STACK NZ July 2016 Issue 75

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Prevention) the twins run a
music media company (MDDN)
which specialises in publishing,
production and A&R. (Their
roster isn’t huge, but on it you’ll
find Good Charlotte and Jessie
J alongside fledgling all-female
punk trio Potty Mouth and skate
culture photographer Brock
Fetch.)
“We just decided that we
did really have a passion for
mentoring new artists – helping
them maybe avoid some of our
mistakes, so they can have a
better experience. I have to say,
I don’t know if I’ve ever been
as passionate about the music
business as I am right now.
There’re all these amazing young
artists and it’s really been one
of the greatest experiences of
my life, it’s been a real thrill.
Now we’re older, we’ve just come to a better
understanding of how to be more effective. It’s
actually a real healing experiences too, making us
fall in love with music all over again.”
And herein lies the point of the new album:
to re-discover what it was about Good Charlotte
that so excited these young men when they
began playing punk rock together in Maryland in
1996. “We just wanted to make Good Charlotte
feel special for us again,” Benji says simply.
“The whole motive behind the record was very
personal. We felt like if we did that, the fans
would connect to it – they would appreciate the
fact that it was real to us.”
Part of recapturing that spirit was the tiny
things; the glinting chimes and shimmering
strings in Stick To Your Guns Interlude, or oblique
puns and references to past albums (listen closely
to the lyrics in The Outfield). “I think if you listen
back to any Good Charlotte record, for me, those
are the little details that set our records apart,”
says Benji. “If you listen to the intro on
The Young And The Hopeless, or the
intros or outros on Chronicles
and even on Cardiology or
Good Morning Revival, we
always have these little
elements… there’s little
hidden gems in there. Little
bits of information, little
messages. I feel like every
time we make a record, I get
an opportunity to be creative. It’s
my favourite part, to add those little
details and just be in the studio for hours
and hours.” And if you listen carefully for those
messages, we promise you’ll be rewarded.
Youth Authority by Good Charlotte is
out on July 15
More inspired than ever before, Benji Madden tells
us how his mentoring helped shape Good Charlotte's
new album Youth Authority. Words: Zoë Radas
"I t’s like malt liquor – not quite beer, and
it's big,” Benji Madden says. He’s trying
to explain a 40 ounce, but it’s hard when
the metric system isn’t your default setting. Is it
like a long neck? “Kind of! In the ‘90s it was
synonymous with West Coast gangster rap. Also,
if you remember, Sublime had that record 40 Oz.
To Freedom.”
Sublime, Eazy-E, and obsolete measures of
booze – looking back at early inspirations and
how they can affect what's still ahead is a major
theme of Good Charlotte’s new album Youth
Authority. Stand-out track The Outfield starts
with the sing-song phrase “another true story”
before the lyrics proper begin, which trace the
experiences of a group of kids making their way
into the music biz.
“I think it’s a tribute to a few people – that
story stands for a few different relationships,”
Madden says. “When you get older, you look
back and you see that you were either exploited
in some way, or taken advantage of in some way,
and you come to terms with that and make peace
with it and grow through it. I think it’s a story that
a lot of people can relate to. That’s one of my
favourites – it’s one of the most honest songs on
the record.”
The compulsion to help other young musicians,
and guide them away
from the kinds of sneaky
manipulations or downright
abuses Benji’s talking about,
are things he and his brother Joel
have always taken seriously – but
the Maddens realised they needed to
formalise that urge if they were going to have a
real impact. “There comes a point where if we’re
really going to help younger artists, then we need
to get organised,” Benji says. Aside from their
participation in reality talent show The Voice and
their extensive charity support (Make-A-Wish,
YouthAIDS, American Foundation for Suicide
visit MUSIC FEATURE
20 JULY 2016
MUSIC
1.2 litre
DREAM
The whole motive
behind the record
was very personal