Benji Madden
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Benji Madden | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Benjamin Levi Combs | |
| Born | March 11, 1979 | |
| Origin | Waldorf, Maryland, United States | |
| Genre(s) | Pop Punk | |
| Occupation(s) | guitarist, backup vocalist | |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, Backup vocals | |
| Years active | 1996—present | |
| Label(s) | Epic Records, Daylight Records | |
| Website | http://www.goodcharlotte.com | |
Benjamin "Benji" Levi Madden (born March 11, 1979) is the guitarist and backup vocalist of the band Good Charlotte. Benji and his brother were born with the last name of Combs, which was their father's last name. However, they've been using their mother's maiden name Madden a short time after they started Good Charlotte, for the reason that Mr. Combs, the boys' father, left the family when they were 16 years old. Joel is the band's lead vocalist. Benji and Joel also have a younger sister named Sarah (Lead singer of Her Daily Obsession) and an older brother, Josh. Benji, Joel and Josh used to own and operate the clothing brand "MADE". The logo of MADE is a pair of brass knuckles. Now they own a new clothing brand called "DCMA".
At school, Benji was known as more of a troublemaker and, as such, was often blamed for Joel's misbehavior. Benji has many piercings and tattoos including "The Last Supper", Jesus Christ, and the Virgin Mary. His brother Joel also has a tattoo of the Irish flag on his arm because he is of Irish descent.
In 2004, Benji was on Punk'd with his brother Joel after they were both tricked by Ashton Kutcher for the incident when they saw Joel's Range Rover had crashed on top of a Volvo while being towed. Joel reappeared the show two years later, this time pranking Michelle Trachtenberg. Also, Benji and Joel hosted a show on MTV called All Things Rock. Benji and Joel also have a new clothing line called DCMA Collective coming out, with an official site as DCMA
Benji now has his own signature Music Man guitar. It is a standard MM guitar with a humbucking bridge pickup.
Benji and Joel also have started their own record company; DC Flag Records. Steve Feinberg and Paul Shull are also an important part of the company.
[edit] Trivia
- Benji is 5 minutes older than his brother Joel.
- Benji's vocals also appear on the tracks "It's Alright" and "On the Outs" on MxPx's 2003 release Before Everything & After.
- Benji is featured on the track and video for the song "Jaded (These Years)" by good friend Tony Lovato's band Mest.
- Benji is also in the Rancid video "Fall Back Down".
- Benji is only 5 foot 7 inches tall.
- Benji and Joel are twins.
- Benji and Joel's father left the family on Christmas Eve when they were sixteen.
- Benji is nicknamed Kid Vicious.
- Benji knows how to juggle.
- He is dating Australian actress/pop star Sophie Monk.
- Benji was featured on the track for the song "January" by Goldfinger_(band).
