One the last night of their headline tour in the UK, we had a sit down with Billy Martin from GOOD CHARLOTTE to see how they’ve been enjoying their stay in the UK this time around….
Billy, It’s the last night of the tour tonight. How are you holding up?
You know it’s funny: the last night of the tour is always the hardest and the easiest. You’re done, you know? You’re sad that it’s over but you get to go home tomorrow so it/s a win/lose. This tour’s been great, man. It’s been a bunch of great bands and some of the best shows we’ve had in years. It’s sad to see it over, but I guess that just means we’ll have to come back.
Which dates stand out for you on this tour?
They all kind of blur together – it feels like we’ve played an O2 Academy in every city! I thought Cardiff was really nice. I don’t know the city that well and we’ve only been to Wales a few times, I really enjoyed getting back there. Last night in Birmingham was great – definitely in the top three for me and tonight’s London and we’ve never had a bad show here. It’s one of those cities we can always count on.
Do you have anything special in store for the last night?
I think the whole tour is special for us. The set has been a really good mix of old songs and new songs. Just because we put ‘Cardiology’ out a couple of months ago, we definitely haven’t forgotten the old songs. Anyone who’s been a fan for a while or a new fan should have a good time.
When you’re on the road, what five things can you not live without?
My laptop for video chats so I can see my wife and my son. That’s become pretty key. I love my iPod – music’s always important. I bring a lot of art supplies – I love to draw, it keeps me sane. I bring a lot of books with me and I guess my cellphone.
Having been a touring band for so long now, have you mellowed in your age?
It depends. Sometimes we’ll have bigger nights than other nights. We’re getting a little old so if we hit it hard one night we’ll have to take a week off afterwards!
If you could go back to the Billy Martin of ten years ago and give him some advice, what would you say to him?
I wouldn’t really change much because I feel like you learn from the past. If someone went and told you everything you wouldn’t learn to figure shit out on your own. Figuring things out on your own is pretty important to me. When you’re young you take everything to heart and a lot more things seem like they’re really important. When you grow up you realise what’s important and what’s trivial. I would have told myself back then just to have fun and not worry about things so much.
You’re still having fun then?
Absolutely, I wouldn’t be doing it if I wasn’t!
You’re going to be thirty this year. How are you feeling about hitting that milestone?
Haha, I am – thanks for bringing that up. No, I’ve accepted it. My wife calls me thirty all the time – she has done for the last year just to stab the knife in. I’m getting used to it, but I don’t feel that old. The number sounds worse than it is!
So what about the rest of 2011 for Good Charlotte. What’s in store?
When we get home we’re filming a new video for the song ‘Last Night’. Then we spend a month on tour in America with Forever The Sickest Kids and a new band called This Century. Then we head over to Japan and Australia and we’ll see after that. We’d really love to come back for the festivals this Summer. We don’t have any booked yet but we’ve been talking about it.
Punktastic would like a repeat of last year’s Sonisphere…
Sonisphere was so fun. We had no idea what to expect. I remember playing with Motley Crue and Rammstein and a lot of big rock bands and thinking “where are going to fit in this mix?” We walked out on stage and there was a sea of people singing every word. Man, the UK and European Festivals are the best. It was a bumpy tour and that was the last night of the tour – we all just went home on cloud nine.