50 free The Strokes trivia questions with answers — music quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
The Strokes arrived in 2001 looking like they had been assembled in a Lower East Side bar in 1977, and for a while every guitar band on both sides of the Atlantic sounded like them. Brandon Flowers threw out everything The Killers had written after hearing Is This It, and Lizzy Goodman named her history of the decade's New York scene after one of their Room on Fire songs. These 50 questions follow the band from the Dwight School and a Swiss boarding school to the Mercury Lounge, the Modern Age EP that set off the biggest bidding war for a rock act in years, the basement studio where Gordon Raphael recorded the debut, the cover photo RCA swapped for a bubble-chamber image, the song pulled after September 11, the Roman Coppola videos, the Nigel Godrich sessions nobody has heard, the Drew Barrymore years, the hiatus, the secret gig as Venison, the Rick Rubin comeback that finally won a Grammy, and the 2026 tour with a stand-in guitarist. Easy questions stick to the line-up and album titles; the expert tier asks about producers, B-sides and which NME issue gave away Last Nite. Every answer is cited to a page we checked and comes with a one-line explanation. Play it solo or print it for an indie night alongside our Arctic Monkeys and Killers quizzes.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Where were The Strokes formed in 1998?
New York
They formed in 1998 and became a leading act of the garage rock revival.
Q 02Who is The Strokes' lead singer and primary songwriter?
Julian Casablancas
He wrote most of the first three albums before the band turned collaborative on Angles.
Q 03Who plays drums for The Strokes?
Fabrizio Moretti
His relationship with Drew Barrymore brought the band extra tabloid coverage until 2007.
Q 04Who plays bass in The Strokes?
Nikolai Fraiture
He met Casablancas at age six at the Lycée Français de New York.
Q 05What is the title of The Strokes' 2001 debut album?
Is This It
Australia got it first, in July 2001, with the US release delayed to October.
Q 06Which EP sparked a label bidding war in early 2001?
The Modern Age
It was the largest bidding war for a rock band in years; RCA won.
Q 07Which label signed The Strokes after the bidding war?
RCA
Rough Trade had released the EP in the UK; RCA later delayed the US album over its cover and lyrics.
Q 08At which Manhattan school did Casablancas, Valensi and Moretti start playing together?
Dwight
They formed an informal band there in 1997.
Q 09At which Swiss boarding school had Casablancas and Albert Hammond Jr. first met?
Institut Le Rosey
Hammond was the last to join, at the end of 1998; two weeks later they were flatmates.
Q 10Where did The Strokes play their first show, on September 14, 1999?
The Spiral
They soon became regulars at HiFi Bar, the Luna Lounge and the Mercury Lounge.
Q 11Which Mercury Lounge booker quit to become the band's manager?
Ryan Gentles
He later sent the email confirming the band's 'much needed break' in 2006.
Q 12Who produced both Is This It and Room on Fire?
Gordon Raphael
He recorded the debut in a poorly lit basement studio called Transporterraum in the East Village.
Q 13Which British magazine gave away Last Nite as a free MP3 a week before the EP?
NME
NME later named Is This It the greatest album of the 2000s.
Q 14What does the international cover of Is This It show?
Q 21Which Radiohead producer began Room on Fire before the band went back to Raphael?
Nigel Godrich
The Godrich recordings have never been released.
Q 22What was the first single from Room on Fire?
12:51
Valensi's guitar produced its distinctive keyboard-like tones; the video echoed Tron.
Q 23Which actress did drummer Moretti date until January 2007?
Drew Barrymore
The relationship brought the band a wave of extra media coverage around Room on Fire.
Q 24Which singer recorded the Reptilia B-side duet with the band while on tour?
A gloved hand on a naked backside
Photographer Colin Lane shot his then-girlfriend; RCA used particle collisions for the US cover instead.
Q 15Which song was dropped from the US edition of Is This It after September 11?
New York City Cops
It was replaced with When It Started; the US vinyl, released on September 11 itself, kept it.
Q 16Which director made all the Is This It music videos?
Roman Coppola
He also directed the Tron-inspired clip for 12:51.
Q 17Critics heard which CBGB band in the debut, one the Strokes said they'd never heard?
Television
Casablancas cited the Velvet Underground and the Doors instead.
Q 18Which legendary band did The Strokes open for in North America after the debut?
The Rolling Stones
They opened for Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers later, on the Highway Companion tour in 2006.
Q 19Who joined the band at Radio City Music Hall in 2002 to play a guitar solo?
Jack White
The White Stripes shared the bill that night.
Q 20Which magazine ranked Is This It the second-best album of the 2000s?
Rolling Stone
NME went one better and named it the greatest album of the decade.
Regina Spektor
She and Kings of Leon were the tour's support acts; the song became the Reptilia B-side.
Q 25Which Clash song did the band cover as the B-side of The End Has No End?
Clampdown
A planned Live in London album from Alexandra Palace was scrapped over recording quality.
Q 26What was the first single from First Impressions of Earth?
Juicebox
It leaked in September 2005, forcing the release date forward.
Q 27First Impressions of Earth was the band's first album to reach number one where?
The UK
It debuted at four in the US and went gold in Japan within a week.
Q 28Who produced First Impressions of Earth?
David Kahne
The switch from Raphael gave the album a different, more polished sound.
Q 29Which Strokes song was used in a Ford Sync commercial?
You Talk Way Too Much
It appeared during the long break after the First Impressions tour.
Q 30Under what name did the band play a secret 2010 show at Dingwalls in London?
Venison
Just 487 people saw their first live gig since October 2006.