Julian Casablancas

Julian Fernando Casablancas (born August 23, 1978) is the vocalist and songwriter of the alternative rock band The Strokes.

Birth name Julian Fernando Casablancas
Also known as Jules
Born August 23, 1978 (1978-08-23) (age 29)
Origin New York City
Genre(s) Garage rock, alternative rock
Occupation(s) Singer
Instrument(s) Lead vocals, keyboards, guitar, bass, drums
Years active 2001-current
Label(s) Rough Trade, RCA, Sony BMG
Associated acts The Strokes

Early life and education

Julian Casablancas is the son of John Casablancas, a Spanish-American, the son of Catalonian immigrants from Sabadell in Spain and the founder of Elite Model Management, and Jeanette Christiansen, a Danish model who was Miss Denmark in 1965, and brother of Cecile Casablancas. His paternal grandfather Ferran Casablancas was a textile businessman. His parents were divorced when Casablancas was very young and he lived with his mother and Sam Adoquei who taught him about art and work ethic. He had almost no contact with his father.

The first band member who Casablancas knew was Nikolai Fraiture while the two attended the same kindergarten. When he was 14, Casablancas was caught drinking before school and consequently forced into a rehabilitation program called Phoenix House twice a week. Soon afterwards, his father sent him to Institut Le Rosey, a boarding school in Switzerland. It was here that he encountered Albert Hammond, Jr.. Although the two were not friends at the time, they would later become band-mates and room-mates.

When Casablancas returned to New York after six months at Le Rosey, he continued his education at Dwight School in Manhattan, where he met Fabrizio Moretti and Nick Valensi, who later also became fellow band members. He dropped out in 11th grade and attended Five Towns College on Long Island for one year, receiving a scholarship after writing a classical composition. He worked as a bartender before going into music professionally.

Music

Casablancas' musical influences are varied and wide ranging, including but not limited to The Velvet Underground, The Pogues, Bob Marley, Guided by Voices, The Magnetic Fields,The Stooges, The Ramones, Nirvana and The Doors. More recently he has stated that possibly two of his favorite songs of all time are Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" and Bill Withers's "Lean on Me."

As The Strokes' principal songwriter, he has the greatest impact on their sound and has been known to be extremely meticulous with it. While Casablancas composes on a variety of instruments, perhaps his greatest and most underappreciated innovation is his use of the keyboard to write complex arrangements that he later transposes to fit the Strokes' guitar-driven lineup. For an example of this technique, refer to the similar "I'll Try Anything Once," an unreleased demo, and "You Only Live Once," which appears on First Impressions of Earth. The former is typical of Casablancas' nascent compositions; the latter is the finished, full-band product.

Another recent change has come in the recording of his vocals, which is significantly clearer and louder than their first two albums. However Casablancas says this was adjusted only because it fit the songs more, and not because he was any less self-critical about his voice.

Known to not play much in Strokes' recordings, Julian has proved himself an able multi-instrumentalist through guest appearances. He's played guitar on "Sick, Sick, Sick" by Queens of the Stone Age, bass guitar on Albert Hammond, Jr.'s "Scared," and the second set of drums on the Strokes' "Evening Sun."

He has also served as inspiration for several other musicians. For instance, Courtney Love's song "But Julian, I'm a Little Bit Older Than You", from her debut solo album America's Sweetheart (2004), was written about Julian Casablancas.

In 2008, Julian recorded a song with Santogold and Pharrell Williams of N*E*R*D called "My Drive Thru" for Converse. He also appears in the ad campaign.

Personal life

Julian (or 'Jules' as he is known by his friends and family) is an avid baseball fan, particularly of the New York Mets, and has said that "if I could go back in time I'd be a minor league pitcher". He also likes the New York Jets football team.

On February 5, 2005, Julian Casablancas married Juliet Joslin, The Strokes' assistant manager, in a private ceremony in New York. He announced the engagement at several shows including Central Park, where prior to playing their song "Hard to Explain," he said, "I'm getting married and it's hard to explain!".