Colin Greenwood
Encyclopedia
Colin Charles Greenwood (born 26 June 1969), is an English musician and composer, best known as the bassist
of the rock band Radiohead
. Apart from bass, Colin plays keyboards
, synthesizer
s and works on sampling on the electronic side of Radiohead. He is the older brother of fellow band member, Jonny Greenwood
.
as a child for enough time to become fluent in the language. The family historically had ties to both the British Communist Party and the Fabian Society
. He has credited his older sister, Susan, with greatly influencing his taste in music as an adolescent. Said Greenwood, "She’s responsible for our precocious love of miserable music. The Fall, Magazine
, Joy Division
. We were ostracized at school because everyone else was into Iron Maiden
.”
When Greenwood was 12 years old, he met future band mate Thom Yorke
at Abingdon School
, an independent school
for boys. Future band mates Ed O'Brien
, who Greenwood met during a production of Gilbert and Sullivan
's "Trial by Jury
", and Phil Selway
also attended the school. When Greenwood was 15 years old he bought his first guitar, studying classical guitar
with influential teacher Terence Gilmore-James. It was Gilmore-James who introduced him and the other future members of Radiohead to jazz
, film scores, post World War II
era avant-garde music
, and twentieth century classical music
. Said Greenwood, "When we started, it was very important that we got support from him, because we weren't getting any from the headmaster. You know, the man once sent us a bill, charging us for the use of school property, because we practiced in one of the music rooms on a Sunday."
According to Greenwood, it was out of necessity that he first picked up a bass, teaching himself by playing along to New Order
, Joy Division
and Otis Redding
. “We were people who picked up their respective instruments because we wanted to play music together, rather than just because we wanted to play that particular instrument. So it was more of a collective angle, and if you could contribute by having someone else play your instrument, then that was really cool. I don’t think of myself as a bass player anyway. I’m just in a band with other people." Among his greatest musical influences are Booker T and the MGs. “I’m really more of a soulboy. Bill Withers
and Curtis Mayfield
, those are the people who informed me in playing the bass. That combination of rhythm and melody.”
While an undergraduate studying English
at Peterhouse, Cambridge
between 1987 and 1990, Greenwood read modern American literature, including Raymond Carver
, John Cheever
and other writers “dealing with the tensions of post-war American society." At Peterhouse, Greenwood served as the college's entertainment officer, and helped arrange several gigs
for On A Friday. Later, whilst working at the music chain store
, Our Price
, he had a hand in helping the band get off the ground. When Keith Wozencroft, as a sales rep for EMI
, entered the store one day, Greenwood said, "You should sign my band," and handed him their demo
tape. That got it all started for the band, with EMI. At this time the band renamed themselves Radiohead.
Greenwood plays a number of instruments for Radiohead including electric
- and acoustic bass
, double bass
, keyboards
, samplers
, and synthesizers, and a variety of percussive instruments. He favours Fender basses. Said Greenwood, "My involvement is to play bass guitar, but our ideas and suggestions in certain areas, as to where the music should go or develop, are listened to. We are very much a band."
for playing bass on the track “24 Hour Charleston.”
In 2008, in his first music project not involving other members of Radiohead, Colin played bass on James Lavino
's score to the Alex Karpovsky film "Woodpecker." The soundtrack also featured performances by Lee Sargent
and Tyler Sargent
, of the band Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
.
Cambridge University, posing for a photo with then-current students from both state and private schools for a poster entitled “Put Yourself in the Picture.” The poster was “designed to break down some of the stereotypes that deter able students from applying to Cambridge and encourage more state school applicants.”
In 2003 Greenwood, an amateur
photographer whose images are often posted on Radiohead's website, Dead Air Space, discussed his favourite images in the V&A’s photography
gallery, a collection “ranging from early daguerreotype
and calotype
prints through to modern digital prints
,” as part of their accompanying website’s Personal Tours. Greenwood chose images by Frederick Sommer
and Harold Edgerton among several others.
In 2004 Greenwood served as a judge for the Next Generation Poets
talent contest, sponsored by the Arts Council of England
. The same year, he participated on a panel in the annual sixth form conference run by Radley College
in collaboration with School of St Helen and St Katharine
, speaking on digital-rights management (DRM) from "the views of an artist, someone without whom there would be no music to share in the first place," according to David Smith, at that time a professor at Radley.
, an American literary critic and novelist. They have three sons, Jesse, born in December 2003, Asa, born in December 2005, and Henry, born in December 2010. They live in a small village in Oxfordshire
.
According to Radiohead's guitar tech, Peter "Plank" Clements, it is Greenwood's favourite. "...apart from volume pot and jack, it's all original including the pickup(s), fitted with Stadium Elites 45,65,85,105 (strings
) whilst touring, with other combinations used in the studio."
, "The Bass guitar is DI-ed and Mic-ed with a Sennheiser
609."
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
of the rock band Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
. Apart from bass, Colin plays keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s and works on sampling on the electronic side of Radiohead. He is the older brother of fellow band member, Jonny Greenwood
Jonny Greenwood
Jonathan Richard Guy "Jonny" Greenwood is an English musician and composer, best known as a member of the English rock band Radiohead. Greenwood is a multi-instrumentalist, but serves mainly as lead guitarist and keyboard player. In addition to guitar and keyboard, he plays viola, harmonica,...
.
Early years
Greenwood, whose father served in the Army, lived in GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
as a child for enough time to become fluent in the language. The family historically had ties to both the British Communist Party and the Fabian Society
Fabian Society
The Fabian Society is a British socialist movement, whose purpose is to advance the principles of democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist, rather than revolutionary, means. It is best known for its initial ground-breaking work beginning late in the 19th century and continuing up to World...
. He has credited his older sister, Susan, with greatly influencing his taste in music as an adolescent. Said Greenwood, "She’s responsible for our precocious love of miserable music. The Fall, Magazine
Magazine (band)
Magazine are an English post-punk group active from 1977 to 1981, then reformed in 2009. Their debut single, "Shot by Both Sides", is now acknowledged as a classic and their debut album, Real Life, is still widely admired as one of the greatest albums of all time...
, Joy Division
Joy Division
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis , Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris .Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences...
. We were ostracized at school because everyone else was into Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
.”
When Greenwood was 12 years old, he met future band mate Thom Yorke
Thom Yorke
Thomas "Thom" Edward Yorke is an English musician who is the lead vocalist and principal songwriter for Radiohead. He mainly plays guitar and piano, but he has also played drums and bass guitar...
at Abingdon School
Abingdon School
Abingdon School is a British day and boarding independent school for boys situated in Abingdon, Oxfordshire , previously known as Roysse's School. In 1998 a formal merger took place between Abingdon School and Josca's, a preparatory school four miles to the west at Frilford...
, an independent school
Independent school (UK)
An independent school is a school that is not financed through the taxation system by local or national government and is instead funded by private sources, predominantly in the form of tuition charges, gifts and long-term charitable endowments, and so is not subject to the conditions imposed by...
for boys. Future band mates Ed O'Brien
Ed O'Brien
Edward John O'Brien is an English musician, songwriter and guitarist for the rock band Radiohead. He is also responsible for harmony vocals during live concerts and on many tracks from the band's albums...
, who Greenwood met during a production of Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
's "Trial by Jury
Trial by Jury
Trial by Jury is a comic opera in one act, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was first produced on 25 March 1875, at London's Royalty Theatre, where it initially ran for 131 performances and was considered a hit, receiving critical praise and outrunning its...
", and Phil Selway
Phil Selway
Philip James "Phil" "The Graf" Selway is an English musician and songwriter, best known as the drummer of English rock group Radiohead. He also drums and provides backing vocals, along with occasional guitar and lead vocals, for 7 Worlds Collide...
also attended the school. When Greenwood was 15 years old he bought his first guitar, studying classical guitar
Classical guitar
The classical guitar is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones...
with influential teacher Terence Gilmore-James. It was Gilmore-James who introduced him and the other future members of Radiohead to jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, film scores, post World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
era avant-garde music
Avant-garde music
Avant-garde music is a term used to characterize music which is thought to be ahead of its time, i.e. containing innovative elements or fusing different genres....
, and twentieth century classical music
20th century classical music
20th century classical music was without a dominant style and highly diverse.-Introduction:At the turn of the century, music was characteristically late Romantic in style. Composers such as Gustav Mahler and Jean Sibelius were pushing the bounds of Post-Romantic Symphonic writing...
. Said Greenwood, "When we started, it was very important that we got support from him, because we weren't getting any from the headmaster. You know, the man once sent us a bill, charging us for the use of school property, because we practiced in one of the music rooms on a Sunday."
According to Greenwood, it was out of necessity that he first picked up a bass, teaching himself by playing along to New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
, Joy Division
Joy Division
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis , Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris .Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences...
and Otis Redding
Otis Redding
Otis Ray Redding, Jr. was an American soul singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the major figures in soul and R&B...
. “We were people who picked up their respective instruments because we wanted to play music together, rather than just because we wanted to play that particular instrument. So it was more of a collective angle, and if you could contribute by having someone else play your instrument, then that was really cool. I don’t think of myself as a bass player anyway. I’m just in a band with other people." Among his greatest musical influences are Booker T and the MGs. “I’m really more of a soulboy. Bill Withers
Bill Withers
William Harrison "Bill" Withers, Jr. is an American singer-songwriter and musician who performed and recorded from 1970 until 1985. Some of his best-known songs are "Lean on Me", "Ain't No Sunshine", "Use Me", "Just the Two of Us", "Lovely Day", and "Grandma's Hands"...
and Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Lee Mayfield was an American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer.He is best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's and for composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Super Fly, Mayfield is highly...
, those are the people who informed me in playing the bass. That combination of rhythm and melody.”
Radiohead
Greenwood first teamed up with classmate Thom Yorke in 1986 to start a band, then known as On A Friday; Ed O'Brien was then recruited, and finally, older student Phil Selway was approached to join the band. Later, Greenwood's younger brother Jonny, then 14 years old, also joined the band. Of being in a band with his brother, Colin has said, "...beyond the normal brotherly thing, I respect him as a person and a musician," and has quipped, “It’s wonderful, it’s good, it makes my promise to keep an eye on him for my mother a lot easier, having him right next to me all the time. But he’s very easy to look after anyway, 'cause he’s very well behaved.”While an undergraduate studying English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
at Peterhouse, Cambridge
Peterhouse, Cambridge
Peterhouse is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the oldest college of the University, having been founded in 1284 by Hugo de Balsham, Bishop of Ely...
between 1987 and 1990, Greenwood read modern American literature, including Raymond Carver
Raymond Carver
Raymond Clevie Carver, Jr. was an American short story writer and poet. Carver is considered a major American writer of the late 20th century and also a major force in the revitalization of the short story in the 1980s....
, John Cheever
John Cheever
John William Cheever was an American novelist and short story writer. He is sometimes called "the Chekhov of the suburbs." His fiction is mostly set in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, the Westchester suburbs, old New England villages based on various South Shore towns around Quincy,...
and other writers “dealing with the tensions of post-war American society." At Peterhouse, Greenwood served as the college's entertainment officer, and helped arrange several gigs
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
for On A Friday. Later, whilst working at the music chain store
Chain store
Chain stores are retail outlets that share a brand and central management, and usually have standardized business methods and practices. These characteristics also apply to chain restaurants and some service-oriented chain businesses. In retail, dining and many service categories, chain businesses...
, Our Price
Our Price
Our Price was a chain of record stores in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland from 1972 until 2004. Originally founded in 1972 by Gary Nesbitt, Edward Stollins and Mike Isaacs, early stores were branded "The Tape Revolution" and concentrated on the then-new compact cassette format.The name...
, he had a hand in helping the band get off the ground. When Keith Wozencroft, as a sales rep for EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
, entered the store one day, Greenwood said, "You should sign my band," and handed him their demo
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
tape. That got it all started for the band, with EMI. At this time the band renamed themselves Radiohead.
Greenwood plays a number of instruments for Radiohead including electric
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- and acoustic bass
Acoustic bass guitar
The acoustic bass guitar is a bass instrument with a hollow wooden body similar to, though usually somewhat larger than a steel-string acoustic guitar...
, double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
, keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, samplers
Sampler (musical instrument)
A sampler is an electronic musical instrument similar in some respects to a synthesizer but, instead of generating sounds, it uses recordings of sounds that are loaded or recorded into it by the user and then played back by means of a keyboard, sequencer or other triggering device to perform or...
, and synthesizers, and a variety of percussive instruments. He favours Fender basses. Said Greenwood, "My involvement is to play bass guitar, but our ideas and suggestions in certain areas, as to where the music should go or develop, are listened to. We are very much a band."
- Greenwood was instrumental in creating the song "Dollars and Cents", which arose when he played his bassline over an Alice ColtraneAlice ColtraneAlice Coltrane, née McLeod was an American jazz pianist, organist, harpist, and composer.-Biography:...
record he particularly liked; brother Jonny set about creating an original string arrangement with the same vibe. "'Dollars and Cents' is Curtis MayfieldCurtis MayfieldCurtis Lee Mayfield was an American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer.He is best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's and for composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Super Fly, Mayfield is highly...
. When I play fuzz bass on 'Packt Like Sardines' and 'Exit MusicExit Music (For a Film)"Exit Music " is a song by Radiohead, written specifically for the ending credits of the 1996 film William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet. Although not included on either of the two soundtrack albums at the request of Thom Yorke, the song appears on the band's highly acclaimed third album, OK...
' on OK ComputerOK ComputerOK Computer is the third studio album by the English alternative rock band Radiohead, released on 16 June 1997 on Parlophone in the UK and 1 July 1997 by Capitol Records in the US. It marks a deliberate attempt by the band to move away from the introspective guitar-oriented sound of their previous...
it’s all, I think his name is Henry Thomson, something like that. Curtis’s bass player, yeah, who is God, fine man." - The bass line in "The National AnthemThe National Anthem"The National Anthem" is the third track from the rock band Radiohead's 2000 album Kid A. The song is moored to a repetitive bassline, has a processed electronic production, and develops in a direction influenced by jazz...
", perhaps Radiohead's most recognizable, was actually played in the Kid AKid AKid A is the fourth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released in October 2000 by the Parlophone label. A commercial success worldwide, Kid A went platinum in its first week of release in the United Kingdom. Despite the lack of an official single or music video as publicity, Kid A...
recordingSound recording and reproductionSound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
by Thom Yorke. However, Greenwood plays it live. - Airbag is Greenwood's own favorite of his bass lines. The band was inspired by DJ Shadow to use cut-up drum beats. He has said that he played the distinctive fragments heard in the song, and planned to come up with something to fill all the gaps, but never got around to it.
- Though Greenwood mainly plays bass using the finger picking technique, he can also be heard playing slap bass on the song "My Iron LungMy Iron LungMy Iron Lung is the third extended play by English alternative rock group Radiohead, released in October 1994. The title track later appeared on the band's second studio album The Bends...
", off their second album, The BendsThe BendsThe Bends is the second studio album by the English alternative rock band Radiohead, released on 13 March 1995 by Parlophone. The Bends was produced by John Leckie at EMI's studios in London, and engineered by Nigel Godrich, who would go on to produce all future albums by the band...
.
Music
In 2003, Colin Greenwood was credited on Jonny Greenwood’s debut solo album BodysongBodysong (album)
Bodysong is an album by Radiohead member Jonny Greenwood as well as a soundtrack to a film of the same name. On the album, Greenwood fuses elements of jazz, electronic, classical and experimental music...
for playing bass on the track “24 Hour Charleston.”
In 2008, in his first music project not involving other members of Radiohead, Colin played bass on James Lavino
James Lavino
James Lavino is an American composer, known especially for his choral music and his music for film and television.-Life and career:...
's score to the Alex Karpovsky film "Woodpecker." The soundtrack also featured performances by Lee Sargent
Lee Sargent
Lee Sargent is a keyboardist/guitarist/backup vocalist for the indie rock band Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.He attended college at Connecticut College along with the other members of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and prior to the group's formation he produced the Canine Tricycle Bereavement record Backseat...
and Tyler Sargent
Tyler Sargent
Tyler Sargent is the bassist and backing vocalist for the indie rock band Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.He attended college at Connecticut College along with the other members of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah prior to the group's formation. He attended high school at Milton Academy...
, of the band Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is an American indie rock group based in Brooklyn, New York and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Their debut album, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, was self-released in 2005.-History:...
.
Other projects
In 1997 Greenwood participated in a marketing campaign for alma materAlma mater
Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:...
Cambridge University, posing for a photo with then-current students from both state and private schools for a poster entitled “Put Yourself in the Picture.” The poster was “designed to break down some of the stereotypes that deter able students from applying to Cambridge and encourage more state school applicants.”
In 2003 Greenwood, an amateur
Amateur
An amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without pay and often without formal training....
photographer whose images are often posted on Radiohead's website, Dead Air Space, discussed his favourite images in the V&A’s photography
Fine art photography
Fine art photography refers to photographs that are created in accordance with the creative vision of the photographer as artist. Fine art photography stands in contrast to photojournalism, which provides a visual account for news events, and commercial photography, the primary focus of which is to...
gallery, a collection “ranging from early daguerreotype
Daguerreotype
The daguerreotype was the first commercially successful photographic process. The image is a direct positive made in the camera on a silvered copper plate....
and calotype
Calotype
Calotype or talbotype is an early photographic process introduced in 1841 by William Henry Fox Talbot, using paper coated with silver iodide. The term calotype comes from the Greek for 'beautiful', and for 'impression'....
prints through to modern digital prints
Digital printing
Digital printing refers to methods of printing from a digital based image directly to a variety of media. It usually refers to professional printing where small run jobs from desktop publishing and other digital sources are printed using large format and/or high volume laser or inkjet printers...
,” as part of their accompanying website’s Personal Tours. Greenwood chose images by Frederick Sommer
Frederick Sommer
Frederick Sommer , was an artist born in Angri, Italy and raised in Brazil. He earned a M.A. degree in Landscape Architecture from Cornell University where he met Frances Elisabeth Watson whom he married in 1928; they had no children...
and Harold Edgerton among several others.
In 2004 Greenwood served as a judge for the Next Generation Poets
Next Generation poets (2004)
The Next Generation poets are a list of young and middle-aged figures from British poetry, mostly British, compiled by a panel for the Poetry Book Society in 2004. This is a promotional exercise, and a sequel to the New Generation poets. The 'Next Generation' was followed by 'Alternative...
talent contest, sponsored by the Arts Council of England
Arts Council England
Arts Council England was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three separate bodies for England, Scotland and Wales. It is a non-departmental public body of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport...
. The same year, he participated on a panel in the annual sixth form conference run by Radley College
Radley College
Radley College , founded in 1847, is a British independent school for boys on the edge of the English village of Radley, near to the market town of Abingdon in Oxfordshire, and has become a well-established boarding school...
in collaboration with School of St Helen and St Katharine
School of St Helen and St Katharine
The School of St Helen & St Katharine is an English independent girls' school, located in Abingdon.- History :The School of St Helen & St Katharine was originally two separate girls' schools, St Helen's School and St Katharine's School, founded in the early years of the twentieth century...
, speaking on digital-rights management (DRM) from "the views of an artist, someone without whom there would be no music to share in the first place," according to David Smith, at that time a professor at Radley.
Personal life
In December 1998, Greenwood married Molly McGrannMolly McGrann
Molly McGrann is an American literary critic, poet, and novelist. She is an alumna of Skidmore College and New York University. She lives in England.-Biography:...
, an American literary critic and novelist. They have three sons, Jesse, born in December 2003, Asa, born in December 2005, and Henry, born in December 2010. They live in a small village in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
.
Electric basses
- Cream Fender Precision Bass http://www.flickr.com/photos/colin_greenwood/291578952, made in 1973
According to Radiohead's guitar tech, Peter "Plank" Clements, it is Greenwood's favourite. "...apart from volume pot and jack, it's all original including the pickup(s), fitted with Stadium Elites 45,65,85,105 (strings
Strings (music)
A string is the vibrating element that produces sound in string instruments, such as the guitar, harp, piano, and members of the violin family. Strings are lengths of a flexible material kept under tension so that they may vibrate freely, but controllably. Strings may be "plain"...
) whilst touring, with other combinations used in the studio."
- Music Man SterlingMusic Man SterlingThe Music Man Sterling is a model of bass guitar designed by the Music Man company. It was named after Sterling Ball, son of Ernie Ball, the founder of the parent company....
(Used during The Bends and Pablo Honey period. It has a very famous tone which is very apparent in "Bones". Colin also used one on the Hail to the ThiefHail to the ThiefHail to the Thief is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released in June 2003 through Parlophone Records. After two Radiohead albums that featured heavily processed vocals, less guitar, and strong influence from experimental electronica and jazz, Hail to the Thief was seen...
track 'Myxomatosis'.) - Fender Jazz BassJazz bassJazz bass is the use of the double bass, or in some genres bass guitar, to improvise accompaniment and solos in a jazz or jazz fusion style. The double bass began being used in jazz in the 1890s, to supply the low-pitched walking basslines which outlined the harmony of the music...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/colin_greenwood/368502663/ (shown here to the left of the above Precision Bass) with Seymour DuncanSeymour DuncanSeymour Duncan is a company that is best known for manufacturing of guitar pickups, and currently has a line of effects pedals. The company was founded in 1976 by guitarist and luthier Seymour W. Duncan and his then-wife Cathy Carter Duncan in Goleta, California, USA...
STR-J1 pickups in neckNeck (music)The neck is the part of certain string instruments that projects from the main body and is the base of the fingerboard, where the fingers are placed to stop the strings at different pitches. Guitars, lutes, the violin family, and the mandolin family are examples of instruments which have necks.The...
and bridgeBridge (instrument)A bridge is a device for supporting the strings on a stringed instrument and transmitting the vibration of those strings to some other structural component of the instrument in order to transfer the sound to the surrounding air.- Explanation :...
. - Tobacco sunburst Fender CoronadoFender CoronadoThe Fender Coronado was a double-cutaway thin-line hollow-body electric guitar, manufactured by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. The very un-Fender like instrument was designed by Roger Rossmeisl in an attempt to capitalise on the increasing popularity of...
bass http://www.flickr.com/photos/colin_greenwood/508079351/ - Black Fender Telecaster Bass http://www.flickr.com/photos/colin_greenwood/291578848/, made in 1971
- Cherry sunburst GuildGuild Guitar CompanyThe Guild Guitar Company is a USA-based guitar manufacturer founded in 1952 by Alfred Dronge, a guitarist and music-store owner, and George Mann, a former executive with the Epiphone Guitar Company...
Bass http://www.flickr.com/photos/colin_greenwood/291578905/ - Black Fender Jaguar BassFender Jaguar BassThe Fender Jaguar Bass is an electric bass guitar manufactured in Japan by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.-Design:In appearance, the Jaguar Bass is largely faithful to the original Fender Jaguar, with exception of the neck, bridge, and pickups taken from the Fender Jazz Bass...
(Used in 'The Headmaster Ritual' on the 'Thumbs Down' webcast and during performances of 'Jigsaw Falling Into Place'.) - La Bella Deep talkin' 760RL strings
- Stadium Elites 45,65,85,105 strings
- Tortex '88's guitar pickGuitar pickA guitar pick is a plectrum used for guitars. A pick is generally made of one uniform material; examples include plastic, nylon, rubber, felt, tortoiseshell, wood, metal, glass, and stone...
s
Amplifiers / combos used live and in the studio
- 240v AmpegAmpegAmpeg is primarily a musical instrument amplifier manufacturer headquartered in Woodinville, Washington, though they also manufacture guitars to a small extent...
SVT-CLU classic head with standard valves into an Ampeg 8x10 cab - Some rehearsing and recording done with a blue diamond finish Ampeg B-15RW
- Colin also uses the following Ashdown Gear: ABM EVO 500 II head and an ABM 810 Cabinet
Effects pedals
- Lovetone Big Cheese
- Shin-ei Companion FY-2Shin-ei Companion FY-2The Shin-ei Companion FY-2 is a discontinued fuzz box which was made by the Shin-ei company in the 1970s in Japan. FY-2 pedals are considered a rarity, and can be occasionally found on eBay.-Sound:The FY-2 is well known for its raw, distinctive, gated fuzz...
Fuzz - BOSSBoss CorporationBoss is a manufacturer of effects pedals for electric guitar and bass guitar. It is a division of the Roland Corporation, a Japanese manufacturer that specializes in musical equipment and accessories...
DD-5 Digital Delay - BOSS LS-2 Line Selector
- Tech 21Tech 21Tech 21 is a New York based manufacturer of guitar and bass effect pedals, amps, and DI boxes which allow the user to emulate the tone of many popular guitar amps and record those sounds directly into a mixer....
SansAmp Bass Driver DI - AkaiAkaiAkai is a consumer electronics brand, founded by Saburo Akai as , a Japanese manufacturer in 1929. It is now headquartered in Singapore as a subsidiary of Grande Holdings, a Hong Kong-based conglomerate, which also owns the formerly Japanese brands Nakamichi and Sansui. The Akai brand is now used...
Headrush E2, an E1 has also been used.
Stage technical specs
According to Graham Lees, Radiohead's touring audio engineerAudio engineering
An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
, "The Bass guitar is DI-ed and Mic-ed with a Sennheiser
Sennheiser
Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG is a private German audio company specializing in the design and production of a wide range of both consumer and high fidelity products, including microphones, headphones, telephony accessories, and avionics headsets for consumer, professional, and business...
609."
Monitors
Lees: "Colin uses Wedges alone, he has never tried in ears up to now, but has expressed an interest in trying them on the next tour. He also has a sub bass unit behind him to add extra weight on the low frequencies, mainly the kick drum and the drum machines. He has a full mix of everything on stage."Percussion
- He also plays the jingle bellJingle bellA jingle bell is a type of bell which produces a distinctive 'jingle' sound, especially in large numbers. They find use in many areas as a percussion instrument, including the classic sleigh bell sound and morris dancing...
on Airbag - The clavesClavesClaves are a percussion instrument , consisting of a pair of short Claves (Anglicized pronunciation: clah-vays, IPA:[ˈklαves]) are a percussion instrument (idiophone), consisting of a pair of short Claves (Anglicized pronunciation: clah-vays, IPA:[ˈklαves]) are a percussion instrument (idiophone),...
on "Paranoid AndroidParanoid Android"Paranoid Android" is a song by English alternative rock band Radiohead, featured on their 1997 third studio album OK Computer. The lyrics of the darkly humorous song were written primarily by singer Thom Yorke, following an unpleasant experience in a Los Angeles bar...
" and some live performances of "IdiotequeIdioteque"Idioteque" is the eighth track from the British rock band Radiohead's 2000 album Kid A. It was seen as a departure for the rock band, as the song is driven by electronic beats. The song has been played at nearly every concert since 2000...
"