Don't judge Good Charlotte by looks

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Nov 14, 2003 | by Pat Reavy Deseret Morning News

They have numerous tattoos. Their hair is usually in some form of spike or mohawk depending on the day. And if there is a 15- or 16- year-old in your house, there's a good chance these guys might be that teen's role models.

And there may be nothing wrong with that.

At first glance, it would be easy to pass off Good Charlotte as just another cookie-cutter pop-punk band that has burst onto the music scene since the '90s. At closer look, not only are these guys drug-free and willing to accept the responsibility that goes along with being role models, but they're, well, nice.

Rolling Stone recently gave the members of Good Charlotte the label of the "polite punkers." Speaking to the Deseret Morning News during a recent tour stop in Austin, Texas, it's easy to see that Billy Martin and the rest of the band haven't let success go to their heads.

"We're definitely polite kids. You look at our picture, people probably think we're troublemakers," Martin said. "People at home change more than I do. We just want to be the same guys and go home and do the same thing."

The original members of Good Charlotte grew up in Maryland. Twin brothers Joel and Benji Madden, who form the axis of the band, watched their father walk out on them one Christmas Eve, and they worked numerous odd jobs growing up to support their mother and siblings. Many of those trials and tribulations growing up ended up in songs like "Little Things."

Martin himself said he worked at McDonald's when he was 14 and hated every minute of it. He used the job to save enough money to buy a guitar when he was 16 and then quit. After that he met the Madden twins, and life was never the same.

The group's debut album was an instant hit, and their sophomore effort, "The Young & The Hopeless," has sold well over a million copies. Martin was on the road touring at the end of his high school career. He had to fly home between stops to attend graduation.

The latest single from "The Young & The Hopeless" called "Hold On" may be the album's most important track. It's a anti-suicide message written from Joel Madden's own experiences.

Even before the song was written, Martin said the band would receive numerous letters from teenagers saying how their music prevented them from committing suicide. Although barely out of high school themselves, the responsibility of being role models wasn't lost on Good Charlotte.

"That's a really strange thing to hear from a 15-year-old kid you never met before (who contemplated suicide)," Martin said. "Depending on what I say, these kids are going to pay attention. The best thing we can do is be ourselves. If we try too hard to be a role model, we'll come off wrong. We didn't mean to be role models, but we embrace it."

Good Charlotte rolls into the E Center tonight along with Eve 6 and Goldfinger. Salt Lake City is now the designated second home for Good Charlotte. Hometown punk heroes The Used introduced Good Charlotte to drummer Chris Wilson, who was born and raised in the Beehive State.

If you go

What: Good Charlotte, Goldfinger and Eve 6

Where: E Center

When: Tonight, 7:30 p.m.

How much: $26.50

Phone: 467-8499 and 1-800-888-8499

Web: www.smithstix.com

E-MAIL: scott@desnews.com