so when Joel is having a bad day I know it. Joel: Its gotten to the point that Billy and Paul know us so wellâ€¦.. Paul: Weâ€™ve been together so long, we are all like brothers. Benji: It helps. Mainstream Kim: What was the most memorable experience of your last tour? Benji: Uh, The MXPX tour? Mainstream Kim: Yeah. Paul: The last showâ€¦. (Cuts him off) Benji: Yeah the last show. Just hanging out with MXPX, weâ€™ve always loved those guys. Paul: Those guys were so nice to us and taught us like so much. Benji: Yeah, they like taught us the ropes, of like you know, of being a touring band. They are awesome in general Paul: So they were awesome. Benji: That whole tour was an experience, you know? (Paul takes Interview Questions paper) Paul: What is the craziest thing a fan has done to meet you? Benji: Uh, Cut their toes off and send them to me. Joel: How erotic. Mainstream Kim: If you could be any Barbie doll, (Malibu, Disco, Evening, etc.) and Which one would you be and WHY? Benji: Malibu Stacey! Malibu Stacey! I would be Malibu Stacey. Joel: Bloody Barbie. Benji: She has a cool car. Mainstream Kim: Stacey isnâ€™t Barbie. Billy: I would be Ken so I could be getting up on Barbie all day! Benji: I would the Barbie with the inter-changeable boobs. Mainstream Catherine: They make those? Joel: LA Barbie! Paul: I would be a GI Joe Barbie Billy: Crimp and Curl Barbie. That ones awesome. The one where you cut the hair and pump and more hair comes out. â€¦.All right give us another good one. (Paul takes Interview Questions Paper) Paul: As artists, What direction do you see your music going for your next album? Benji: With change, and maturity your sophomore album tends to have a â€¦â€¦ Paul: a different sound than your debut album. What can we expect to hear next from Good Charlotte? Joel: I think itâ€™s gonna go upwards. Benji: Uh, Itâ€™s gonna goâ€¦..Itâ€™s gonna goâ€¦.Itâ€™s gonna be like, all its gonna go is upwards Billy: (Ghetto Voice) Weâ€™re gonna take it to another level. You know what Iâ€™m sayinâ€™? Joel: You thought you knew me? Billy: You donâ€™t even knoâ€™. You donâ€™t even knoâ€™. (All) Laughingâ€¦.. Paul: No, you know were just going to do what we do. Were just gonna write songs. Benji: Definitely the bands we have been touring with and the bands we love. Have been affecting out musicâ€¦.. (Benjiâ€™s phone starts ringing) Benji: (Turns phone off) OK, You guys are more important. Mainstream Kim: Do you guys have any hidden talents? What impersonations can you do? Billy: I can juggle. Benji: I can disappear! Mainstream Kim: Oh Really? Benji: Yeah! Watch! (Gets out of his seat to leave) Billy: I can bend the top knuckles on all my fingers (he's double jointed). Paul: I can do this! (Makes 3 little creases in his tongue) YEAH!! Mainstream Kim: Joel, do you have any special talents? Joel: (Shakes his head) No, Iâ€™m just in the band Benji: Yeah, heâ€™s just in the band.