THROUGH THE WARMEST CORD OF CARE

(NME, July 13th 1996)

Not even Johnny's [sic] stylish arm-brace accessory (hey! Limb damage is IN for '97!) can dull the cocky cacophony tonight.

(BBC Radio 1 'We Love Us', May 12th 1997)

Mark: "Mmm, alright, yeah, ok. Now then, what's this arm brace you're wearing at the moment? What's that all about?
Jonny: "I've got that...this injury that kind of typists get, and I've got it, bizarrely, and it...
Mark: "You've got what? RSI?
Jonny: "Yeah, something like that
Mark: "Have you?!
Jonny: "Yeah (laughs)
Mark: "Alright, so it's not a kind of rock star affectation when you come in with your arm all lashed up then?
Jonny: "I don't think so, I haven't got a leather one (MR laughs), it's just a sort of medical one

(NME, May 31st 1997)

On "Bones" Jonny bends over his tremolo pedal, turning the rate know manually; the act seems invested with magical significance, like an ancient ritual. Throughout the show, Jonny frequently jumps from guitar to keyboard and on to more unusual instruments--xylophone on "No Surprises," transistor radio on "Climbing Up The Walls." When he does step out on six-string, he snaps his picking arm back violently after every gutsy stroke; no wonder he's wearing an arm brace for repetitive stress disorder.

(NME, June 21st 1997)

Jonny has the ability to partition off aspects of his personality. There’s no sign of the frenetic axe-monster who puts much of the danger and disarray into the band’s sound – such a physical style that he routinely gouges his hand on the stings. Now he’s also obliged to wear a metal arm brace when he plays, to redirect some of the stress.

(Spin, January 1998)

Jonny is the youngest and prettiest member of Radiohead. He's the one with the cheekbones. He can tell you all about the experimental music John Cage composed for shortwave radios. When he was a kid, his older sister forced him to listen to English art-punk bands like Magazine, and the first instrument he played was violin. On OK Computer, Jonny plays viola, keyboards, and guitar. Onstage, he wears a wrist brace (a souvenir from years of smacking around his guitar), and sometimes he plays a transistor radio.

(Option, January/February 1998)

In this era of electronics, Radiohead is notably a band that understands the emotive power of electric guitar. Jonny Greenwood comes closest to filling the role of lead guitarist. He remains a skinny, wiry presence onstage, but with arms rippling with strange new muscles, a brace on his right wrist from repeated abuse.

(Guitar World, April 1998)

It was also during this time that Jonny's aggressive, arm-snapping playing style began giving him serious pain. A doctor diagnosed a repetitive stress injury and advised Jonny to wear a brace on his right arm, which has since become something of a trademark. "I enjoy putting it on before I play," he confesses. "It's like taping up your fingers before a boxing match."

Pictures of The Brace...