Joel Madden Discusses Growing Up and The Madden Brothers’ New Approach to Music

Brianne Nemiroff

It was twelve years ago that identical twins Joel Madden and Benji Madden burst onto the music scene with their band, Good Charlotte. Their song, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, became one of the most popular pop-punk songs of the decade. With the help of that track, their sophomore album—“The Young and the Hopeless”—and four other albums have combined to sell over 10 million copies.

Even with all that success, the Madden’s do not appear to have fallen for the trappings of fame. Joel Madden will have been married to Nicole Richie for four years in December; while Benji Madden has enjoyed a life dating some of the world’s most popular actresses.

Good Charlotte’s most recent album, “Cardiology”, was released in 2010. After touring for that album, the Madden brothers decided to take on a side project. On Sept.16th, under the official name The Madden Brothers, they will release their album “Greetings from California.” While they maintain the pop-punk sound that is inherently theirs, the Brothers have taken this chance to explore other realms of the rock genre. It may seem they have abandoned the Good Charlotte sound, but Joel Madden says it’s just a natural musical evolution for him and his brother.

“I think it’s a natural progression of just us personally. We started Good Charlotte when we were 15, 16-years-old, in our bedroom. We just went out into the world and we learned and we grew up with everyone while everyone was growing up with us. We landed somewhere in adulthood around 30 [years-old]. As cliche as it sounds, at a certain age, you stop yourself and say, who am I? What do I want to say? Do I want to keep doing what I’m doing? Do I take a chance and create something different? The big question for us was, is there anything more creatively we could do? We decided to try and find out, and that’s a good explanation of why we call us The Madden Brothers. It’s honestly just us and what we’ve grown [to be] and where we’re going. We’re happy doing it and we’re just being creative. It’s a record of us getting back to being artists and songwriters and wanting to try to do something special. That was it.”

In 2012, Joel Madden also took the opportunity to be a judge on the The Voice Australia and has been a part of the show for all three seasons. In 2013, along with Benji, he became a judge on The Voice Kids. Joel says the experience has definitely left an impression.

“The music TV show has become such a fixture in pop culture, and why I love these shows is because of the songs [that the artists sing]. The substance of the show is great songs. Everyone watching the show gets to learn songs that they may not have heard before. For us, it’s helped me re-approach songwriting in a more universal perspective, [in terms of] what makes a song great, just appreciating these great songs. I couldn’t put it into words but it had some kind of effect [on me].”

“Greetings from California” is split into two parts: Side One (tracks 1 through 8), which is largely 60s-inspired pop/punk; and Side Two (tracks 9 through 15), 70s-inspired folk and southern rock. While Joel says it was a conscious decision, he added there is also deeper meaning with regards to Joel and Benji being identical twins.

“We both have different sides [to us] and we [bring] different things to our music. There is something about Side 1 that is very much me, and something about Side 2 that is very much him. It does go in and out of the record like that.”

Side One was produced by Eric Valentine, a producer they previously worked for more than eight years ago. Valentine produced both “The Young and the Hopeless” and “The Chronicles of Life and Death,” Good Charlotte’s two most popular albums. Valentine has had a profound affect on the Madden’s career and Joel says it’s definitely something they do not take for granted.

“[Eric] was definitely a true collaborator, beyond creatively, sharing a vision with us, the sonics. We wrote together as well. It was a true artistic collaboration. There’s a certain kind of chemistry we have that we love. We appreciate how good he is. We appreciate him artistically, as a producer, as a creative partner, [as well as] personally. We learn from him every time we work together. We hadn’t worked together in eight or nine years, and it was something that we really wanted to do again. When we played him the demos, he shared the artistic vision. It was a really great experience and it was really special.”

The first single off of “Greetings from California” is off of Side One, a track titled We Are Done. To spread the message of the song, the Madden Brothers started a hashtag on Twitter, #WeAreDone, asking their fans to tweet back what they are “done with.” The responses have been largely personal and have come in by the thousands.

“The ones that affected me the most, even though I loved all of them, there were funny [responses] and cute [responses], but then there were more serious ones. A few people were done with cutting themselves or hurting themselves. There was a girl who was done with an abusive relationship. There was a girl who was done with not taking care of herself. I try to respond to all of them and encourage people to have some compassion for themselves and not be so hard on themselves. The idea is a great start.”

This positive message and fan interaction is what the Madden’s hoped to pursue with this album. They believe with so many musicians putting out negative vibes and lyrics, it was the Madden Brothers mission to only put out music with a positive message.

“It was important for us going forward. We made a conscious decision to only put out things that encourage people, give some kind of relief or hope. [We said] let’s make sure that our message is strong, that our message is positive. Whatever we put out into this world, however many people it’s heard by, let’s make sure, for the people that do hear it, that our message is positive. There’s a direct responsibility that we have [now that our family name is our band name]. There’s something about being a member in a band but still not being completely responsible. There’s some things you can hide behind [in a band].”

Another track from Side One, U R is one of Joel’s most personal tracks on the record as he talks about parenthood and the sacrifices of being a touring musician.

“It’s totally about my family. It’s a song from the road, that idea. Every family’s different. Every family is trying their best. We live in a new generation of parents. There’s a lot of guys my age that are dads. Everyone understands the idea that we all have to sacrifice to be parents and to have a family, but the sacrifice is so worth it. The inspiration behind it is that everything you do is for your kids and your partner. It’s that simple. The days that I’m away, the nights that I’m away. Music is my dream and it’s also the way I make a living. The truth is that I would do anything to take care of my kids.”

For Side Two of the record, the Madden Brothers worked with Joe Chicarelli, who is known for his work with The White Stripes, The Strokes, The Shins and many others. The Madden’s say although he has worked previously with artists who have little in common with Good Charlotte, for the Madden Brothers Chicarelli was a perfect fit.

“The idea behind the record, having two sides, we wanted one side to be poppier, the other side more moodier; not [necessarily] dark moments, but it’s a more live-sounding record, the way we recorded it. Joe’s really good and he gets the best sound. The whole process was different than Side 1. We wanted it to have those two true different sides to the record that still work together. We’re huge fans of Joe. We’ve always wanted to work with Joe. I don’t know that it made sense for him or for us to work together before as Good Charlotte, [but] when we met with him and played him the demos, again, he shared the vision. He’s another producer we’ve been such fans of and now we’ve been able to become friends with him. He’s had a real effect on us.”

On Side Two lies one of their most relevant tracks, California Rain, as it envelopes the theme of the record: California as metaphor. The Madden Brothers’ intent is for the listener to create his or her own definition of California, rather than just assume the title “Greetings from California” is a simple hello from where they live.

“‘California Rain’ is a metaphor about our story, leaving home and finding our way out, through the music industry and through life, feeling like we did grow up with everyone along the way. [The song] tells the story of California and the story of us, and the metaphor of California goes in and out of the record, what it actually means, how great this place is. The idea of the American dream; it represents my American dream. My California is this idea that we left home in Maryland at 18-years-old, with $40 in our pocket, our backpacks, and a guitar and hitchhiked and found our way out to California. All these years later, we will always be looking towards California and that was the dream. There’s all these metaphors that come in and out of this record. California as a whole, the state is the greatest metaphor for my life.”

The Madden Brothers ‘Greetings from California’ will be released on September 16 via Capitol Records.