Benji Madden is the lead guitarist and back up singer, who is the twin brother of singer Joel Madden in Good Charlotte. Benji's birth name was Benjamin Levi Combs. Roger and Robin are the names of his parents. Robin gave birth to Benji on March 11th of 1979 in Waldorf, Naptown, Maryland, USA five minutes before Joel. He was born into a working class Irish-American family. Wonder where his last name 'Madden' comes from? Roger Combs packed up his things and left on Christmas Eve when the twins were 16. Roger's departure left Robin having to raise four kids on her own, from youngest to oldest - Sarah, Joel, Benji, and Joshua. That caused a lot of finanical problems that led to the eviction from their home. Still don't know where 'Madden' is from? Benji and his siblings all decided to change their last name to their mother's maiden name due to their father's leaving, they still haven't seen him to this day.
The twin brothers first got motivated to start their own band from attending a Beastie Boys concert. It wasn't until their mom gave them a pair of airline tickets to California to go to a club where all the good punk rock bands started that they actually became really determined. With Joel never singing before and Benji never playing a guitar before, their first band they made was short-lived and it was called "The Benji, Joel, and Brian Band." Soon after graduating La Plata High School in Waldorf, Maryland, Benji and Joel move to Annapolis to form Good Charlotte with Paul and Aaron, later on adding Billy. Drummers in their band has been through several changes since it was formed. Once fame was approaching, Benji's nickname "Kid Vicious" started up. There are actually two stories behind that nickname. One is that he got it from high school for being a troublemaker. Two, he got it from Joel from the way he did his hair and performed on stage.
The twin brothers run a clothing brand characterized by its brass knuckles logo with their brother, Josh, called MADE. Benji and Joel have launched another clothing line, DCMA Collective, as well as their very own recording company called DC Flag Records, which features Paul Shull and Steve Feinburg. It seems that it isn't just the twin brothers that take an interest in music, Sarah is currently the lead singer of her own band called Her Daily Obsession. There are six chicks that we know about that Benji has dated; Tila Nguyen from '02-'03, Rin Kozue from '02-'05, Caleigh Peters in '05, Kara Monaco from '05-'06, Kim Karashian in '06 and Sophia Monk from '06 to now, (Benji is engaged to Sophia.) Did you know that Benji is a Christian? He is, he has tattoos of Jesus, Virgin Mary, and a picture of The Last Supper all inked on his body. Also, you probably didn't know that unlike his brother, Joel, Benji is a vegetarian and has since 2003.