Benjamin Levi "Benji" Madden (born March 11 , 1979 ) is the guitarist and backup vocalist of the band Good Charlotte . He and his brother were born with the last name of Combs. It was their father's last name. They had their name legally changed to Madden which is their mother's maiden name. His twin brother, Joel , is the band's lead vocalist . His father left the family on Christmas Eve when he was 16 years old. Benji was often blamed for Joel's misbehavior because he was known as a troublemaker. Benji and Joel ... suffered alienation in school for being fans of punk rock.