Julian Casablancas and this, "translated into teenage rebelliousness." His mother subsequently married painter Sam Adoquei. Adoquei 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. Casablancas knew the bassist of The Strokes, Nikolai Fraiture since they were six, while both were attending Lycée Français de New York. When he was 13, Casablancas' father sent him to Institut Le Rosey, a boarding school in Switzerland, where he met future Strokes member Albert Hammond Jr. Casablancas later returned to New York and
Julian Casablancas synthesizer), Alex Carapetis on drums and percussion, and Jeff Kite on keyboard. Wanting to earn a greater sense of respect as a band, rather than be perceived as a “side-project” of Julian's, the band officially changed their name from "Julian Casablancas + The Voidz" to simply "The Voidz" during an 'initiation' video on the band's YouTube page on December 8, 2017. Julian performed with Carapetis and Kite throughout the tour for his solo album, "Phrazes for the Young". Through Carapetis, Casablancas met Gritter and Bercovici. Bercovici, having played music with Yaghmai for several of years, then connected him to Casablancas,