Julian Fernando Casablancas (born August 23, 1978) is an American
singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as
the lead singer and primary songwriter of rock band The Strokes. He
also released a solo album, Phrazes for the Young, in 2009. That same
year, he founded the independent record label Cult Records, which
currently represents artists such as The Growlers, Rey Pila, and Karen
O. He later formed the band The Voidz in 2013, with whom he has
released the albums Tyranny (2014) and Virtue (2018).Julian Fernando
Casablancas was born in New York City on August 23, 1978, the son of
American businessman John Casablancas, who founded Elite Model
Management, and Danish former model Jeanette Christiansen, who was
crowned the 1965 Miss Denmark. His paternal grandparents were Spanish,
with some roots in Catalonia. When Casablancas was eight, his parents
divorced. He once stated that he wanted to be closer to his father,
which "translated into teenage rebelliousness". His mother later
married painter Sam Adoquei, who helped shape Casablancas' early
musical taste by exposing him to music such as The Doors, which was
markedly different from the mostly Phil Collins-influenced music he
listened to as a child. He has several half-siblings, including an
elder sister from his father's first marriage, and three other
siblings from his father's third marriage.Casablancas met future
Strokes bassist Nikolai Fraiture when they were six years old, while
both were attending the bilingual French school Lycée Français de
New York. When he was 13, his father sent him to the Institut Le Rosey
boarding school in Switzerland, where he met future Strokes lead
guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr. He later returned to New York and
attended Dwight School with two other future Strokes bandmates: rhythm
guitarist Nick Valensi and drummer Fabrizio Moretti. He never finished
high school, but took a GED and continued to take music classes at
Five Towns College, which he later said was the first time he enjoyed
himself in class.
singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as
the lead singer and primary songwriter of rock band The Strokes. He
also released a solo album, Phrazes for the Young, in 2009. That same
year, he founded the independent record label Cult Records, which
currently represents artists such as The Growlers, Rey Pila, and Karen
O. He later formed the band The Voidz in 2013, with whom he has
released the albums Tyranny (2014) and Virtue (2018).Julian Fernando
Casablancas was born in New York City on August 23, 1978, the son of
American businessman John Casablancas, who founded Elite Model
Management, and Danish former model Jeanette Christiansen, who was
crowned the 1965 Miss Denmark. His paternal grandparents were Spanish,
with some roots in Catalonia. When Casablancas was eight, his parents
divorced. He once stated that he wanted to be closer to his father,
which "translated into teenage rebelliousness". His mother later
married painter Sam Adoquei, who helped shape Casablancas' early
musical taste by exposing him to music such as The Doors, which was
markedly different from the mostly Phil Collins-influenced music he
listened to as a child. He has several half-siblings, including an
elder sister from his father's first marriage, and three other
siblings from his father's third marriage.Casablancas met future
Strokes bassist Nikolai Fraiture when they were six years old, while
both were attending the bilingual French school Lycée Français de
New York. When he was 13, his father sent him to the Institut Le Rosey
boarding school in Switzerland, where he met future Strokes lead
guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr. He later returned to New York and
attended Dwight School with two other future Strokes bandmates: rhythm
guitarist Nick Valensi and drummer Fabrizio Moretti. He never finished
high school, but took a GED and continued to take music classes at
Five Towns College, which he later said was the first time he enjoyed
himself in class.
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