- 19 hours ago
Good Charlotte will be bringing its Motel Du Cap world tour to Bendigo on Saturday February 21, 2026.
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00:00For three decades now, rock band Good Charlotte has been releasing award-winning hits that have
00:04been heard in every corner of the globe. Not long from now, they're going to be right here
00:09in Bendigo on February 21st, performing their new album, Motel Dukat. Now, many of you may
00:16recognize the man performing from his five seasons on The Voice Australia. Ladies and
00:21gentlemen, can you please give a warm welcome in the comments section to superstar Joel Madden.
00:26Joel, how are you? Good, Joseph. Thank you, man. Thanks for the nice introduction. I
00:31appreciate it. My pleasure. I do hope I obviously got the album name right. You got it right.
00:36You nailed it. Yeah, you nailed it. Now, I do want to ask, so for your Australian leg of the
00:42tour, you're performing in Sydney, in Brisbane, in Perth. How did Bendigo come into the equation?
00:48Bendigo was, it was interesting. Obviously, I know we've historically played Melbourne,
00:58and I know that, and that's always a great show. But we felt like we got the opportunity
01:05to work with the government. And, you know, everyone knows how important Australia is to us.
01:13Everyone knows, I think, our history with Australia as a band, and then personally,
01:21me and Ben's history, just personally with not only working in Australia on TV, but also spending time
01:29in Australia with our families and having a real relationship with the country.
01:35I jumped at the opportunity because it made me feel more like I'm a part of Australia. So,
01:45it made me feel included. It made me feel like that was an interesting choice for us to be able
01:50to go and play a more regional place. But, you know, I think people can travel from Melbourne as well
01:57and enjoy Bendigo with us. And we're excited about that. But we personally want to see Bendigo.
02:05I've never been there. And the idea of playing a show there, anyone that has toured knows seeing the world
02:13on tour is an extremely special way to see and get to know the world and places and learn.
02:20And so, we've been lucky enough to, you know, 30 years as a band to play some incredible places.
02:27And so, we just saw an opportunity to experience Australia. And so, it was really exciting for us.
02:37And we're looking forward to it. I love Australia.
02:40Australia. I always hope the government will... I always have this, like, dream that maybe one day
02:47the government will give me some kind of special, like, some pass. That's... Yeah, maybe I won't get
02:54a passport. But maybe I'll get, like, some special card or something. I don't know what those are
02:58called. But I always say, maybe there's one I don't know about. I'll take it. But it's just some...
03:04It's important. It's always been important for me to feel like we're getting involved. We're doing
03:11things. We're participating any way we can in Australia and in the culture and in places out.
03:20And so, the opportunity to go outside of a major city to a place with history and a place that,
03:26you know, people know that has its own personality, that has stories. I just like it. I was like,
03:32let's do it. So, just sounds like a good time to me. And so far, I've just gotten so many messages
03:41and people that are excited about the show. And Bendigo has been really... It's been, like,
03:47a really warm welcome. And so, we're excited to get down there and physically get in Bendigo.
03:56Absolutely. Well, man, I just wanted to say, we're rooting for you to get that pass you mentioned.
04:00Come on, man. Whatever it's called. We got to come up with a name for it. Backstage? Pass? I don't know.
04:07You got to ask a journalist, someone who's more creative than me, because I'm drawing blanks right
04:11here. Oh, man. We need to lobby for this. Been years. Been talking about it for years.
04:17Well, I did want to also mention a bit about Bendigo. So, you did mention the history.
04:21How much do you know about Bendigo? It's history. Maybe it's Gold Rush era. And what are you
04:26came to Marseille downhill? So, all I know is it was, like, a gold rush town. And some people did
04:34really well. And it was, like, kind of probably got, like, a long-ago kind of a Western feel in the,
04:41you know, the gold rush in America, which I've always romanticized about that time,
04:47because it was the Wild West. And it was, there's so much history. I love that stuff.
04:54So, that, to me, has always stood out as one of the, like, like, to me, like, one of the things I
05:00like, the sound of that type thing. So, I know there's, I know that's kind of what I know about
05:10Bendigo and what I've known about Bendigo. But that's the extent of it. I know there's good food
05:16there. I hear there's great food there. A lot of choices. I'll say that. Yeah. Yeah. A lot of
05:22choices in food. But that's about all. That's about all I know. Well, would you say Bendigo is
05:28probably one of the more regional parts of the world you've played in before? If you don't count
05:35where I'm from, because it's regional. Let me tell you, regional kind of covers it. I would say
05:44maybe one of. I don't know if it's the most. We've had a great career in America of doing very
05:52regional. We're a very regional band. I would say, like, we play markets that most, we do a lot of
05:59markets that a lot of bands don't play. Like, we always throw, and this is an interesting thing,
06:05right? We always choose regional spots when we're planning our American tours. And we do things like
06:13state fairs, county fairs, things like that. We throw in a couple whenever we're planning,
06:19because it's where we're from. So we've always kind of had a thing about it. Like, we feel like
06:25we need to do, we always need to throw in some regional shows. And we always have. Like, we just
06:30did York, PA earlier last year. We throw in those. We know those towns very well. But in Australia,
06:41I haven't been to very many regional towns, unless they're, like, outside Sydney, I've been to
06:49some towns. Because I spent a lot of time in Sydney. And I would say probably, yeah, probably one of the
06:59most. I'd say in Germany, we've done some pretty regional stuff. We do really well in Germany. And
07:03again, we've chosen some, like, some regional stuff that other people would probably have never
07:11played there. But yeah, it's kind of the personality of our band, interesting enough. But
07:17definitely, it would make the top 10, for sure, on the list.
07:22I do also want to talk about the album Motel Dukat. How did you come up with the name for it? And what
07:27was exactly the inspiration behind it? Well, it's a long story. But if you got time?
07:33I've got as much time as you have, Joel.
07:37The shorter version of the long story is my little sister, well, my wife's little sister, who's my
07:44little sister. She's been with me her whole life. I've known her, was getting married on a very
07:52important day. And she means the world to me. And she grew up with our band. She loves our band.
07:59Asked us to play her wedding. And we were, of course, we said yes.
08:06And it was at Hotel Dukat in the south of France, which is another regional town.
08:13Very nice regional town. Very, very nice.
08:16Anyways, big fancy hotel, a lot of history there. We're not the typical Good Charlotte
08:24show that we would, you know, we've ever played. Probably one of one shows we've ever played.
08:29Kind of a very interesting, beautiful south of France, fancy hotel at our wedding. But
08:36we all love Sophia to death. We would do anything for her. And it'd been years since we played
08:43any shows. And we put together the show. We played it. And it was a beautiful night. It was
08:48so much fun. And the band had a great time. And it was really warm. Everybody showed up.
08:53They all wanted, you know, it was just a beautiful memory. And we were sitting around after. And
08:59everyone's drinking and having fun. And we were like, let's, we should make a record. And then we
09:04would call each other on that following week. And we're like, hey, guys, were we all just drunk?
09:10Or would you want to make a record? And we were like, no, I think there's some, some
09:14a vibe. I think we should do it. And then we started making plans and we made the record.
09:20And that night at Hotel Du Cap made, you know, really, really stood out as the point of us
09:27all jumping back in together. And we couldn't call it Hotel Du Cap. It doesn't quite sound
09:33like good Charlotte to me. So, Motel Du Cap had a nice ring to it. And there you go. Simple.
09:40Great family connection to it.
09:43Yeah, it was nice.
09:44I do want to ask. So in the press release we got, it said that the album captured the rawness of
09:50your early years as a band. Could you just go into that a bit deeper and what it means?
09:55Yeah. Yeah. I think in the early years of our career, there was a lot of things that
10:07I think we were, we were, we honestly just wanted to make it. We wanted to write great songs. We
10:16wanted to, we wanted to see the world. We really did. I'd never been on a plane till I was 19. So
10:23it was a big deal to me to be able to travel. And, and, you know, Australia was the first place
10:29we went, we ever went. And I'll never forget it. It was, it was incredible. The first trip we had
10:36to Australia in, in 26 years ago. And there was something about the songs that were just kind of,
10:46there was no, they didn't, they weren't aware of themselves. They just, they were written and then
10:51they existed. And I think this record has a bit of that in it. We just, when it wanted to make a
10:57record, we, I don't know if we thought that we could make, I didn't know if we thought, if we knew
11:03what kind of record we could make. I don't know if we thought we could, if we were thinking size or if
11:11we were thinking like, oh, this, like we need to write a hit song or it was more just like, could we
11:17write another record? Do we have it in us? And then we just wanted to write good songs and we
11:22wanted them to exist. And, um, and we got together and we just, we worked at it and, um, and it's
11:29very, very honest record. It's, it's, uh, you know, it's trying for sure. You're trying to make a good
11:37record, but, um, it felt like we were, yeah, it felt like it was at the beginning. There was
11:42something really, um, you know, something really, uh, uh, what's the word? It's yeah.
11:51It's just kind of nervous, excited getting to, to write the songs, to do it. Um, and, and then
11:58we finished the record and we went, oh, we should, we, it wasn't like we were, we weren't thinking
12:03about when, when, when are we putting this out? How are we putting it out? Um, you know,
12:08we weren't measuring anything like that. We were just making a record. And I think there
12:12was something very reminiscent of the first record in that way. First, first two records,
12:16but, um, and I don't even know what this record is. It's just, it's something it, it fits in
12:22the, it fits with all our records. Um, but I don't know if we were, I don't know if we
12:29were, we were going, we were trying to make a big old record or anything like that. I think
12:33we were just making a record. We were really happy with, there's a lot of honesty on the
12:37record. If you go deep on it, there's some things we talk about that were not easy.
12:42Talk about, um, making peace with some things and reconciling some things. And, um, yeah,
12:48I just like it. I like this record. I think it's a cool, cool record and make it, it was,
12:53it made me happy making it made me feel really happy to make it.
12:56Well, I have to say, I listened to it last night and I, I loved it myself. I loved how,
13:00uh, down to earth and exciting it was at the same time. So thank you. It was incredible.
13:05Thank you. Appreciate that. That means a lot. Anytime. Um, look, my final question is, and
13:12I have to ask this because you are coming to, obviously to Victoria. Do you know or remember
13:19any rules about AFL and it's very well loved down here? AFL. Yeah. I know AFL. Yeah. Um,
13:29yeah, Aussie rules. Aussie rules. Right. So not rugby league. Definitely not rugby league. Big
13:36difference there. Aussie football. Do not confuse the two. Yeah. Um, uh, the, the rules, uh, uh,
13:43escaped me a little bit. Um, how many men are on the field? I have to confess, I've just moved
13:50down from Sydney. So I'm still totally at a loss to what to do. I was hoping you might fill me in
13:54actually. So are you a rugby league guy? I played rugby league in high school. I, um,
13:59I'm shoulder from popping it out so many times. So when I see AFL, it's just guys running around
14:08and kicking it around. But, um, well, I know they got to kick it through the uprights.
14:12Yeah, they do. I think the middle uprights is, I want to say six points and the, uh, two on the
14:19side at one point, but you know, if I'm wrong, that's my head right there. That's my career in
14:24Victoria. I used to play cricket. I used to play indoor though. It's a lot more fast paced. I don't
14:30know if you ever played a few games during your time in Australia. Well, my, one of my, one of my
14:35best friends, uh, um, a close friend of mine, uh, is, uh, this, one of the singers and guitar player
14:42for, um, chase Atlantic. They're from cans. Okay. And, um, and, um, he's a huge cricket fan.
14:50So I only know about cricket through him because he's always following, um, all the matches
14:56and, um, or whatever they're called, um, matches. Yeah. Okay. The matches and, um, and I'm always
15:05kind of a little up to speed on cricket because of him. Um, and then he likes, uh, uh, so I get
15:13a little, I get a, I get a lot of, of updates on, on, on the sports world of the Australian
15:19sports world. Um, uh, uh, so, um, Christian Anthony, he's, he's, uh, uh, he, he's actually
15:29from Sydney that the other two members, uh, of chase Atlantic are from cans, but, um, uh,
15:34he's also a big rugby fan. Um, and, um, his, he, he's always keeping me up to speed on the
15:42rugby world, uh, whatever that world league is. Um, yeah. Uh, but, um, so I know about
15:52cricket through Christian and, uh, and, uh, but I've never played and, um, don't quite
15:58understand it, but it looks cool. And I tell all my American friends, this is just our
16:03version of baseball or probably England's version of baseball. That's the best way I can
16:09describe it, but you're either, but you're, but if you're a batter, you don't, uh, pitch
16:19though, like, or do guys who pitch also bat? Uh, no, you can. It's, um, sorry. You can play
16:26all the positions. All players do have to bat in a test match. Um, and it's just the best
16:33bowler. Um, who bowler. I think he was a bowler actually. He was a bowler. Okay. So
16:39yeah. Um, he would have definitely had to bat. It's, there's always going to be someone
16:45who's a batter and a bowler and the rest are just the guys spread out on the pitch. But
16:49for what it's worth, I haven't played in like 13 years. So if I'm saying things that are
16:55absolutely false here, no one, no one's going to, no one's going to hold you to that. Don't
17:00worry. The sports journalism. Yeah. The paper will, we'll get over it. The paper might get
17:05on to my back. Um, perfect ladies and gentlemen. We should have, we should do a whole other
17:12segment, right. For the, uh, Bendigo advertiser where we just talk about Aussie sports, like
17:17very like this, like we don't know anything we're talking about. It'll just frustrate.
17:23It'll just frustrate everyone. They'll all listen and look up those guys. We'll just have a
17:29bunch of angry locals out on our door. Yeah. Yeah. It's mad at us. Cause we're talking about
17:33the batter and the bowler. You guys are safe in America while we're here just trying to
17:39fend off about 50 to a hundred thousand angry locals. And yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Might
17:44work out well, but, um, I just want to say sincerely, thank you for taking the time out of your
17:50schedule to join us. And of course, thank you to your team for all they've done. Um, once
17:56again, ladies and gentlemen, February 21st, good Charlotte will be playing right here in
18:00Bendigo. It's not too late to buy tickets and please in the comment section, show some
18:05love to Mr. Man here and let's see if we can get him that pass to stay in Australia because
18:09we want him right here in Bendigo actually. Yes. Thank you, Joseph. I appreciate the time,
18:16man. Thank you for having me. Absolutely. It was a pleasure. Thank you. Thanks bro. Thank
18:20you.
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