He often holds his guitar in a high horizontal position, similar to Buddy Holly, which he says is so that he can dance better. Guided By Voices, The Beach Boys, Buddy Holly, Frank Black, John Lennon, Matthew Sweet and The Velvet Underground are often cited as Hammond's musical influences. Though vocalist Julian Casablancas is the primary songwriter in The Strokes, Hammond co-wrote the track "Automatic Stop" with Casablancas for the group's second album, "Room on Fire". He has also been credited with writing three mostly instrumental songs ("Swiss Beats", "Holland", and "By The Way") for the band's 2001 tour video entitled "In Transit". These songs were reworked for his later solo album and have different titles ("Everyone Gets A Star", "Bright Young Thing", "In Transit"). He wrote "Elephant Song" when he was required to record a song for his Sound 101 class during his freshman year and used the school's recording equipment. The song was played at a few shows before the release of The Strokes' debut album. They later re-recorded the song as a special giveaway for fan club members. In October 2005, Hammond and Ben Kweller released a version of "Wait" on "This Bird Has Flown – A 40th Anniversary Tribute to the Beatles' Rubber Soul." Hammond released a solo album entitled "Yours To Keep" in the U.K. through Rough Trade Records on October 9, 2006 and in North America through New Line Records/Scratchie Records on March 6, 2007. Produced by Thin Lizard Dawn vocalist Lattimer and recorded at the Electric Lady Studios in New York City, the album features several musical guests, such as Sean Lennon, Ben Kweller, The Strokes' manager Ryan Gentles, Jody Porter of Fountains of Wayne, Chris Feinstein, Mikki James, Sammy James Jr. (The Mooney Suzuki) and The Strokes' lead singer, Casablancas. Bassist Josh Lattanzi and drummer Matt Romano serve as the backing band, with Hammond on guitar and vocals. The first single taken from the album, "101", was released exclusively through iTunes on September 4, 2006. The music video to "In Transit" was directed by Joaquin Phoenix. Hammond has said to have been "waiting to make a record like this for years". Early support from his bandmates in the Strokes was only evident after Casablancas' role playing bass and back-up vocals on the track "Scared", though all of the members (with the exclusion of Nick Valensi, who was busy taking care of his newborn children) attended his shows in and around New York.  "101" was the follow-up single to "Everyone Gets A Star".