One thing I love about rock ‘n’ roll is its openhearted egalitarian aesthetic. Heck, even a couple of privileged kids who met at Switzerland’s L’Institut le Rosey can get together and make great rock ‘n’ roll! Yep, I’m talking about the Strokes, scions of wealth taking the world by storm.
Julian Casablancas (son of Elite Modeling Agency founder Johnny Casablancas) and Albert Hammond Jr. (son of schlock songwriter Albert Hammond) met at L’Institut le Rosey while they were barely teens. Casablancas transferred from there to Manhattan’s elite Dwight School, where he met guitarist Nick Valensi, bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fab Moretti. The rest is rock ‘n’ roll history: wealthy kids pull strings, lay down some excellent tracks, play a few gigs, and become world-famous.