Good Charlotte

Wed 10th Dec, 2008 in Features

Good Charlotte are a band so associated with youth culture it seems surprising they should be ready for a compilation. Is it really eight years since they first bounced onto TV screens with their first single, the punk-lite anthem Little Things? Over a decade since they first formed in Maryland? Apparently so, and the new compilation The Greatest Remixes offers a chance to look back on the four albums which, despite never achieving critical success, have sold close to a collective ten million copies.

Their cultural ubiquity is something of an irony given the aforementioned song which launched the career was a scruffy outsider’s anthem “dedicated to every kid who ever got picked last in gym class”, an autobiographical look at the miserable high school experiences of the then-teenaged Maryland youths. It opened doors for them – got them a recording contract, invites to LA parties, meant they never again had to ride the bus as the rich kids flashed by in convertibles.

But fame also meant the glare of the spotlight and for Billy Martin, who plays guitar and keyboards in the five-piece, the fevered tabloid interest in twin brothers Joel and Benji Madden (most recently fuelled by the latter’s apparent split from Paris Hilton) is something he views with a weary frustration. “I’m kind of used to it now; it’s not really amusing any more. At first I didn’t really know what to think about it, because I just want to play music. I didn’t start a band because I wanted to be famous. I started a band to play music.”

Initially inspired by grunge – Silverchair remain his favourite band ever – Martin has become increasingly interested in music that meshes electronica with rock. This diverse approach is reflected in the range of musicians who remix Good Charlotte’s work on the new release.

Beginning with sporadic remixes from friends who were DJs and producers, the finished product includes remixes from the likes of Patrick Stump (of emo stadium-fillers Fall Out Boy), popular DJ and Madonna remixer JNR SNCHZ and heavyweight R&B producer Teddy Riley.

Opting for a remix album rather than a straight compilation, Martin explains, seemed like “a cool, clever way of doing a greatest hits record where it’s still all our singles, but it’s a fresh new take on all of them.” While the experience of hearing your songs rearranged by others is potentially a disconcerting one, Martin says it is something he relished.

“I’ve never really been nervous or worried about it, other people have asked in other interviews [whether] I ever worry that somebody is going to ruin our artistic vision or whatever. I say no, our vision is what was on the record. If somebody else wants to do it, that’s their vision.”

One group Martin is confident will enjoy these new vision is Good Charlotte’s Australian fan base. While the band’s commercial fortunes have ebbed and flowed in other countries, the group’s popularity has steadily risen here. “I think in America, people are really picky. They’ll like something for a few minutes, then they’re bored with it, they want something new. But in Australia…with every record we experiment and change and the changes keep getting different people into it. Somehow our old fans have managed to stick with us, and we keep picking up new fans on each record, so we’re really lucky.”

Aiming to record new songs in January, the band are likely to return when the record is released mid year. “I don’t think we’ll ever put a record out without going to Australia,” Martin says.

In the meantime, don’t expect any decrease in the band’s press coverage. However, Martin is aware that in a media environment dominated by celebrity gossip, the tabloid press can attract people to the group just as much as radio airplay or coverage on music video shows. “People who buy those [gossip] magazines and read about Good Charlotte say, – œHuh, those guys look cool, I want to buy their record’. You can’t hit on that – everybody who wants to listen to our music is welcome to it.”

Good Charlotte’s The Greatest Remixes is out now.