Benji & Joel, identical twin brothers who grew up in a dysfunctional family in Maryland, Waldorf got into music when things started to get bad for them. Their father had run out on them, leaving them devastated. So when their older brother, Josh, introduced them to bands like The Cure, The Smiths, Minor Threat & Nirvana, music just seemed to rescue them. At age 16, baseball fan Benji started to teach himself guitar, even though he has previously never even played a single chord, while Joel aimed his sights at being the powerful vocalist and front man that he is today. ("Right away, Joel and I started thinking up songs," Benji recalls. "We'd go straight to our room after school, singing and playing for hours every day.")

Along with good friend Paul on bass and their drummer then, Aaron working the sticks, they played their first gig to an audience of 20 in a friends' basement. Despite the fact the guys had very little money, they struggled away, working up a reputation for their band (which they named after a favourite childhood book about a girl who was bullied) and finally were able to make their first demo. It was then that they started to send them off to a stream of record companies, complete with a handwritten letter by Benji which stated "We're Good Charlotte and if you sign us now it will be a lot cheaper than if you wait!"

To cut a long story short, after the twin's graduation in 1997, their Mom paid for a plane ticket to California where they completed their pilgrimage to visit an East Bay club (924 Gilman Street), where bands like Green Day had previously played.

With a bigger boost for the music business than ever before, the boys were determined to make it, playing as many shows as possible, both acoustic and electric & working many dead-end jobs to fork up the money they needed to survive. Billy's presence on the guitar, winning a local talent contest and offers of management enabled them to complete an East Coast tour with Lit. They borrowed their Mom's van to get to gigs and eventually the hard work paid off when they signed to Epic Records in May 2000.

Good Charlotte immediately started recording and their debut self-titled album was released in September. Shortly after they toured with MXPX, which lead to their appearance at 2001's Warped Tour, a trip to Australia and a tour of New Zealand, where they were already hugely popular. During their time on the road, the band's loyal fan-base grew, their videos were becoming requested alot more and singles were selling like never before. This was brought to MTV's attention, when the music channel offered Benji and Joel Madden a place of hosting the music-based TV show, "All Things Rock." With frequent airtime the twin's were able to influence kids at home, introduce them to bands that inspired them and of course, spread the word of G.C.

Four years later and the guys, which now consist of drummer Chris Wilson, are rocking hard, successful worldwide, playing shows constantly, about to record their 3rd album and hopefully influencing the punks of today to do what they do best... be in a band and make music they love!