Three years ago, pop-punk superstars Good Charlotte and New Found Glory were just another pair of young bands hitting the road together to build an audience for their upcoming major-label debut albums. Now they’re joining up again to headline the third annual Civic Tour, which makes three New England stops next weekend and is shaping up to be one of the biggest rock outings of the spring. It’s also the perfect occasion for the two old allies to wax nostalgic about their club days.

" We became really close with New Found Glory when we toured together, " says Good Charlotte guitarist Billy. " We were like, ‘Man, a couple of years from now, we’re going to blow up, and we’re going to do this big tour together.’ About a month ago, we all met up to do this press conference. We’re all sitting around going, ‘You know what, guys? We’re actually doing this, and Honda Civic is sponsoring it, and we’re doing it in arenas.’ We all just sat there with smiles on our faces, amazed that it’s actually happening. It’s going to be so fun. "

Rolling Stone cover boys Good Charlotte are currently riding high with " The Anthem, " the second smash single from their breakthrough disc, The Young and the Hopeless (Epic). According to Billy, the band resisted the temptation to design " a whole Kiss set-up " for their arena debut, electing to go with a few simple stage props instead. They are, however, excited about the pimped-out 2003 Civic Si they designed, six of which will be given away to lucky contest winners at the end of the tour. The car is the latest in the group’s long line of tributes to Waldorf, Maryland, the working-class suburb where frontman Joel, guitarist Benji, and bassist Paul grew up.

" Joel had been looking into getting a new car, " Billy explains. " He was Mr. Car Guy, so we just let him take it away. In Waldorf, where it’s just outside of DC, it’s all these kids who want the biggest bass system and the loudest muffler. So we pretty much made a Waldorf ghetto redneck’s dream. We put a $15,000 stereo in it, it’s got a DVD player with a little screen that pops out, it’s got the album cover painted across it. It’s all hooked up. "

Like most bands who accept corporate sponsorship, Good Charlotte point out that joining forces with an auto manufacturer allows them to keep ticket prices down. Not that they worry about defending themselves against sellout charges anymore, since as far as they’re concerned, they settled that score once and for all on " The Young & the Hopeless " : " These critics and these trust-fund kids/Try to tell me what punk is/But when I see them on the streets they got nothing to say. "

Still, Billy admits it’s hard not to get upset sometimes — as when the group faced the wrath of a few hecklers for pulling the plug on a recent in-store appearance after signing autographs for three and a half hours. " It’s just weird, because we never said, ‘Let’s be this underground punk band and go on an indie label.’ You know, we were like, ‘We want to get signed to the biggest label and be the biggest band in the world.’ That’s what we always wanted. People can call us sellouts, but I’m not selling out — I’m doing what I wanted to do since I was 13, and that’s get on MTV and make videos and live the dream. "

Good Charlotte perform on the Civic Tour next Thursday, April 24, at the Worcester Centrum and next Friday, April 25, at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland. Both shows are officially sold out. They also perform next Saturday, April 26, at the Hartford Civic Center. Call (860) 249-6333.