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My Experience with Benji Madden of Good Charlotte

Space Ghost

Space Ghost

NLC
NLC
This isn't your "OMG I MET BENJI MADDEN AND WE ATE PIZZA 2GATHA" story.

This happened last sunday at the GC concert (I have no excuse except my friend wanted me to go
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)

So yadda, yadda skipping all the crap.. we went around the back of the place were the show was and there GC were signing crap and whatnot. *shrugs* Why not?

We strolled over and they were just being nice guys (heh) and signing and accepting the panties and whatever. My friend was getting what he wanted from them and I took the oppotunity to speak to Benji, who was obviously surrounded by screaming girls so forth and I just say a shitty icebreaker..

"Hey man, have you got any tips for aspiring bands?"
"Uhh, uhh.. just keep at it dude.. you'll find it hard."
Great I thought, he wasn't gonna be an -------.
"Cool great, can I just say something else?"
"Sure."
"What do you think of the people say "you aren't punk" etc etc?"
.....
"Dude, I don't give a shit what you say! We are a pop-punk band - Why dont you just ---- off to your shitty band? We've already made it."

And I just retreated back into the crowd. Bear in mind this all happened in this space of about 15 seconds.

Am I wrong to think that his reply was a bit assholio? Or that he'd just played to 3,000 people he'd be slightly wore out and ratty?

I know this is a shitty story, but I had something share.
 
Well, it's a question he probably gets asked by thousands of reporters all the time...legitimate or not.

It sounds like there was a time when he believed he was in a punk band, but has since seen the light and is probably a little upset that he's in a band that no real music lover would ever bother to listen to.

I'd be pissed if I had to deal with that all the time too.
 
I despise Good Charlotte.

They tried too hard to be something they are not. If I were you I would've given him a nice jab in the face.
 
I use like the old GC stuff :(

Yeah I can understand if he gets it all time but did he really have to tear me a new ------- about it?

The reason I posted about it really was not for sympathy, just to show that musicians who put across this image on TV of being the loving kind of people etc etc is bullshit.

..which has been the case with lots of musicians in the last few years.

*sigh*

[edited for correctness]
 
it's pretty easy to tell who is bullshit and who isn't. GC was glaringly obvious, based alone on their transformation from some So-Cal pop punk image to wannabe NY punks. That's hardcore.

The one guy even had that tattoo on his elbow of a spider-web, which is a symbol for people in certain gangs that show that they've killed somebody to be in that gang. I'm only guessing the GC guy did not do this.

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y'dig?
 
If I had a time machine...I would bring back a good decent punk band from early 80's...like Black Flag, Germs, Circle Jerks, etc., and show GC "fans" what "punk" really is
 
I just realized that GC == Good Charlotte as well as Giancarlo.

Coincidence? I think not.
 
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Giancarlo doesn't seem to fit into the pop-punk category, in my estimation. He is kind of emo though...like...militant-emo...which is kinda rare.
 
Blank Verse said:
..a band that no real music lover would ever bother to listen to.
Click to expand...

*shakes head* You know, that's not really fair. Sure, everyone has their opinon on what music sucks, etc. Okay, I kind of lost where I was going with this, but basically I'm sick of music being something to look cool for. I'm not saying everyone is like this, or anything, but I see it so often lately. You can't listen to this because it's not cool enough, you can't like this song because it looks lame. All through high school, everyone liked all the pop music in the first year or two. It was all Spice Girls, Hanson, All Saints, etc, etc. And it was perfectly acceptable to have all the stickers, posters, etc of them all over your books and folders. But then all the 'cool' kids at school starting getting into various 'hardcore' bands. Suddenly if you didn't follow the trend and stuck with pop music, you were mocked, laughed at, teased, etc. Basically, ridiculed for liking the music that wasn't 'cool'. It became so bad and bitchy that in one situation, I was listening to my discman and one of the 'cool' girls strutted up, ripped one earphone out of my ear, listened to it and shoved it back in and returned to her friends to mock it. I guess most of you guys won't get it, you wouldn't have seen this crap probably. (I went to a very bitchy school). It just really annoys me how music has become some stupid status symbol now. How if it's not alternative etc enough, or if a band gets labelled as 'fake', you're not considered a proper music fan. Sure, I'll admit there's a lot of crap music out there. But even fluffy pop hits the mark sometimes, at least for me. I like listening to everything, and I like listening to some of GC's stuff.

"What do you think of the people say "you aren't punk" etc etc?"
.....
"Dude, I don't give a shit what you say! We are a pop-punk band - Why dont you just ---- off to your shitty band? We've already made it."
Click to expand...

I think both statements here are rude. i don't think good charlotte are you know, the punkest (oh you know what i mean) band in the world, or anything, but to go up to someone and say, 'So, what do you think of the people who call you a complete fake and disregard you as shit?', I'd get annoyed, too.

Plus, I mean, let's face it - if they are fake, etc, why do you think they're fake? Because it brings the money in.. If that's what their record label wants, that's what they'll do. Making music hasn't been about the music for decades. No matter whose name you come up with, I highly doubt they're in it to make great music. No, first and foremost, they're in it to make a buck. That is pretty much every band in the industry, realistically. So I guess that all bands are fake this and fake that :/ He was probably a bit bitchy at you because in order to get/keep a contract, he had to conform to what they wanted.

</rant> :D
 
that's right... think about the play Amadeus. Salierie was pretty much in it for fame, as far as i paid attention.

I guess I'm safe from this kind of ridicule, none of my peers even know who the artists i listen to are, and those that do, approve of it. it's even more funny when people start asking me about music i like, because i confuse the hell out of them. WIN!
 
I'm proud of you for even admitting you went to a Good Charlotte concert.

Speaking of punk, the Millencolin album is out today :) Even though they aren't real punk, closer to the real thing than GC.
 
tandoc said:
I guess I'm safe from this kind of ridicule, none of my peers even know who the artists i listen to are, and those that do, approve of it. it's even more funny when people start asking me about music i like, because i confuse the hell out of them. WIN!
Click to expand...

yea, that's always a safe road to take to not put up with people's shit. :classic2:
 
*shakes head* You know, that's not really fair. Sure, everyone has their opinon on what music sucks, etc. Okay, I kind of lost where I was going with this, but basically I'm sick of music being something to look cool for. I'm not saying everyone is like this, or anything, but I see it so often lately. You can't listen to this because it's not cool enough, you can't like this song because it looks lame. All through high school, everyone liked all the pop music in the first year or two. It was all Spice Girls, Hanson, All Saints, etc, etc. And it was perfectly acceptable to have all the stickers, posters, etc of them all over your books and folders. But then all the 'cool' kids at school starting getting into various 'hardcore' bands. Suddenly if you didn't follow the trend and stuck with pop music, you were mocked, laughed at, teased, etc. Basically, ridiculed for liking the music that wasn't 'cool'. It became so bad and bitchy that in one situation, I was listening to my discman and one of the 'cool' girls strutted up, ripped one earphone out of my ear, listened to it and shoved it back in and returned to her friends to mock it. I guess most of you guys won't get it, you wouldn't have seen this crap probably. (I went to a very bitchy school). It just really annoys me how music has become some stupid status symbol now. How if it's not alternative etc enough, or if a band gets labelled as 'fake', you're not considered a proper music fan. Sure, I'll admit there's a lot of crap music out there. But even fluffy pop hits the mark sometimes, at least for me. I like listening to everything, and I like listening to some of GC's stuff.
Click to expand...

This has nothing to do with image, or status or whatever. You completely missed my point. In the case of GC, anyone with any inkling of musical knowledge shudders when forced to listen to their completely unoriginal 3 cord mass production they call music. I don't care what the cool kids think, that's not what I'm talking about. I understand your point, and I agree to an extent, but that's another subject for another day.

Plus, I mean, let's face it - if they are fake, etc, why do you think they're fake? Because it brings the money in.. If that's what their record label wants, that's what they'll do. Making music hasn't been about the music for decades. No matter whose name you come up with, I highly doubt they're in it to make great music. No, first and foremost, they're in it to make a buck. That is pretty much every band in the industry, realistically. So I guess that all bands are fake this and fake that :/ He was probably a bit bitchy at you because in order to get/keep a contract, he had to conform to what they wanted.
Click to expand...

That is both the most untrue statement ever made as well as a complete cop out. Over time there have been thousands of bands that have turned down the big label contracts and the big money that goes with it because they did not want to compromise the artisitic integrity of their work. Sure most bands want to be able to be musicians full time, but the fake ones, the ones purely in it for the money, stick out like a sore thumb. They change their music ever so subtly so it reflects the popular genre of the time. That's why so many pop-punk bands and ska bands suddenly became emo bands. GC did it too. The problem is that it's so hard to be distraught when you're driving around your Bentleys all day.

Having such a jaded view of the music industry is what the record labels want. It kills music as an artistic form, makes it big business...it makes bands like Gc and Sum 41, etc. But real music does exist, if you know where to look. And I don't care who thinks it's cool or not.
 
Yeah, your point is especially noticeable right now with several popular pop-punk bands taking a more serious tone.

Blink 182, Sum 41, Good Charlotte, and Simple plan all took a much more "serious" take on their last albums.
Coincidence? I don't think so.

Any worthwhile artist won't change their style just based on what is popular at the time of a release. Trying to compete with other music groups is certainly no way to go.
 
Ahh, see this is why I said I don't think everyone is like that. But a lot of people are. That's why these 'fake' bands exist. I don't think it's a copout, about most bands being in it for a quick buck. I mean obviously there are good old fashioned bands who just love music. I know when I was in a band (okay, okay, stop laughing) we pretty much knew we'd never make it anywhere, but it was cool fun. Okay, I exaggerated with how many bands sell out, but I think it is an extremely high percentage. I also think that most, if not all, of these guys and girls started out with the right intentions - they just wanted to make music. Hell, if somebody said 'We'll give you the contract you've been working your whole life for, but you have to dress how we want and say you're a punk', let's face it, it would make you stop and think, even if for just a second. If you had to choose between being a club band that never makes it anywhere, or selling out and be a millionaire, a lot of people would choose the sell out, and it is somewhat understandable. I think the main point/s I was trying to make is basically..I guess I was just saying, look, I don't even think they're punk, or whatever, but I don't really care. Whether they are or not really doesn't matter does it? I mean, nobody could listen to their (chart) songs and honestly mistake them for genuine punk. What annoys me about these bands isn't that they have sold out, or anything else. Okay, the big fat marketing executives behind it all piss me off. But what really annoys the hell out of me about these guys is their stupid bloody fans. (For further reference, join an avril lavigne forum and post an anti-avril post). What annoys me is the attitudes I mentioned, from mainly my high school. All these fans thinking they're cool because they jumped on a bandwagon.

In summary, I don't care what genre you fit into, or what you're pretending/trying to fit into. There are bands I hate and bands I love, and to me genre has nothing to do with it. I know at least 1/4 of my favourite music makes me an instant dag, but I don't care, it's fun :D
 
I listen to Good Charlotte... as well as as some other pop-punk bands because a lot of my girl friends do.

And a lot of it is kinda catchy. :eek:
 
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