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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. I've never been
02:06there. And the idea of playing a show there, anyone that has toured knows, seeing the world on tour is an
02:14extremely special way to see and get to know the world and places and learn. And so we've been lucky enough to,
02:23you know, 30 years as a band to play some incredible places. And so we just saw an opportunity to
02:31experience Australia. And so it was really exciting for us. And we're looking forward to it. I love
02:40Australia. I always hope the government will, I always have this like dream that maybe one day the
02:47government will give me some kind of special, like some pass. That's yeah, maybe I won't get a
02:54passport, but maybe I'll get like some special card or something. I don't know what those are called.
02:59But I always say maybe there's one I don't know about. I'll take it. But it's just some it's a it's
03:05important. It's always been important for me to feel like we're in. We're getting involved. We're doing
03:11things. We're 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 we're getting we've so far I've gotten so
03:41many messages and people that are excited about the show. And Bendigo has been really it's been
03:47like a really warm welcome. And so we're excited to get down there and and and and be and physically
03:54get in being Bendigo. Absolutely. Well, man, I just want to say we're rooting for you to get that
03:59pass you mentioned. Whatever it's called. We got to come up for a name. We got to come up with a
04:04name for it. Backstage pass. I don't know. You got to ask a journalist, someone who's more creative
04:09than me, because I'm drawing blanks right here. Oh, man, we need a lobby for this. Been years.
04:14Been talking about it for years. Well, I did want to also mention a bit about Bendigo. So you did
04:20mention the history. How much do you know about Bendigo? It's history. Maybe it's gold rush era. And
04:25what do you came to my seat down here? So I know all I know is it was like a gold rush town.
04:32And some people did really well. And it was like, as I kind of probably got like a long ago,
04:39kind of a Western feel in the, you know, the gold rush in America, which I've, I've always
04:45romanticized about that time, because it was the Wild West. And it was this. There's so much
04:51history. I love that stuff. So that to me has always stood out as one of the like,
04:58like, to me, like one of the things I like the sound of that type thing. So I know there's
05:05I know that's kind of what I know about Bendigo and what I've known about Bendigo.
05:11So, um, uh, but that that's the extent of it. I know there's good food there. I hear
05:17there's great food there. Um, a lot of choices. I'll say that. Yeah. Yeah. A lot of choices
05:22in food. Um, but that's about all that's about all I know. Well, would you say Bendigo is probably
05:28one of the more regional parts of the world you've played in before? Um, if you don't count
05:35where I'm from, cause it's regional, let me tell you regional, uh, kind of covers it. Um,
05:42um, I would say maybe one of, I don't know if it's the most, um, we've had a great career
05:50in America of doing very regional. Uh, we're a very regional band. I would say like we play
05:56markets that most, we do a lot of markets that a lot of bands don't play. Um, like we always
06:03throw, and this is an interesting thing, right? We always choose regional spots when we're
06:10planning our American tours and we do things like state fairs, county fairs, things like
06:15that. We throw in a couple whenever we're planning because it's where we're from. So we all, we've
06:21always kind of had a, uh, a thing about it. Like we, we feel like we need to do, um, we always
06:27need to throw in some regional shows and we always have, like we just did York PA, um, uh,
06:33last year or earlier last year. Um, we throw in those, we know those towns very well. Um,
06:40but in Australia, I haven't been to very many regional towns, uh, out unless they're like
06:47outside Sydney. I've been to some towns. Um, uh, cause I spent a lot of time in Sydney. Um,
06:54and I would say probably, yeah, probably one of the most, I would say in Germany, we've done
07:00some pretty regional stuff. We do really well in Germany. And, and again, we've, we've chosen
07:05some like, like, uh, some regional stuff, uh, that other people would probably have never
07:11played there, but, um, yeah, we've, it's kind of the personality of our band and interesting
07:16enough, but in, um, definitely it would make the top 10 for sure on the list.
07:22Um, I do also want to talk about the album Motel Dukat. How did you come up with the name
07:27for, and what was exactly the inspiration behind it? Well, it's a long story, but if you, if you
07:32got time, uh, I've got as much time as you have, Joel. Uh, the shorter version of the long story
07:39is my, um, little sister, well, my wife's little sister, who's my little sister. Like she's been with
07:47me her whole life. I've known her, um, was getting married a very important day. Um, and she means the
07:55world to me and she grew up with our band. She loves our band, um, asked us to play her wedding
08:01and we were, of course we said yes. Um, and, um, it was that Hotel Dukat in the south of France,
08:10which is another regional town. Um, very nice regional town. Very, very nice. Uh, anyways,
08:18big fancy hotel, a lot of history there. Um, we, we're not the typical good Charlotte show that
08:24we would, you know, we've ever played what probably one, one of one shows we've ever played
08:29kind of a very interesting, beautiful South of France, uh, fancy hotel at our wedding. Uh, but
08:36we all love Sophia to death. We would do anything for her. And, um, it'd been years since we played
08:43any, any shows and we put together the show and we played it and it was a beautiful night. It was
08:48so much fun. And, uh, 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, um, we were sitting
08:58around after and everyone's drinking and having fun. And, uh, we were like, let's, we should make
09:03a record. And then we, we call each other on that following week. And we're like, Hey guys,
09:09were we all just drunk or would you want to make a record? And then we were like, nah,
09:13I think there's something, some, a vibe. I think we should do it. And then, um, we started
09:18making plans and we made the record and that night at Hotel Ducap made, made, you know,
09:24really, really stood out as the point of us all jumping back in together. And, um, and
09:30well, we couldn't call it Hotel Ducap. It doesn't quite sound like good Charlotte to me. So, uh,
09:35Motel Ducap had a nice ring to it and there you go. Simple.
09:39Great family connection to it. Yeah. Yeah. Um, I do want to ask, so in the press release
09:47we got, um, it said that the album captured the rawness of your early years as a band.
09:52Could you just go into that a bit deeper and what it means?
09:57Yeah. Um, I think in the early years of our career, there was a lot of things, um, that
10:07um, I think we were, we were, we honestly just wanted to make it. We wanted to write great songs.
10:16We wanted to, um, we wanted to see the world. We really did. We, I'd never been on a plane until
10:22I was 19. So, uh, it was a big deal to me to be able to travel and, um, and you know,
10:28Australia was the first place we went, we ever went and I I'll never forget it. Um, it was,
10:33it was incredible. Uh, the first trip we had to Australia and, uh, in, uh, 26 years ago. Um,
10:41and there was something about the songs that were just kind of, there was no, they didn't,
10:48they weren't aware of themselves. They just, they were written and then they existed. And,
10:53um, I think this record has a bit of that in it. Uh, we just went and wanted to make a record.
10:58We, 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. Um, I don't know if we thought we could, if we were thinking
11:10size or if we were thinking like, oh, this, like we need to write a hit song or it w it was more just
11:16like, could we write another record? Do we have it in us? And then we just wanted to write good songs
11:21and we wanted them to exist. And, um, and we got together and we just, we worked at it and, um,
11:29and it's very, very honest record. It's, it's, uh, you know, it's trying for sure. You're trying
11:36to make a good record, but, um, it felt like we were, yeah, it felt like it was at the beginning.
11:42There was something 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 we
11:59finished 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 the,
12:23it fits with all our records. Um, but I don't know if we were, I don't know if we were, we were
12:30going, we were trying to make a big old record or anything like that. I think we were just making
12:34a record. We were really happy with, there's a lot of honesty on the record. If you go deep on it,
12:38there's some things we talk about that were not easy to talk about. Um, making peace with some
12:45things and reconciling some things. And, um, yeah, it's, I just like it. I like this record. I
12:49think it's a cool, cool record and make it, and it was, it made me happy making it, made me feel
12:54really happy to make it. Well, I have to say, I listened to it last night and I, I loved it myself. I
12:59loved how, uh, down to earth and exciting it was at the same time. So thank you. It was
13:05incredible. Thank you. Appreciate that. That means a lot. Anytime. Um, look, my final question
13:11is, and I have to ask this because you are coming to a, 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, yeah.
13:30Yeah. 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
13:54me in actually. So are you a rugby league guy? I played rugby league in high school. I,
13:59um, I got a bum shoulder from popping it out so many times. So when I see AFL, it's just
14:06guys running around and kicking it around. But, um, well, I know they got to kick it through
14:11the uprights. Yeah, they do. I think the middle uprights is, I want to say six points and the,
14:18uh, two on the side at one point, but you know, if I'm wrong, that's my head right there.
14:23That's my career in Victoria. I used to play cricket. I used to play indoor though. It's
14:28a lot more fast paced. Uh, I don't know if you ever played a few games during your time
14:32in Australia. Well, my, one of my, one of my best friends, uh, um, a close friend of
14:38mine, uh, is, uh, this, one of the singers and guitar player for, um, chase Atlantic.
14:45They're from cans. Okay. And, um, and, um, he's a huge cricket fan. So I only know about
14:52cricket through him because he's always following, um, all the matches and, um, or whatever they're
14:59called. Um, matches. Yeah. Okay. The matches. And, um, and I'm always kind of a little up
15:06to speed on cricket because of him. Um, and then he likes, uh, uh, so I get a little, I
15:14get a, I get a lot of, of updates on, on, on the sports world of the Australian sports
15:19world. Um, uh, uh, so, um, Christian Anthony, he's, he's, uh, uh, uh, he, he's actually from
15:29Sydney that the other two members, uh, of chase Atlantic are from cans, but, um, uh, he's also
15:35a big rugby fan. Um, and, um, he's, he, he's always keeping me up to speed on the rugby world,
15:43whatever that world league is. Um, yeah. Uh, but, um, so I know about cricket through Christian
15:53and, uh, but I've never played and, um, don't quite understand it, but it looks cool.
16:01Uh, I tell all my American friends, this is just our version of baseball or probably England's
16:06version of baseball. That's the best way I can describe it, but you're either, but you're,
16:14but if you're a batter, you don't, uh, pitch though, like, or do guys who pitch also bat?
16:23Uh, no, you can. It's, um, sorry. You can play all the positions. All players do have to bat
16:30in a test match. Um, and it's just the best bowler. Um, who bowler. I think he was a bowler
16:37actually. He was a bowler. Okay. So yeah. Um, he would have definitely had to bat. It's there's
16:43always going to be someone who's a batter and a bowler and the rest are just the guys spread out
16:48on the pitch, but for what it's worth, I haven't played in like 13 years. So if I'm saying things
16:54are absolutely false here, don't worry, no one, no one's going to, no one's going to hold you to
16:59that. Don't worry. The sports journalist. Yeah. The paper will, we'll get over it. The paper might
17:05get on to my back. Um, perfect ladies and gentlemen, we should do a whole other segment,
17:13right? 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. It'll just
17:24frustrate everyone. They'll all listen and look up those guys. We'll just have a bunch of angry
17:30locals out on our door. Yeah. Yeah. It's mad at us. Cause we're talking about the batter and the
17:34bowler. You guys are safe in America while we're here just trying to fend off about 50 to a hundred
17:41thousand angry locals. And yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Might work out well, but, um, I just want to say
17:48sincerely, thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to join us. And of course, thank you
17:52to your team for all they've done. Um, once again, ladies and gentlemen, February 21st, good Charlotte
17:58will be playing right here in Bendigo. It's not too late to buy tickets and please in the comment
18:04section, show some love to Mr. Man here and let's see if we can get them that pass to stay in Australia
18:09because we want them right here in Bendigo actually. Yes. Thank you, Joseph. I appreciate
18:16the time, man. Thank you for having me. Absolutely. It was a pleasure. Thank you. Thanks, bro. Thank you.
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