Benji(KidVicious)- Vocals, Guitar
Joel(SickBoy)- Lead Vocals
Billy(Lil'Billy)- Guitar
Paul(St. Paul)- Bass
Good Charlote got it's start during what Joel calls "a weird time" when they were 16 and dealing with some serious family problems. The twins attended their first rock concert, the Beastie Boys. Benji immedietly went home and dug a cheap guitar out of the closet. Their good friend and future bassist Paul taught Benji a few basic chords, igniting a lifetime obsession. Another high school buddy, Aaron, quit the football team to play drums and supply studio space in his house.(Aaron would eventually quit GC to play in his brothers band)
"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."
In 1998, the twins along with Paul and Aaron moved to Annapolis to make a name for themselves. They skipped college and put everything they had into the band. Economically, they barely survived, working a series of low-paying jobs as stock boys, waiters, and even shampoo boys at a beauty salon.
Joel befriended Billy when the guitarist showed up to see the twins play an acoustic set at a local hangout. "I thought, wow, these are really good songs," he recalls. Billy was playing with his band Overflow at the time. After the twins got kicked out of their apartment, they moved into Billy's house. One day, Good Charlotte coaxed him into joining in an impromptu practice. A week later, Billy played his first show with the band.
After Paul and Billy joined, Good Charlotte took their name from a children's book and played their first gig in a neighbor's basement for an audience of 20. The band's break came when they won a local contest, and their song "Can't Go On" was included on a sampler of area talent. There honest, heartfelt lyrics and pop-punk sound attracted the interest of a manager, and Lit offered a support slot on a series of sold-out East Coast dates.
"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."
Thier follow up to the debut album, "The Young and the Hopeless," came out October 1st. It is one of my all time favorite CD's.
Watch the twins host All Things Rock weeknights @ 12am on MTV!!!!
GC to tour with New Found Glory and Simple Plan in the spring!!
The Official Good Charlotte Website
Epic Records Good Charlotte Website