Recently we met up with Joel and Billy from Good Charlotte at this awesome hotel in London where you can change the color of the room with a switch (Billy changed it to green).
VICE: Let's talk about all the haters.
Billy: Like, in high school that type of shit happened on a daily basis. Cuz I used to wear nail polish and eyeliner, they would just be like, "Why do you do that? Are you gay?" and I'm like, "No," and they're like, "Well, why do you do it?" and I'm like, "Cuz I'm in a band," and they're like, "So. You don't have to fuckin' wear makeup," and I was like, "You don't get it."
Jocks just wish they could get tattoos and go to all this shit, but, like, they don't have the balls, so they play football instead and do what their parents want them to do.
Who are the most annoying kind of haters?
Joel: Like, all the kids that loved AFI, and then AFI got bigger, and they're like, "AFI's not cool anymore," but AFI just made the best record in my opinion that they have ever had. All the kids that are saying they're not cool anymore, it's like…WHATEVER. They're cooler than ever to me. Like now, instead of getting only one AFI T-shirt at Hot Topic, you can get five AFI T-shirts, and to me that's awesome growth. The natural evolution of a great band is to get bigger, and, like, you know, I think if Minor Threat were still around today, they'd be bigger than ever.
Is that what hardcore's all about?
Joel: I think it's just sorta like something to be passionate about. Whether you're a straight-edge hardcore kid or a vegan hardcore kid…there's all these, like, rules…and things they follow, and I think it's cool. Cuz I think whether it's just being a part of something or whatever, but it's like, no more is it just like, "I like hardcore music" stuff. It's "I like hardcore music and I'm down with this band and I'm not down with this band."
ANITA CRAPPER
Good Charlotte's next album is out soon on Sony.
