ASHLYEE HICKMAN
A&E Assistant
After breaking into the mainstream by playfully criticizing it, Good Charlotte has had a bit of time to actually enjoy the lifestyles of the rich and the famous. But the vacation is over, as the post-grunge group — fronted by identical twins Joel and Benji Madden — is back at work, now that the Maryland quartet has added the final touches to its upcoming album.
The boys hit the road for their national club tour Tuesday, which kicked off in Santa Cruz, Calif.
Good Charlotte will be playing in the Southern California area until Oct. 2, and will rock the Avalon stage in Los Angeles on Saturday.
Though most of the band members lay low, lead singer Joel Madden has been stealing headlines and magazine covers for his highly publicized relationship with teen sensation Hilary Duff.
Now the focus is on the band’s re-emergence on the music scene.
Their next album, “Good Morning Revival!” is the fourth installment in the Good Charlotte collection. Their “revival” CD is set to hit stores in February.
A specific goal with this album was to present something that Good Charlotte fans have not heard before. Instead of their usual style, Good Charlotte decided to take a more upbeat approach.
Good Charlotte’s new single “Keep Your Hands Off My Girl,” which Joel said on the band’s Web site is not about Duff, is setting the stage for their comeback.
“It sounds like Good Charlotte has decided to try something different,” said freshman Nathan Welch. “I think that it might disappoint some fans, but the majority of their listening audience will agree that their latest song is fantastic.”
“Keep Your Hands Off My Girl” does achieve the feat of presenting a different facet of Good Charlotte. Riddled with synthesized voices, falsettos and solid guitar and bass lines, the song marks a new beginning for the pop punk band.
“The monotone singing is a completely new variation of the punk rock that has been Good Charlotte,” Welch said. “This change in style continues to reflect the band’s image as a bunch of punks that do whatever the heck they want.”
Although Good Charlotte is often admired for its anthem-type songs for our generation, some do not exactly appreciate some of Good Charlotte’s antics.
“They’re the worst band ever,” said senior John Caldwell.
Nevertheless, Good Charlotte presses on and continues to strive to present their fans with ample reasons to stay faithful.
For a band that is used to performing in front of thousands of fans at the same time, the more intimate setting is a pleasant change of pace and allows Good Charlotte to re-connect with the audience.
Good Charlotte’s career peaked with the band’s 2003 breakout hits, “The Anthem,” “Lifestyles of the Rich and the Famous” and “Girls & Boys.”
“It was a phase of loving guys with tattoos and spiky hair, but I’ve grown out of Good Charlotte,” said freshman Neva Chandler.
Now that a portion of its previous core audience is college-age, Good Charlotte may be faced with the challenge of winning them back.
It has been nearly two years since the band’s last chart-topping album, “The Chronicles of Life and Death,” was released.
“Good Morning Revival!” offers Good Charlotte a chance to revive the flame for Good Charlotte fans and the guys will add fuel to that fire during their month-long club tour. Touring with Good Charlotte will be punk rock band The Pink Spiders, who recently released its second album “Teenage Graffiti” in August, and electro indie rock artist Young Love.
The mostly national tour makes its last United States stop in Baltimore on Oct. 22 before wrapping things up in Toronto two days later.
09-28-2006
