A Letter of appreciation to Mister Julian CasablancasBy Netanel "Franky" Hirsh.

Well hello there! Dear Julian, we may not know each other, but I'm about to tell you a story. This is a story about Friendships, youth, love and music. This is also a story about how the actions of one artist have affected the life of others for the better, and forever. I am well aware of the fact that I am not the first nor the last of telling you this story. Also, I would very much like to avoid the average fan letter. Instead I just want to humbly show you my appreciation of your work, and I think that the best way for me to do that is by explaining you how your art have influenced my life time after time, bonding dozens of people together and making us form new memories we will fondly embrace forever, and all of that is through the love of music. Your music. So please sit back and enjoy your fruits of labor, because you play a main part in this story.

My name is Netanel Hirsh, also known as "Nati", but some call me "Franky". Yeah I know it's weird but that's just it. I'm 24 years old and I live in the city of Rehovot, which is a 40 minute drive from Tel Aviv, at the centre of Israel. I am a professional musician, and I have a band named "Franky & The Alter Egos". We will get to that later, but now we set the scene at the summer of 2007, a year after your 3rd album of The Strokes came out. For as long as I can remember myself, I have been a fan of Rock music. Same goes for my best Buddies Ori Rycus, Chen Shmilovich and Itay Shaish. At the summer of 07' I was just getting into Indie Rock. I was very much into the Rock and Roll sound of the 60's and 70's, like The Beatles, The Who and many more. I was also very fond of 90's rock (my favorite band from that era would be "Blind Melon"). The only "modern" rock band I was fond of was Kings of Leon, thanks to a song of theirs featuring on a FIFA Soccer video game. But my friend Ori, was getting to know all the cool bands from the 00's much before me, and that includes The Strokes. For a year since "First Impressions of Earth" came out, he was trying to hook me on that record, and your music in general, but as cocky as I was, I just wasn't interested in "new music". One day, we had a large house party at a friend's house in the Moshav (Moshav is like a small Israeli village), actually it was quite a scene of parties at the Moshav at those days. I remember lots of young people rocking the hell out of the small teen club they had, with some good rock music and lots and lots of Booze. Well, anyways, after this party we crashed at the couches and beds all over the house and I remember the first time I have listened to "On The Other Side". We just had this fucking crazy party and I was so tired and pissed off, can't even remember why (but I'm guessing it's related to girls, duh), and all of a sudden there it was, this smooth low voice guessing word to word how I've felt. "tired of everyone I know", tired of judging people, tired of being pissed at the world and just fucking tired in general, but what strike me the most was the oh-so-fucking-true line of "I know what's waiting for me on the other side" "I know you're waiting for me on the other side". Eventhough I was so pissed, at myself, at my friends and at the world in general, that line in particular and that song in general made me realize that I'm not alone. I'm not, because first of all eventhough I tend to judge and criticize the ones I love, they still love me to the point where they "wait for me on the other side", as if I could calm down at my own pace and join them for the continuation of the unbearable existence of life. And secondly, I was not alone, for I have found an artist that could say exactly what I've felt. It was within a week after that, that I have listened to, and practiced, all of The Strokes' catalogue. I remember myself waking up in the morning, hating the fact that I have to go to school, but taking comfort in the fact that I get to listen to The Strokes while driving there. Each song I've listened to, I've had a special connection with. Wither it's a memory of listening to this song together with someone, or a memory of me being alone and soaking the guitar melodies up to my bones, thinking of and interpreting the words, or maybe trying to figure out the chords myself, which brings me to the next chapter of this story: the story of your music, influencing and eventually forming a new band.

Photos of those parties back then, having a good time

And also the logo of our former band "Roll Bar".

So, me and my best buddy Ori have had this idea for a long time now, to form a band. We've shared for so long this love for music, especially The Strokes, Kings of Leon and Arctic Monkeys, and what struck us so hard was the feeling that these bands that we like, you could almost "hear their friendship" through the headphones. I've always had the feeling with you guys, that listening to your music makes me wanna sit with all of you guys for a drink and talk about music, movies, girls or whatever. And I very much feel as if the friendship you've had with The Strokes is similar to the friendships I have with various people. Ori have been playing the guitar for awhile now, also me and another friend, Chen. And so it was that with these guys we've formed a band called "Roll Bar". Ori and Chen were playing guitars, changing the lead and rhythm from time to time, just like Albert and Nick. Our friends Itay and Lior were on the drums and Bass, and I was singing. We were kind of awful at first, but we managed. We would often argue and piss off each other, but just as Nick once said in an interview, it was "extreme moments of joy mixing with extreme moments of pain". We never got to play clubs, not even small gigs. We had a few gigs at school parties, mainly covering songs we liked, like "Reptillia" and "Red Morning Light" by Kings of Leon. In general at first we would just practice songs by The Strokes, some Arctic Monkeys and KOL. But when we got to the point where we've had our fun with covers, we started writing and fortunately recording original songs. We've recorded a song named "The Guitar Makes You Taller" and a song named "The Dominator". For a brief moment, we thought we were the next big thing, which is funny. We were sixteen-seventeen-year-old guys, fucking shit up in school but dreaming of having a career as successful musicians overseas, it was so nave, yet so real. We've had so much fun, that eventhough we've never achieved a career overseas (nor even trying to pursue one), just dreaming about it..was awesome! I will forever cherish these moments. And so it was that we've moved on, finished high school and started serving in the army, as you know, in Israel you have to serve in the army for 3 fucking years. And that brings me to the next chapter of this story the story of a bar named "The Chaser".

In the army I was having a hard time. I was never the patriotic type, and as any artist might feel, I felt I had very little with this world. I've matured a lot through these years, as well as all of us. Everyone was separated. The band was no more and we would rarely see each other, only on weekends. We've had to get our shit together and realize we were not kids anymore. Now we had a responsibility, and it doesn't matter what your political views were or whatever wither you were a fighter or a plain secretary of some stupid ass sgt, you had to do your job properly. Unlike school, the army was not fond of kids having big dreams, very little did they care for the individual. You were now a part of this giant system and you had to deliver. I was very stressed. I decided to tattoo on my arm a microphone and a feather, and the letters "NF" which stands for "Never Forget", 'cause I wanted to always remember what it was that I live for making art. And no army could make me forget that. A small romantic memory that I have is me being at the Tironut, which is the basic practice they give you once they recruit you as a soldier. I was guarding the base I was at, and eventhough it was extremely forbidden to listen to music on your watch there I was with tons of equipment on me, a fucking M-16 that I don't even know how to use, checking some shit over the internet on my (not so)smart phone and realizing that you've posted a new song from your then-new first solo album, "11th Dimension". Well, what do you think I would do? I had to listen to it. And so for at list two hours straight and I'm not kidding, I've listened to this song over and over on my phone, checking from time to time that no commander is around to see what I'm doing. Eventhough it could have got me into trouble, I preferred listening to this song and having a bit of sanity in a sea of insanity. Stuff like that would continue to occur again and again through all of these 3 years, your music was a shoulder to lean on while having no one to rely on, none but the music itself. A year and a half into my service, I started to go out on weekends and getting to know the big city of Tel Aviv. You see, not having my close friends around, it was necessary for me to get to know new people which I could discuss with about music, art and whatever. Me and my buddies were always strange figures at the small city of Rehovot, and outside of our gang, no one would really know who The Strokes were or whatever. The bigger picture was, that we were lovers of music, listening to it and practicing it like a mantra, but most people as in all countries most of them are just consumers, eating what is brought to them by TV and Radio, so basically what I'm saying is we were the "cool kids of Rehovot", just without the part of "being cool". We were just nerds to others. In Tel Aviv though, it was quite different. One day my friend Chen (which was one of the guitarists on "Roll Bar") dragged me for a concert of a Muse-Tribute band. I hated Muse, but I didn't anything better to do so I went. Also I've always loved Tel Aviv but I wasn't really familiar with the bars and the music playing there and such. After the gig, there was this girl at the club I've noticed and wanted to hit on her. Little she was interested but I had to try, so I've asked for a cigarette and we chat for a while. She said she's going to this bar at Florentin Neighborhood, which is like the Brooklyn of Tel Aviv, a very hip place to be. Apparently she works there. So me and my friends just followed her. Long after that she said she wasn't intimidated by us "cause I could tell you were nerds and you mean no harm". And so I've stepped for the first time in my life into what would later be my regular bar, and later on would become a bartender at The Chaser. As I walked in a song by "The Dead Weather" was playing, and I was so surprised and thrilled by it, you see, all the bars in my home town get to play these boring 60's songs, and all of a sudden you get this modern music you like, it was a big change for me. I was immediately getting to like this place. I sat next to two guys I didn't know. And all of a sudden a song by The Strokes came, I think it was "Heart in a Cage". The guy sitting next to me took notice that I'm having (too much) fun listening to it, and that I was a stranger in this place. After saying some weird stuff like "hey dude d'you know what's the capitol city of Finland?", he said, "You know? I've watched them play live back in 2004". I was immediately shouting, "SAY WHAAAT??". We immediately became friends. His name was Noam, and his friend was Roy. These two people would later become mentors and teachers of guitar (and art, movies and music in general) for me. Much like the relationship you have with JP Bowerstock. Roy would later on become the person to produce the debut E.P of my current band. So you see, your music have brought us together. The love we shared for your work made me earn two big brothers. And not just that. I liked this place so much that I started mostly going out to this place, getting to know all these other amazing people over there, and eventually djing and bartending at this place immediately after I finished my service. In fact, my first time djing there was a special night, tributed to the music of The Strokes, and also all of the side projects you guys have Little Joy, Nickel Eye, Albert solo stuff etc. I brought all of my nerdy (but super cool) young friends from rehovot, and we were screaming and singing all of the songs word to word, I remember Noam saying to the owner of the bar "fuck man, I feel like we're in a bar of young hip teenagers from Dennmark".great times indeed. I have worked at, and made great memories at The Chaser for about two-three years, up until it was sadly closed. And I even got to perform with my current band at the chaser's last night, which brings me to the last chapter: the chapter of my current band, "Franky and the Alter Egos".

Photos of me and the band, rocking at "the chaser".Our logo, and us having a pizza. We like pizza.So, much before the dissolve of "The Chaser", and in the midst of my service at the army, I still wanted to pursue my dreams and have a successful career as a musician. Sadly, "Roll Bar" was no more and each person went to his own way. I decided to form a new band with new members. I remembered 2friends from Tel Aviv, which were also rock musicians. I've met Nethanel Ratsaby and Or Doron at the Paul Mccartney concert in 2008. we were waiting in line to get in, singing songs by The Beatles. We immediately bonded. we've kept in touch and we saw each other from time to time, so I've suggested one time that we should form a band together. At the time it was more like a solo project, with only me and my friend/producer Roy on board. I've also recruited my long time friend Itay Eliav which was also the Drummer for "Roll Bar". We've rehearsed for a while and we realized quick that this was not a solo project anymore, but a full-time band. We've had the luck of recording our debut E.P "Failure in TLV", and promoting it by a full tour across Israel. And for the first time, I've written songs in Hebrew and performed them live. It was quite refreshing. I felt like I was soaking all these influences from these great foreign bands that I love, and crossing it's sound with the Hebrew vibe on it. This is actually what we do with "Franky & The Alter Egos". We try to make modern indie rock that we love and reference it with the guitars, but the moment you sing in hebrew, you make it sound refreshing and more Israeli, down to earth kind of thing, since we're not from Brooklyn or Sheffield or whatever. We humbly see ourselves as pioneers in that matter, and we're not ashamed of saying that, eventhough we're not a big act. We just enjoy what we do and we try to do it the best way we can. And of course, the vision of "Roll Bar" lives on the vision we felt ever since we were kids listening to your work we want our music to "sound like our friendship", having people think what we thought of the strokes while listening to your music "fuck I want to sit for a drink with these people!".After our E.P debuted, we've had a new member on the bass, the young and lovely Ela Shiek Bloom, replacing Or, and now we are working hard on our debut album.And now, "The sky is not the limit and you'll never guess what is". This is how we feel. And so, this is the end of our story. The story of music bringing all these different people together. Crazy thing is?? We don't even know you personally! Yet we feel so close to you in some weird way. we feel lucky that your music have gracefully impacted our life in so many different ways. Isn't that crazy, how the modern world beats?

Dear Julian, words cannot express what I think and feel when listening to the music you brought to the world, and how thankful I am for bonding with all these amazing people, having memories with them while your music was playing in the background. I cannot begin to explain to you how excited how I am for your show here in Israel. I am also sure that all of these people I've talked about, will be there, enjoying your show all together. This will be the first time for me seeing you live, and also for much of the others I've talked about. I am well aware that this show could be of little significance to you, since you've been doing this for so long now. But for me and all these people, and also many others that I don't even know it means the world to us! I've started by saying, I was trying to avoid the typical fan letter. But truth is, I don't even know what a fan letter looks like, since this is my first attempt doing this, and probably the last. You have played such a big role in my life, it only makes sense to me that you should know these great stories about us, since you've shared an honest part of your soul with us by sharing your music. Since being a young angry teenager at school, through my army service and up to me being a professional musician. It is only fair that you should know this, that at some troubled, very little corner in the world, so far away from your country there are tons of people, loving and cherishing your art. If this is not the reason we as artists make art I seriously don't know what for, then. And I'm not saying that we're doing it for fame and success, not even for this fan letter. As I'm writing this I am actually well aware you might not even get this letter. All I'm saying is, we make art for the small chance of havig people listen to it, and for them to feel what we feel. Art protects us from the unbearable existence of life, much like your music have defended me through hard times. Human beings are fragile creatures. We need art as a way of bringing us together, rather than bringing us apart by the harsh reality of things. And you have successfully achieved that with your work. For that, I am forever in your debt. Thank you.

I am leaving you with some links and recommendations of music and things that might be of interest you:

My former band "Roll Bar":

https://myspace.com/rollbarbandmy current band "Franky & The Alter Egos":

http://frankythealteregos.bandcamp.com/releasesa performance at the late "Chaser": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdfXKSsZkw8an Israeli band from the sixties that weirdly sounds (and looks) like Little Joy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3qh6AIsb-Y&list=PL35A17D7904D15C23a Noisy documentary about an Israeli Shoegaze band, with much detail about the Israeli rock scene:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETYX6tIpzaIif you feel like commenting on this letter, please feel free to contact me in this mail address:

frankythehoon@gmail.comSincerely yours,

Netanel "Franky" Hirsh.

A fan.