What's the last thing a drummer says in a band? "Hey guys, why don't we try one of my songs?" Even though percussion is the integral backbone of any band, drummers are constantly the butt of terrible jokes. Radiohead drummer and live backing vocalist Phil Selway has heard them all.
They make me laugh every time," he chuckles. "I suppose in having done two solo albums, this could be construed as a very polite way of sticking two fingers up to them."
Selway isn't just in any old band, but one of the most revered outfits of modern times who have sold over 30 million albums.
Since 1985, the 47-year-old has been playing with Oxford musicians Thom Yorke, Ed O'Brien and brothers Jonny and Colin Greenwood in some shape or form.
The fledgling band were first called On A Friday, but changed their name on the request of EMI, taking their cue from the Talking Heads song 'Radio Head'. The rest is rock history.
"I'm very, very lucky in terms of Radiohead," Selway says. "They're all incredibly supportive of everything we all do. There is a lot going on musically with all of us that doesn't all come to the fore."
Selway left the band to live in Bangor, Co Down, for a few months. He has particularly fond memories of subsequent Irish concerts by the quintet.
"For me, playing the Castlegar Sports Grounds in Galway in 1996 was a watershed moment," Selway reveals.
"We played the RDS in Dublin the week before we played Glastonbury around the time OK Computer came out. It was quite intimidating at the time, but again, it became a watershed moment for us."
Sadly, Radiohead didn't get round to playing in Ireland when touring their last studio album during 2012. When scheduled to play in Toronto that year, the stage collapsed and 33-year-old drum technician Scott Johnson was tragically killed.
"Scott was a lovely man, always positive, supportive and funny - a highly skilled and valued member of our great road crew," Selway says in tribute. "The accident in Toronto ended up changing the nature of the tour that year.
"It's a huge shame we didn't come to Ireland for The King of Limbs. I think we'll be looking to make up for it during future touring."
In the meantime, Selway has been busying himself with his second solo album Weatherhouse.
"I went into the first record not really knowing what I was doing," he reveals. "Having gone through the process, I know I can do it. It gave me a more secure platform going into this record."
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For Weatherhouse, Selway sought to channel the spirit of classic albums that made a deep impression on him in his youth.
"I remember having a tape with The Velvet Underground & Nico on one side and Transformer by Lou Reed on the other," he recalls. "I had it on constant rotation. They were records that suggested another world.
"You go through the process of listening to these records so much that you don't need the physical record, you carry it around with you in your head. They soundtrack appropriate moments in your life. There is something comforting and potentially enlightening about the way they trigger and tap into all these emotions.
"Music is fantastic in that respect. This became a guiding principle making the record."
It also helps to be a member of a band who are conducive and co-operative with being involved in other projects.
"I had the luxury of making Weatherhouse knowing I had some clear water ahead in terms of Radiohead," Selway says. "We finished up at the end of 2012, so I had a year to concentrate on this. We all work in chunks, so that leaves other chunks of time to concentrate on other projects.
"At this stage, Radiohead has become quite a flexible entity. We manage to fit everything in. The underlying feeling is to be very respectful of what the five of us can achieve together, but at the same time the other projects are all as equally important."
Phil Selway is obviously not one for resting on his laurels. During breaks from Radiohead, the former Samaritans volunteer writes and records solo albums rather than counting his considerable music earnings.
In September this year, the band re-grouped to start recording sessions for their ninth studio album.
"We're enjoying it," Selway reveals. "We've been back for a couple of weeks now. There's a musicality emerging. It felt like the right time to start making music again together as Radiohead. I'm afraid I've nothing more to say about it apart from the fact that we're all enjoying it."
After Selway completes promotional duties for Weatherhouse, it is straight back to the studio with Radiohead. A solo tour will follow in 2015.
"I'm just not very good at sitting around," Selway reflects. "I need to keep on the move. At the heart of it, I just love music - listening to it, making it and performing it. I'd hate to be 20 years down the road regretting I didn't do more."
Weatherhouse is out now on Bella Union.
