Early photographs of The Strokes through the lens of Cody Smyth
This week, I’ve had the immense pleasure of speaking to Cody Smyth, a New York-based photographer known best for his unique shots of The Strokes. Having befriended members of the iconic indie band at high school in the mid-1990s, his fascination for photography took a professional turn after meeting the legendary music photographer Mick Rock.
Smyth’s passion for photography was first piqued in the late 1980s when, as a child, his father bought him his first camera, a Nikon 35mm. Selecting the photo seen below of his father and uncle as the one that “triggered the love,” Smyth captioned: “Street kids turned functioning punks of society. The background is the cover art for Bob Dylan’s Oh Mercy album from ’89; this was around that same time. My father found out where it was and wanted to go take a photo of it.”
In the mid-1990s, Smyth bonded with a group of classmates over a shared zeal for music. “Nick [Valensi], Julian [Casablancas], Fab [Moretti], and I met in high school in’ 95-ish. We all clicked pretty quickly, started going to lunch together every day and basically hung non-stop,” Smyth recalled.
Although the Strokes’ future bassist Nikolai attended a different school, Smyth recalled that they would meet up with him on weekends and soon formed a close-knit group. “Albert [Hammond Jr.] wouldn’t come to New York City till a few years later,” Smyth added. “It was so long ago now it’s a bit hazy, but stories or some crazy quotes do come back to us when we hang. Some great memories for all of us.”
As an aspiring shutter-bug, Smyth found his footing in street photography. “I used to be run and gun in my younger days,” he explained. “It was mostly street and available light. I’m not the biggest technical photographer, although I know lighting very well from working on different sets.”
After accumulating an impressive portfolio of street and concert shots, Smyth fell into the orbit of Mick Rock, the late British photographer famed for his iconic photographs of Lou Reed, David Bowie, Madonna, Iggy Pop, Queen, Snoop Dogg, Joan Jett and more, many of which formed album artworks.
In the early 2000s, Smyth was introduced to Rock via a representative after receiving attention for his music photography portfolio. “Mick was a wild madcap of a man,” Smyth remembered. “His body of work is so huge and important, not just to music or music photography, but he has a place in the history of photography.”
Thanks to their shared passion for music and photography, the pair rapidly formed a close professional relationship. “I ended up going on to assist him for over 20 years, right up until a few months before he passed [in November 2021],” Smyth said. “I wouldn’t say I learned anything technical – Mick would be the first to admit that – but it did become a type of mentorship. We became good friends.”
Alongside his blossoming partnership with Rock, Smyth became renowned for his unique shots of The Strokes. As a close friend of the band, he would capture them through a relaxed and personal lens. “It’s a lifelong friendship,” Smyth reflected. “We all keep in touch, but Valensi is like a brother to me.”
Although he collaborated with the band on his 2017 book, The Strokes: The First Ten Years, these photographs were primarily a product of social escapades, a labour of love. “The professional part was never really brought into it too much,” he explained. “Certain things like my book or if I’m showing some work, I’ll touch base with all of them and let them know what’s happening. Otherwise, I think they have trusted me all these years with my photos, allowing me to go along for the ride. Knowing I wasn’t there to expose anything, it was always very natural.”
In more recent years, Smyth hasn’t photographed The Strokes so much. The band “tends to stay fairly quiet in terms of press and such,” he explained. “Also, all these years later, the dynamics have changed. Everyone is older with families, so everyone is on their own time schedule now. When we were young, we would hang all day and night. I would shoot and shoot. It was easier to run and gun it in life. I still take photos when I can and shoot some videos. I also want to enjoy the shows and not have to worry about getting anything specific.”
Over the coming years, Smyth hopes to continue in his photography pursuits, both personally and professionally. “Full-time or not, I shoot for the love of it,” he asserted. “I try and take the money aspect out and really recognise why I have continued to shoot all these years. There was never anything else I wanted to do.”
Today, we’re proud to present a small sample of images from Smyth’s colossal Strokes archive. Featured first below is the foundational photograph of Smyth’s father and uncle, followed by his personal favourite from the Strokes archive. “I’ve had people tell me they had this on their bedroom wall growing up. It’s crazy to think about,” he said of the streetside shot. “Nick once told me this one has kind of become an iconic photo of them. Not sure about that, but it definitely captured a moment.”
You can browse more of Cody Smyth’s work and purchase The Strokes: The First Ten Years on his website.
