The Strokes

New Yorkers by upbringing or education, The Strokes perfected their special brand of indie rock at "it" clubs and small gigs in and around the City, thereby home-growing an appreciative and very hungry audience for their three-song demo, The Modern Age, in January 2001. Just barely in their 20s, singer/songwriter Casablancas, guitarists Valenci and Hammond, bassist Fraiture and drummer Morreti enjoyed enormous success state-side and found they were even bigger stars in England. U.S. and British tours soon followed, as did This is It, whose album cover excited the Brit manners police as much as the music did the fans. Room on Fire was released in 2003, not long after the This is It tour, and First Impressions of Earth followed in 2006.