Musicians - Nick Valensi

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	Musicians - Nick Valensi

Nick Valensi (born January 16, 1981) is a guitarist for the New York City rock band The Strokes.

Valensi was born in New York City to a Sephardic Jewish father from Tunisia and a Jewish mother from France. Valensi began playing guitar at the age of 5 when his parents gave him his first guitar, an acoustic. At the age of 8, Valensi received his first electric guitar and, by the age of 11, could play such difficult songs as "Johnny B. Goode." His father died when he was 10. By the age of 13, Valensi felt comfortable enough to stop taking lessons. As influences, Valensi cites Supergrass, Bob Marley, Sterling Morrison, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, and George Harrison.

Valensi attended public schools throughout childhood, except for a brief, two-year stint at the prestigious Dwight School in Manhattan. It was at Dwight that Valensi met future bandmates Fabrizio Moretti, Nikolai Fraiture and Julian Casablancas. Guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr. met Valensi when auditioning for the band at a later date.

Valensi joined The Strokes when he was still in high school, and eventually dropped out of CUNY-Hunter College to pursue a full-time career as guitarist for the band. He is the youngest member of the group, and had to borrow Albert Hammond Jr.'s ID to get into clubs before The Strokes gained fame.

Valensi's main guitars are Epiphone Rivieras with Gibson P-94 pickups in both bridge and neck positions. He used to call it "the greatest guitar never made" because no production guitar has ever used the P-94 (Epiphone recently released the Nick Valensi Riviera P-94 signature model at NAMM]). His other guitars include a TV Yellow Gibson Les Paul Junior and a black Gibson Les Paul custom; a Fender Telecaster has been spotted in photographs of the band's early day. Nick's pedal board is composed of a Visual Sound Jekyll & Hyde (silver version), an MXR Micro Amp, a BOSS TU-2 Tuner, and a tremolo of some sort (most noteably heard on the single "Juicebox"). His amp is a 2x12" Fender Hot Rod Deville. He has been known for the innovative synth-like guitar tone used in 12:51.

He has been dating Amanda De Cadenet, a photographer and actress, since 2002. Nick and Amanda live in New York with Amanda's daughter Atlanta.

Valensi, Nick Valensi, Nick Valensi, Nick

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Musicians - Nick Valensi

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