It's easy to get tangled up in pop punksters Good Charlotte. Katrillion gets caught up with lead singer Joel to discuss all the "little things" that make the band so much better than just "good."

In case you need another reason to worship the Beastie Boys, dig this: they're the reason twin brothers Joel and Benji, 21, started Good Charlotte. It was the first show the guys ever went to and they immediately knew they too would be rocking the party soon enough. "[During] the first song we looked at each other and we were like, 'this is what we're doing,'" remembers Joel. "From then on we just wanted to rock."

And rock they did. They started the band back in '95 in Waldorf, MD, and the line up was soon complete with drummer Aaron, 20, bassist Paul, 19 and newest member, guitarist Billy, 19. Good Charlotte soon built up a local following playing charity gigs, as well as local radio festivals. Add in some dates opening for Blink-182 and Lit, and some nice spins at cool alternative stations like WHFS in D.C. and Y-100 in Philly, and Good Charlotte soon found themselves a record deal.

Now they've arrived with a self-titled debut album that will make Mark, Tom and Travis drool, while causing Justin and JC to run out for guitar lessons. Perhaps STP's Scott Weiland said it best when, after seeing Good Charlotte live, he described the band as sounding like the offspring of Green Day's Billie Joe and Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst. We say even that descrip doesn't do 'em justice.

Lead singer Joel (the innocent looking one) gives us the scoop on his twin brother (with the Billy Idol snarl), Mandy Moore and how to give a really good shampoo job.

Katrillion: So I'm in the CD store. I'm thinking of buying your album. Convince me.
Joel: [laughs] You should buy [it] because the CD goes all over the charts with different influences of different music. There's some punk and there's some rock and there's a little bit of hip-hop. There's a lot of different flavors on the CD; there's a variety of sounds.

Katrillion: What about your live shows? What do you hope fans get from your performance?
Joel: We went [to the Beasties] and we heard the music and we forgot about everything and we just had a great time and got crazy. I want our fans to come to our show and forget about everything and for the 45 minutes they see us play, just to rock, you know. To forget about everything but being there with everybody else and having a great time.

Katrillion: How did you guys snag Mandy Moore for the "Little Things" video?
Joel: Mandy is on our label. We had people talk to people and they got her. They asked her and she said "yeah." She was cool because she made her schedule work so she could come and really [went] out of her way to be in our video. And we appreciated that because she was so cool to work with.

Katrillion: Not to mention pretty.
Joel: Yeah, she's hot.

Katrillion: Now that we're talking about girls [we're sneaky], what is this I hear about you liking older women?
Joel: [laughs] I like all women. Older women definitely are a little bit more intimidating than younger women. But, I have no preference really. I love all women.

Katrillion: How can a girl get your attention?
Joel: I like girls that have their own style. Whether they're dressing a little punky, or a little ghetto. It doesn't matter. If they take it and make it their own, I love that. A funny girl, [too]. I love funny girls.

Katrillion: I heard you were a shampoo boy. Can you tell me what a shampoo boy has to do to ensure getting a good tip?
Joel: Ohhh, the scalp massage! It's good. It's a good five minutes on the crown area. It's great.
Katrillion: I understand you got kicked out of class a lot in high school.
Joel: I got kicked out of class so much and it wasn't fair because I was just talking. In class, if there was a pretty girl, I would just try to talk [to her] all the time. I like to talk, especially to girls. And I got kicked out of class all the time. The teacher would be like "all right, stop," and I'd be like "okay," and keep talking. Then I'd try to impress her and it wouldn't really work. I'd get kicked out for trying to be funny, like they'd call me up to read and I'd read the wrong thing. I didn't take high school very seriously.

Katrillion: Which one are you: picked last in gym class, "never had a date to no school dance," or a freak?
Joel: Umm, I was definitely picked last in gym class. But I did play sports. It's weird. I was always the guy on the team that sat on the bench, which really sucked. My girl luck has always run kinda low but I went to a couple of dances. Benj has definitely been called a freak. I mean, I've been called a freak, too, but he's definitely freakier than I am.

Katrillion: So who's the evil twin?
Joel: [laughs] Benji's the evil twin. Katrillion: Tell us about some of your twin-switching antics.
Joel: We used to switch in school, we would go to each other's classes. One time I wanted to ask this girl to a dance, it was homecoming or something. I was too nervous because I get a little shy sometimes. Benj is definitely outspoken and I was like 'Call her and say you're me,' 'cause we sound alike. He called and asked her to the dance for me. She said no, but you know [laughs].

Katrillion: She's probably banging her head against a wall somewhere.
Joel: [laughs] Oh, I don't know...

[Trust us, Joel. Trust us.]

Joel + Benji = double trouble, but sometimes the best things come in threes. Here Joel tells us his favorite things.

Three favorite songs on the album:
"Change"
"Festival Song"
"Waldorf Worldwide"

Three songs that should be on every mix tape:
"Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want" - The Smiths
"Just Like Heaven" - The Cure
"The Birthday Song" - Ben Lee

Three bands (past or present) that would make the ultimate concert line up:
The Clash
Nirvana
The Smiths