This week’s episode of the Rolling Stone Uncut podcast is joined by Good Charlotte’s Joel and Benji Madden!
The Madden brothers sat down with Editor-in-Chief Neil Griffiths backstage at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena just hours before their show to talk about their current tour of Australia and New Zealand, their first album in seven years, Motel Du Cap, being burnt by the industry in their younger years, and what is next for the pop punk band.
Watch or listen to the full episode below.
Why Good Charlotte is back and how the band operates in 2026
Joel: “The only way we can do this is on our own terms. And we certainly say no to more than we say yes to. Not in some pretentious way, just in more of a real-life way of what is important to us, which is our family, our work, and then how does something feel? It’s always those three things. The question is always, ‘Can we see ourselves doing that and delivering the show?’ This tour that we are doing here in Australia is the beginning of our world tour, which is becoming one of our biggest tours we’ve ever done around the world, and we’re delivering a bigger show than we’ve ever delivered.”
“But look, 30 years in this band. It’s been an incredible journey, and it is a strange place we find ourselves where this isn’t our job anymore. Our job is a music company and a podcast, and I do TV sometimes, and that’s all work to me. I enjoy it. But I call it work because you have to pay me for me to show, you know what I mean?”
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Good Charlotte’s early years and being burned by the industry
Benji: “We hadn’t even been on a plane until we got a record deal. It’s kind of a painful experience growing up in a way when you don’t realise that people kind of just want money from you. And then – not to say we didn’t meet any great people, too, those people we’re still friends with – but it’s the nature of the world.
“You didn’t realise until when you fuckin’ grow up, and you realise like, ‘Oh no one’s a fuckin’ decision maker but me, I can go make a record and put it out’. By the time we had real success, where you’re like making millions of dollars… coming on the other side of it… you’re worthless to everyone now five records in, because the orange has been squeezed.
“Everything’s changed, everyone’s moved on. Every artist is gonna have that experience at some point. The industry kind of says it implicitly and explicitly sometimes: ‘You’re done.'”
What’s next for Good Charlotte
Joel: “We’ve found a real lane here… we are talking about another record. We’re excited about it, so we have to kind of go with that. I think we could do a certain number of shows a year. I think 30 shows a year is really doable for us.”
Benji: “That mean like a territory or two a year.”
Joel: “We may not get to every territory this year, but next year. We really love it and the show we put together.”
Benji: “This is definitely more so the beginning of another chapter, or maybe another book with several chapters.”
