The Strokes

The Strokes
The Strokes in 2002
Background information
Also known as	Venison
Origin	New York City, New York, United States
Genres	Indie rock garage rock revival post-punk revival
Years active	1998 (1998)–present
Labels	Cult RCA Rough Trade
Associated acts	Mooney Suzuki, Devendra Banhart, Little Joy, Nickel Eye, The Voidz, CRX, Summer Moon
Website	thestrokes.com
Members	Julian Casablancas Nick Valensi Albert Hammond, Jr. Nikolai Fraiture Fabrizio Moretti

The Strokes are an American rock band from New York City. Formed in 1998, the band is composed of vocalist Julian Casablancas, lead guitarist Nick Valensi, rhythm guitarist Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture and drummer Fabrizio Moretti. Following the conclusion of five-album deals with RCA and Rough Trade, the band are currently signed to Casablancas' Cult Records.

Met with widespread critical acclaim, the Strokes' 2001 debut, Is This It, helped usher in the garage rock revival movement of the early-21st century—and ranks number eight on Rolling Stone's 100 Best Debut Albums of All Time, number two on Rolling Stone's 100 Best Albums of the '00s, 199 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and number four in the NME top 500 albums of all time.

Lead singer-songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarist Nick Valensi, and drummer Fab Moretti started playing together while attending Dwight School in Manhattan. Bassist Nikolai Fraiture befriended Casablancas while the two attended the Lycée Français de New York. At age 13, Casablancas was sent to Le Rosey, a boarding school in Switzerland, to improve his academic performance. Casablancas met guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr. in Switzerland. Later, when Hammond came to New York to attend New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, he shared an apartment with Casablancas. The roommates started a band, first performing at The Spiral—followed by the Luna Lounge on the Lower East Side of New York, and then at Manhattan's popular Mercury Lounge. Ryan Gentles, the Mercury Lounge's booker, quit his job to become the band's manager.