As Joshua Radin describes how his music career began, an image comes to mind of a horse, galloping so fast, it’s almost a blur. Its rider, meanwhile, hangs on for dear life, not sure how he wound up there, but sure as hell not about to let go. At some point, though, he figures out how the reins work, and the horse steps into a smooth canter. But when that horse took off 15 years ago, Radin didn’t even know what the moment was, much less how to balance himself while trying to find his stride. He’d been trying to gain traction as a screenwriter in New York, but when his attempts fizzled, the frustrated Cleveland native started playing guitar to vent.
Eventually, he penned a song, and played it for his friend Zach Braff, star of TV’s Scrubs. Braff suggested Radin send a demo to the show’s producer. Almost overnight, millions of viewers reached for Kleenexes as Radin’s “Winter” aired over an emotional scene. They crashed NBC’s website trying to track down the singer. That’s when the lightning-bolt notion of a songwriting career first flashed, prompting him to join his friend Cary Brothers in L.A. Each time Radin debuted a new heartbreak tune at their Hotel Café haunt, some music supervisor would snag it for Grey’s Anatomy, One Tree Hill, House, or another show.
