Artist Friendly with Joel Madden

On this week's episode of Artist Friendly, Joel Madden is joined by Ryan Cabrera.

After graduating from high school, Cabrera played acoustic guitar in Rubix Groove, opening for Cheap Trick and Third Eye Blind. A solo career came calling, though, leading to early 2000s pop stardom, mall tours, and a platinum album. That eventually segued into guest appearances on The Hills and meeting WWE superstar Alexa Bliss at a SmackDown premiere in LA, whom he married in 2022.

Sitting down with Madden, the duo has a funny, vulnerable conversation about growing up in public, balancing family and touring, and what success means.

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Chapters

(0:00) Intro

(3:02) Married to a Wrestler

(8:32) On-Stage Persona

(11:59) Good Charlotte’s Christmas Performances

(15:00) Boy Bands & Emo Writing

(19:00) Mall Tours & The Early Years

(23:15) Keeping Integrity in the Music Industry

(27:05) Performing When You’re Not Okay

(28:00) Fatherhood Changes Everything

(32:38) Therapy & Fatherhood

(36:06) How Ryan Met Alexa Bliss

(40:30) The Stalker Experience

(43:07) The Dark Side of Fame

(45:50) Self-Esteem & Self-Acceptance

(48:00) Handling Conflict in Marriage

(49:00) What Success Really Takes

(54:28) Returning to Music After Fatherhood

(57:53) Ryan Key & Ryan Cabrera’s Friendship

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Listen to their Artist Friendly conversation on ⁠⁠Spotify.⁠

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Follow Artist Friendly!

IG: @artist.friendly

TikTok: @artist.friendly

YouTube: youtube.com/@artist.friendly

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Host: Joel Madden, @joelmadden

Executive Producers: Joel Madden, Benji Madden, Jillian King

Producers: Josh Madden, Joey Simmrin, Janice Leary

Visual Producer/Editor: Ryan Schaefer

Audio Producer/Composer: Nick Gray

Music/Theme Composer: Nick Gray

Cover Art/Design: Ryan Schaefer

Additional Contributors: Anna Zanes, Neville Hardman
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode of Artist Friendly, Joel Madden is joined by Deryck Whibley of Sum 41.

Sum 41 defined an entire generation of skate punk before they played their last show in January 2025. Their final LP, Heaven :x: Hell, was a feat, showing off their signature styles. The Heaven side called back to their snotty pop-punk days, whereas Hell channeled their metallic side that ramped up with 2004’s Chuck.

In the time since, Whibley has released a potent memoir, Walking Disaster, and a clothing brand with the same name, debuting at Warped Tour Orlando last year.

Stopping by the Artist Friendly studio, they get into a raw, reflective conversation where Deryck opens up about his near-death experience, burnout, and what’s next. 

Chapters:

(0:00) Joel welcomes Sum 41's Deryck Whibley

(2:00) The Importance of Health

(4:48) Sum 41 categorized as a Pop/Punk Band

(9:36) The Mutual Respect Between Good Charlotte and Sum 41

(18:04) Designing and Creating Your Own Life

(18:30) Deryck Whibley Opens Up About His Hospital Visit in 2014

(23:00) Navigating Addiction

(26:55) Deryck on Recovery

(34:01) Deryck on Stoicism

(40:51) Joel and Deryck Discuss Meditation

(45:29) Moving on From Sum 41

(50:48) Walking Disaster Clothing brand

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Listen to their Artist Friendly conversation on ⁠Spotify.

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Follow Artist Friendly!

IG: @artist.friendly

TikTok: @artist.friendly

YouTube: youtube.com/@artist.friendly

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Host: Joel Madden, @joelmadden

Executive Producers: Joel Madden, Benji Madden, Jillian King

Producers: Josh Madden, Joey Simmrin, Janice Leary

Visual Producer/Editor: Ryan Schaefer

Audio Producer/Composer: Nick Gray

Music/Theme Composer: Nick Gray

Cover Art/Design: Ryan Schaefer

Additional Contributors: Anna Zanes, Neville Hardman
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode of Artist Friendly, Joel Madden is joined by Jordan Pundik of New Found Glory.

Jordan Pundik of New Found Glory will join Joel Madden on the latest episode of the series.New Found Glory became the soundtrack for teen angst during pop punk’s golden age in the early 2000s, blending their upbringings in Coral Springs, Florida DIY scenes with bouncy hooks. That angst, though, came from a very real place.

“I wish I went back a long time ago to deal with [my anxiety],” Pundik tells Madden. “I haven’t been that vocal about it until recently because I would just hide it and push it down and pretend that everything was OK… That’s my biggest regret — not dealing with it sooner.”

In a conversation with his longtime peer, the New Found Glory frontman elaborates on the positive effects of therapy, growing up on tour together, and Listen Up!, out this Friday (Feb. 20).

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Listen to their Artist Friendly conversation on ⁠⁠Spotify.⁠

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Follow Artist Friendly!

IG: @artist.friendly

TikTok: @artist.friendly

YouTube: youtube.com/@artist.friendly

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Host: Joel Madden, @joelmadden

Executive Producers: Joel Madden, Benji Madden, Jillian King

Producers: Josh Madden, Joey Simmrin, Janice Leary

Visual Producer/Editor: Ryan Schaefer

Audio Producer/Composer: Nick Gray

Music/Theme Composer: Nick Gray

Cover Art/Design: Ryan Schaefer

Additional Contributors: Anna Zanes, Neville Hardman
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode of Artist Friendly, Joel Madden is joined by Matt Quinn of Mt. Joy.

Last spring, Mt. Joy returned with Hope We Have Fun, an album that, after nearly a decade of touring, solidifies years of hard work coming to fruition — including selling out Madison Square Garden and Red Rocks.

For the frontman, the LP revels in the band’s time together: “We’ve all done ridiculous things in sickness and in health. You just look up, and you’re at Madison Square Garden with these people, and it makes you emotional — it feels like something you never could have dreamed. The album is a realization that we pushed ourselves into this crazy world, sometimes for better and sometimes for worse. It’s a lot about sticking together in relationships, living a crazy lifestyle, and just saying, ‘I hope we have fun.’”

In a candid and thoughtful conversation with Joel, Quinn details exactly what it’s taken to arrive at this point.

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Listen to their Artist Friendly conversation on ⁠⁠Spotify.⁠

-------

Follow Artist Friendly!

IG: @artist.friendly

TikTok: @artist.friendly

YouTube: youtube.com/@artist.friendly

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Host: Joel Madden, @joelmadden

Executive Producers: Joel Madden, Benji Madden, Jillian King

Producers: Josh Madden, Joey Simmrin, Janice Leary

Visual Producer/Editor: Ryan Schaefer

Audio Producer/Composer: Nick Gray

Music/Theme Composer: Nick Gray

Cover Art/Design: Ryan Schaefer

Additional Contributors: Anna Zanes, Neville Hardman
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode of Artist Friendly, Joel Madden is joined by Denis Leary.

Leary specializes in sharp, rapid-fire comedy, honed while coming up through Boston’s local clubs.

“There’s something about Boston comedy crowds — it’s a combination of knowledge and enthusiasm, but they’re also tough,” he said in a local interview. “They can smell blood. They can smell fear. I always felt like it was trial by fire in the Boston clubs in the best possible way.”

He’s gone on to create famous sketches about cancer and coffee, even crossing over from stand-up into TV and film (Rescue Me, Ice Age, etc.) while maintaining his biting humor.

This week, he stops by the Artist Friendly studio for a conversation about his wide-ranging career with Madden.

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Listen to their Artist Friendly conversation on ⁠⁠Spotify.⁠

-------

Follow Artist Friendly!

IG: @artist.friendly

TikTok: @artist.friendly

YouTube: youtube.com/@artist.friendly

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Host: Joel Madden, @joelmadden

Executive Producers: Joel Madden, Benji Madden, Jillian King

Producers: Josh Madden, Joey Simmrin, Janice Leary

Visual Producer/Editor: Ryan Schaefer

Audio Producer/Composer: Nick Gray

Music/Theme Composer: Nick Gray

Cover Art/Design: Ryan Schaefer

Additional Contributors: Anna Zanes, Neville Hardman
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices