Juicebox

Background:

American alternative rock back The Strokes, comprising of Julian Casablancas (vocals), Nick Valensi (lead guitar), Albert Hammond Jr. (rhythm guitar), Nikolai Fraiture (bass) and Fabrizio Moretti (drums), came to prominence in the early 2000s as leaders in the garage rock genre before garnering critical acclaim and commercial success with the debut album “Is This Is” (2001). Helped by the popular singles “Hard to Explain,” “Last Nite” and “Someday,” the album was a No. 2 chart topper in the U.K. and No. 33 in the U.S. It has sold over 3 million copies worldwide and was certified platinum in the U.K. The second album, “Room on Fire” (2003), performed well on the charts by peaking at No. 2 and going platinum in the U.K. It also rose to No. 4 and went gold in the U.S., and spawned three singles, including the No. 7 U.K. hit “12:51.” The band's latest album, “First Impressions of Earth” (2006), became the first album for The Strokes to top the U.K. Albums Chart. The lead single “Juicebox” marked their highest charting effort in the U.K. (#5). It was also the group's first single to break into the Billboard Hot 100 (#98). “First Impressions of Earth,” however, is not considered critically and commercially successful. A fourth album is scheduled to be released in 2011.

The Strokes also recorded an EP titled “The Modern Age” (2001) and made eleven music videos, five of which were directed or co-directed by Roman Coppola.

Five

Childhood and Family:

Lead singer and songwriter Julian Casablancas (born on August 23, 1978), the son of Spanish-American business baron John Casablancas (founder of Elite Model Management), drummer Fabrizio Moretti (born on June 2, 1980) and guitarist Nick Valensi (born on January 16, 1981) began playing together in 1998 while they attended the private prep school Dwight School in Manhattan. Bassist Nikolai Fraiture (born on November 13, 1978), who attended Lycée Français de New York, was a friend of the Casablancas and joined the trio. The group added guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. (born on April 9, 1980), who is the son of singer/songwriter/musician Albert Hammond, to the line up. Hammond and Casablancas first met at the L'Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland when they were younger. They were reunited when the Los Angeles native Hammond came to New York to attend New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and shared an apartment with Casablancas.

The group officially took the name The Strokes in 1999 and quickly began writing and rehearsing their material in New York City.

Is This It

Career:

After making their live debut at the Spiral, The Strokes began performing at clubs like Under the Acme, Baby Jupiter, Arlene Grocery, and the Luna Lounge. It was not until they performed at the Mercury Lounge and the Bowery Ballroom in December 2000 that the group got their manager Ryan Gentles, a booker for Mercury, who subsequently left his job to manage the band.

The Strokes sent a demo to the newly reformed Rough Trade Records, an indie label based in London and “The Modern Age,” the group's first EP, was launched through the label on January 29, 2001, in the U.K. The three song demo that included the song “Last Nite” earned interest in the U.K., where it peaked at No. 68. It also charted at No. 20 in Canada and No. 28 in Norway. With the success, the EP sparked a bidding war among records labels. The group eventually signed with RCA Records.

The first studio album, “Is This It,” was released in Australia on July 30, 2001. It received overwhelmingly favorable reviews from critics and was a commercial success. The album, produced by Gordon Raphael, made it big in the U.K. by entering the U.K. Albums Chart at No. 2 after sales of over 48,000 pieces in the first week of release. It also peaked at No. 33 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and charted in several other countries throughout the world, including Norway (#2), Sweden (#2), Australia (#5), Germany (#13) and France (#19). To promote the album, the Strokes embarked on a tour around the world. They also performed with various groups like The Rolling Stones and The White Stripes.

The first single, “Hard to Explain,” was released in June 2001 and April 2002, in the U.K. and U.S., respectively. It rose to No. 16 on the U.K. Singles Chart. It also peaked at No. 27 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks and made the Top 10 in Canada (#7) and Ireland (#10). The second single, “Last Nite,” enjoyed better victory in the U.S., where it went to the Top 5 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks and No. 14 in the U.K. The third single, “Someday,” peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks and No. 27 in the U.K.

“Is This Is” went platinum in the U.K., Australia and Canada and gold in the U.S. Rolling Stones later listed it as one of “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.” It has also been named one of Spin's “100 Greatest Albums from 1985 to 2005,” one of Stylus' “Top 50 Albums of 2000-2005,” one of The Observer's “50 Albums That Changed Music,” one of Mojo's “100 Modern Classics” of 1993-2006” and one of Entertainment Weekly's “100 Best Albums, 1983-2008,” among other honors. The Strokes were nominated for Best International Group and eventually won the Best International Newcomer at the 2002 Brit Awards, while “Is This Is” earned a Brit nomination for Best International Album. The album also won a Meteor Music for Best International Album and The Strokes were nominated for Best New Act at the 2002 MTV Europe Music Awards and Best Live Act at the 2002 Q Awards. The song “Last Nite” was nominated for a MTV2 Award at the 2002 MTV Music Video Awards. At the 2002 NME Awards, the group collected awards for Best Album, Band of the Year and Best New Act and an additional nomination for Best Single for “Hard to Explain.” They were also nominated for Best International Band at the 2003 NME annual awards ceremony.

The Strokes launched their second album, “Room on Fire,” on October 28, 2003. A reunion with producer Gordon Raphael, the album gained favorable reviews from critics, but was less commercially successful. It debuted at No. 4 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and rose to No. 4 on the U.K. Albums Chart, where it achieved platinum status. As of 2006, the album has received gold certification in the U.S., with sales of nearly 600,000 copies. The lead single “12:51” (2003) rose to No. 15 o the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks. It also peaked at No. 7 on the U.K. Singles Chart and No. 22 on the Irish Singles Chart. The follow up single “Reptilia” (2004) peaked at No. 19 in the U.S. Modern Rock Chart and No. 17 in the U.K. The third and last single released from the album, “The End Has No End” (2004), went to No. 27 in the U.K. and No. 35 on the U.S. Modern Rock Chart.

The group supported the album with a 2003/2004 tour of the same name, during which time they performed with Regina Spektor and Kings of Leon. They also graced the covers of Spin and Rolling Stone and appeared in television shows like “Late Night with Conan O'Brien” and “Late Show with David Letterman.” In October 2005, the group toured South America, which included dates in Brazil, Chile and Argentina.

The third studio album, “First Impressions of Earth and Recess,” was released on January 3, 2006. It received mixed reviews from critics and was not a commercial success despite the fact that the album became the group's first No. 1 hit in the U.K. It has since received gold status there. In the U.S., the album peaked at No. 4 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and sold 88,000 units in its first weeks of release.

The first single “Juicebox,” released three months before the album's release, rose to No. 5 on the U.K. Singles Chart and marked the group's highest charting single to date. The song also became their first to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at No. 98. It also went to No. 9 on the U.S. Hot Modern Rock Tracks Chart and No. 65 on the U.S. Pop 100 Chart as well as No. 4 on the Canada Hit 100 and No. 18 on the Irish Singles Chart. The second single, “Heart in a Cage,” followed in spring 2006. It went to No. 21 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks and No. 25 in the U.K. Singles Chart. The third single, “You Only Live Once,” rose to No. 35 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks.

Initially, The Strokes began to record “First Impressions of Earth and Recess” with Gordon Raphael, but they later decided to work with Raphael and Grammy Award winning producer David Kahne, who was brought in by Hammond. Unfortunately, the collaboration did not work out and the production continued without Raphael.

The Strokes were nominated for Best Rock Band at the 2006 MTV Europe Music Awards. They won their fourth NME Award, for Best International Band, in 2006 and were nominated for the same category the following year.

Due to their hectic touring schedule, The Strokes decided to take an extensive break in 2007. In January 2009, Casablancas and Valensi began writing material for their band's upcoming new album. The album was set to be released in late 2009, but has since suffered from a series of delays. Recently, in an interview in July 2010, Casablancas predicted that the new album should be released in March 2011.

On June 13, 2010, The Strokes headlined the Rockness festival in Scotland.

Awards:

• Best International Band, 2006

• Brit Award: Best International Newcomer, 2002

• Meteor Music (Ireland): Best International Album, “Is This It,” 2002

• NME Award: MTV Europe Music, “Is This It,” 2002

• NME Award: Band of the Year, 2002

• NME Award: Best New Act, 2002