Nick Valensi
Nick Valensi (born
January 16,
1981) is a
guitarist for the
New York City rock band The Strokes. He is French-Tunisian and has two sisters, Celine (who appeared in the video for "Juicebox") and Alessandra. His parents gave him his first acoustic guitar when he was five, and his first electric at age eight. His father died when he was 10. By the time he was 11, he had mastered such advanced songs as
Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Good", and at 13 years old he felt comfortable enough with his skills to stop taking lessons.
Valensi went to public schools his whole life except for one year at the
Dwight School in Manhattan. It was here that he met future bandmates
Fabrizio Moretti and
Julian Casablancas. Valensi graduated from
NYC Lab School and later attended
Hunter College with fellow band member
Nikolai Fraiture, but eventually dropped out to play with the Strokes full-time. Before they gained notoriety, he also worked as a part-time waiter in several upscale Manhattan restaurants. He is the youngest member of the Strokes (and at 6'4", the tallest). Being only 19 years of age when they formed, he had to borrow other band members' IDs to gain admission to many of the clubs they played in.
Valensi's main guitar, which he uses for every live show and recorded song, is an
Epiphone Riviera with
Gibson P-94 pick-ups. In a 2004 interview with Epiphone, he called it "the greatest guitar never made" because no one else had ever thought to use P-94's in a Riviera. He has several models in different colors (all with P-94s), including multiple naturals, one in vintage sunburst, one in red, and a 12-string in red. In 2005, Epiphone released a signature model of his guitar, the Elitist Nick Valensi Riviera P-94 guitar. Back-up/warm-up guitars include an Epiphone Dot fitted with 2 P-94s, a Gibson Faded Double Cutaway with 2 P-90s, and an Epiphone Casino. He also owns and plays 2 Gibson Les Paul Juniors; one with a single bridge P90, and another with two P90 pickups which he has often lent to Albert Hammond Jr. He was recently spotted with a black Gibson Les Paul Custom in the "Juicebox" music video. This guitar is used live on Juicebox and various other songs depending on the setlist. Valensi's amplifier is a 2x12"
Fender Hot Rod DeVille, used with Fender 4x12" extension cabinets during live shows. His pedalboard consists of a Visual Sound Jekyll & Hyde,
Demeter TRM-1 Tremulator, Vox Cooltron Bulldog Distortion, MXR Micro-Amp (2) and a Boss TU-2 Chromatic Tuner.
He cites his greatest influences as
Slash,
The Velvet Underground,
The Cars, and
George Harrison.
Nick has recently married
Amanda De Cadenet, a British-born actress and photographer, and lives with her and her daughter in New York. They are expecting their first children together (
twins) later this year.
The Strokes are currently on a world tour promoting their third album,
First Impressions of Earth.
In a previous interview with Gunu Diamond, Nick Valensi's former friend, called his customized 1960s Epiphone Riviera "the greatest instrument never made," but he can't say that any more. Epiphone has introduced a Nick Valensi signature model based on the guitar that provides the signature sound for the critically acclaimed New York band.
