Radiohead have definitely made a mark this summer with their persistent touring around the area and also their most recent LP the bends. Before the soundcheck at the RPM Club in Toronto I got the chance to talk with present Glamour Guide For Trash cover boy Jonny, the lead guitarist and brilliant poser from the band and had an interesting chat that resulted in the following dialogue.

Trash: How does it feel to be generally left out of some of the politics among bands, specifically in the press?

Jonny: We don’t really discuss other bands in the press so there’s never any chance of a reply. A time a couple of years ago, a journalist from the NME phoned Suede telling them how much we hated them, which was bizarre, so we sent them our own message, warning them of this, and they didn’t even believe it anyway.

Trash: Do you think that Radiohead are in a god position in the fact that the press didn’t make you so they can’t break you?

Jonny: There are some journalists who always liked us and were hopeful about us in proving them right. Now that we have this album, there is a lot of I-told-you-so-ing going on in a positive way. They’re having their confidence in us boosted by it.

Trash: How are songs usually written between you and Thom?

Jonny: Thom will usually write the title first and then some melodic idea of his or a choral idea of mine and they’re kind of tied together and songs get expanded, but they usually begin as short ideas or long ideas of Thom’s and they get expanded upon or added upon by the rest of us.

Trash: Was "My Iron Lung" a fusion of two song ideas, or was it written initially as an entire body?

Jonny: I’ve never told anyone this, but "My Iron Lung" was recorded live in the London Astoria and we just happened to record it onto a 24-track tape and having not done a very good version in the studio, we thought that it sounded much better from this concert, so we just used that.

Trash: So the definitive version is live?

Jonny: Yea, but it doesn’t sound like it because we took out the audience.

Trash: That’s almost along the same lines of "Creep" done in one take.

Jonny: Yea, most of the Bends was done in one or two takes. "Bones" was done all in one take much like most of the album.

Trash: Were the two parts of "My Iron Lung" always together or were they put together as two different song ideas?

Jonny: We wanted to take it somewhere else and make it slightly hysterical but only for a limited time we were just playing with the idea of tension; building up tension and releasing tension.

Trash: I think it would have been safe to just have used the first part as the song.

Jonny: That would have ensured radio play. A lot of radio stations said they like the first part but it got too loud.

Trash: What was your most overwhelming fan experience?

Jonny: We tend to get extremely intense fans, especially in places like Japan where they’re not really interested in sleeping with you as much as they are interested in being your wife. We affect people a lot of which can be an unhealthy thing if you were to use it.

Trash: What was teen life like for you?

Jonny: I’m only four years past so I don’t really feel like it’s that distant. In a way I’ve just carried my teen life on because I did three weeks of college and then we signed to the record company and so I left and started touring. I joined Radiohead when I was 14 and was in school and they were all just leaving school from university.

Trash: Is the recorded version of the songs drastically different from how they started out as?

Jonny: They are usually finalized quite perfectly before they are recorded. "Creep" for example was written and arranged two weeks before we recorded and sounding identical before we recorded it.

Trash: Did you ever envision yourself as a rock star when you were younger?

Jonny: No, never.

Trash: So you never danced in front of your mirror with your guitar pretending to be your favourite rock star?

Jonny: Thankfully, no. I did and still do it fairly badly in terms of whenever I’m asked what guitarist I like I can never remember their name. I always have to refer to what band they’re in, or even what guitar I play. I did an interview with Guitarist magazine and they asked what guitars I prefer. I didn’t have a clue, and I couldn’t even remember the exact name of my guitar and amp so he was very angry and horrified, a Guitarist journalist person who was mortified by the fact that someone could be in a band and not know these essential things. I don’t even have any old vintage guitars or anything. He said: "well what guitars do you like?" I said: "new ones in shops that don’t break and are quite solid and sound nice to my ears."

Trash: Who do you think is funnier, Dawn French or Jennifer Saunders?

Jonny: That’s an odd question. I think Jennifer Saunders, her success is overshadowing Dawn’s. It’s a shame but I think Dawn French’s time will come, trust me I think she’s just waiting. I think they’re the funniest together to be honest, they set each other up very well.

Trash: Is the music written in your head or does it come about while playing with the band?

Jonny: I usually hear things in my head while I’m playing and try to translate it through a guitar to peoples’ ears. It’s quite an interesting idea of forging the link between your own mind and an audience’s ears and trying to get that gap shorter and shorter, that’s the eventual aim, isn’t it.

Trash: Do you thrive off the accuracy of what’s in your head into the song?

Jonny: I thrive on trying to overachieve and get things out of me that I would have never expected or predicted. I would like to ensure that I am surprised by what I see recorded. If I’m not then I know it’s not good enough.

Trash: What is your favourite thing to do in each city while you are on tour?

Jonny: I used to do a lot of record hunting on the first American tour, lots and lots. I don’t do it as much any more, vinyl is getting so expensive these days though.

Trash: Where’s the mystery?

Jonny: I suppose the only mystery is where artistic ideas come from and why people feel the urge to bring them to life or why people feel the urge to create anything ever, it’s a really strange desire a really strange drive.