A lot of time, I have to be the person who just goes, 'Hey dude, don't even trip. Don't worry about it.'
— Benji Madden
You're just these kids from a small town. You get a record deal, and everything just goes so fast. In the span of five albums... in a way, the band that you started in your bedroom, or your basement or your garage, kind of becomes not your band anymore. It becomes something bigger than you could have known. No one really prepares you.
We became a really good gateway band for all the kids that went on to love My Chem or Fall Out Boy.
There's an interesting thing I've seen with Australian bands: when you put them side-by-side with bands from other parts of the world, they're just more musical. They're just better.
Australian bands are so self-deprecating - then they go on stage and blow every other band off the stage.
There's definitely a lot of moments in my life now where I go, 'Wow, I get paid for this.' I've had worse jobs.
Good Charlotte's the first band we've ever been in, and back then, critics didn't matter. There were no rules. There was no one we had to impress.
I kind of live by this old thing that time will tell whether people are going to write about this or that; all we can do is be who we are and make records we love, and everything else will sort itself out.
All of our lyrics are really personal, and we get a lot of personal letters.
The Madden Brothers is definitely not a side project.
The only time I only really made out with a girl in high school, my mom caught me.
I think it's a known fact that Joel and I have always loved Australia since we started coming here 13 or 14 years ago. Everyone knows we love it here. Our only concern is will we wear our welcome out?
I love the gym; I do a lot of curls.
I'm a really easy guy to read.
Coffee in Italy and some places in Europe is great, but there's just something about Australian coffee.
Prince led by example. As prolific as he was as an artist, he was just as courageous in the business.
'Life Changes' is a song that we feel really connects to the spirit of our band and our fans. It's got that positive vibe we always want to put out there, and the message - no matter how many times you get knocked down, always get back up - will forever be part of the GC story.
You find, as the years go on and you have some success, people kind of start to say yes when they should say no.
We were kids that didn't have any education. None of our parents were in the music business or even college graduates. We didn't have someone guiding us. We were just uneducated kids from the middle of nowhere that suddenly had a band going around the world.
We didn't leave home until we graduated high school, but when we did, we genuinely left. We went out into the world with 50 bucks, backpacks, and acoustic guitars.
It does feel really good when you play a new song, and it's the loudest singalong of the night. It means just as much when we're playing the old songs, and people are singing along to those, too.
Jessie J's a funny, funny woman. What she does is she reels you in.
We don't take ourselves seriously; we make the records for fun.
We started our band in a garage when we were 15.
Every time we go to New Zealand, it gets harder to leave. Everyone's always treated us like we're at home.
Good Charlotte is very special to us. It's something we really cherish.
We have known each other for a long time, and I've always known the real Paris. I always knew she was like wife material or serious girlfriend material.
I couldn't grow, like, any kind of facial hair at 17.
I have a great family, so I'm lucky I've gotten to experience all the joys of having a family.
I always jump at the chance to mentor kids when it comes to music.
When we were babies, mum had to dress one of us in one colour, like blue and green, and she'd put a little mark on our hand or toe... she definitely had to sort us out.
The one thing that nobody else in the world can touch is the coffee in Australia.
The youth is always going to decide the future.
I wouldn't be surprised if this album cycle for 'Cardiology' is the funnest couple years we ever see. We've made all of our mistakes; we've kind of learned. Now we know what to avoid, we know what to embrace, we know how to take a deep breath and enjoy the moment.
I read all the reviews. I remember the first review I ever read about our band was, 'They'll be gone tomorrow; they'll be gone quicker than they came.'
The American Dream - I believe in that cliche because I know what having nothing feels like.
As young kids, we had a lot of tenacity. Life was tough at home, so it was easy to go out in the world and try.
Good Charlotte, for us, comes from a place of youth for us, back when we were struggling and fighting for every inch, just trying to get by.
Both of us are lucky because we married women who are amazing cooks.
I may have punched walls when no one else was around.
When you're making an album, it's kind of like having a baby. You have to really put everything into it.
The guy who runs Big Day Out doesn't like us for some reason; I don't even know why. We do all the other festivals, and we enquired about it. Who knows, maybe he'll eventually crack, but maybe not. We're just going to keep knocking on his door late at night saying, 'Come on, dude!'
Good Charlotte became more than a band and more than the songs: it became something that the fans owned.
I've done plenty of phoners for Joel when he's been too busy. You'll never know. Our voices sound so similar.
I've always been obsessed with girls.
I answer the questions I want, and I don't the ones I don't.
I'm always happy to work with my brother and especially to be a part of 'The Voice Kids.'
When we were younger, we fought, but that's what kids do, right?
It's important for artists to value themselves - whatever that means. Everyone's going to take that in a different way. If you don't value yourself, you will be bought and sold.
One of the most harmful things in the music industry is 'record-by-committee,' where 10 people from the label gather around, and they make you write a 100 songs and decide which one's a hit. That takes the inspiration out of it.
