Joshua Radin // The Eisenberg Review Interview
Photo courtesy of Joshua Radin
A conversation with the singer-songwriter about staying curious, why comfort isn’t the greatest thing for a creative, and why he’s playing Music Box Supper Club when he returns to Cleveland.
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Joshua, welcome to The Eisenberg Review.
Hey, thanks bud. How are you?
I'm doing well. Thanks for parking a little bit of time for me this morning.
Sure. Thanks for the interest. I'm in New York right now. Going to do some press before my tour starts, and I've just been practicing my songs and getting ready for tour, which starts on the Eighth.
What does rehearsal look like? Are you gigging with a full band right now primarily or just you solo acoustic?
Solo acoustic. So me practicing. It's just remembering all my songs from 10 albums, trying to get some deep cuts out there.
I love it. You have quite an accomplished discography at this point. I was trying to think where I first encountered your music, and I think it was that episode of Scrubs way back in the day where “Winter” was featured.
Oh, yeah. My first song I ever wrote.
It's a hell of a first song.
Thank you so much.
Many people don't get one, and you knocked it out of the park immediately.
Thanks. That's nice of you to say.
Well, it's beautiful and it speaks to the earnestness that has always touched me in your music and that has helped it relate to me throughout the many stages of your career.
I appreciate it, man.
I'm really interested by the new direction you've taken in terms of both the conceit for both of the EPs that you've released this year. The press release made it sound like you swore off material possessions and went backpacking in Europe, which is cool. I definitely have that desire, but I was also reading an article in Forbes from last month where you also sold your house, rented a storage unit for a lot of your family heirlooms and belongings and albums and are just living the nomadic life on the road, which comes quite naturally to musicians that tour as extensively as you do. But what has led to this shift in lifestyle and frame of mind, and how has it inspired the new work?
I think it was post-pandemic. I was locked away in my house in LA for a year and a half, missing people, missing traveling, missing playing music for people, having experiences to write about. And the minute the world opened up, I was just shot out of a cannon. And I don't know how long this will last. I mean, right now, I'm still loving it and loving the nomadic life, but we'll see. Maybe I'll settle down again somewhere. Right now, I'm just loving being in new places all the time and meeting new people, having these experiences, recording. I mean, I recorded this album, these 10 songs in four different countries. So different musicians, different producers. It's a travel diary where I would write a song, I'd go record it. I'd write another song, travel, record.
I mean, yeah, it's been an amazing experience. And now, I'm just excited to play a bunch of these songs on the road for people. Now, of course, I'm playing them solo acoustic. So I'll be playing them the way I wrote them. I don't use any tracks on stage or anything like that. So it'll be a little more mellow than some of the songs that have full band, but I think that's cool. I think my fans are into that vibe that they don't show up to my concerts thinking that they've got to hear the song exactly the way it is on the record. I like to tell stories and make it intimate, and I think that's why they continue to come see me play.
Beautiful. And I think some of the most captivating performances I've ever seen are just one person with a guitar.
Me too. It's daunting.
It is.
And I've never done a full headlining tour solo. So I really wanted to try it. It's like a face-your-fear type of moment for me now. And I do have a bit of fear and anxiety leading up to the tour, but I know that it's just going to make me a better performer in the long run.
Absolutely, and I love that you are still seeking out new experiences and new ways to connect and write with music even and records. I feel like you have to.
You’ve got to stay curious or die.
Facts. No, I love that mentality and I love... I think part of what resonates with me in the new material is the fact that it is written on the road. I always feel freest when I'm un-moored geographically. As beautiful as the communities and networks that you build and the places that you live are, sometimes you become so entrenched in them that you can't necessarily... I don't know.
Stay curious.
Right? Yeah.
Yeah. I find that I'm the best version of myself in a foreign country where I have to be focused and present. A lot of times, back in LA when I was living for a long time, everything just so comfortable. And I don't think comfort is the greatest thing for a creative person. You got to keep yourself a little uncomfortable. I meet a lot of people, and whereas I might prejudge someone when you're home by a look of them or something, I don't do that when I'm in a foreign country. I'm in a cafe sitting, I'm just talking to someone because it's someone to talk to, someone with not a shared experience in general. I learn so much more about the world and myself that way.
Photo courtesy of Joshua Radin
That's beautiful. Of the four countries that you mentioned that you recorded the new record in—I mean, it seems trite to ask which is your favorite—but is there one you have a particular affinity for?
Probably Sweden. I spend a lot of time in Stockholm, even when I'm traveling. I keep it as a base in Europe in the way I rented an apartment for month-to-month vibes, like Airbnb, and I can easily cruise around Europe in that part of the world from there.
Nice.
Because I love being in Europe in the summertime. Even though the heat waves down in the Mediterranean were insane this summer, it's still magic.
The Mediterranean is one of my favorite regions on earth. If I could have my pick and logistics and paperwork and money were no object, the Mediterranean would be it.
Yeah. But I'll tell you, Spain's pretty cheap for Americans.
Is it really?
Yeah. I mean, not in the fanciest places, but you can find a lot of nice beach towns that you can really live on for Midwest prices.
Excellent. You already know. I love these Midwest prices. I'm based in Cleveland. That ends up being one of... Not just having both my wife and my family here in immediate proximity, but it's cheap and accessible. You're within 500 miles of most of the-
You don't have to tell me. I grew up in Cleveland.
I know. You grew up in Shaker Heights.
Yeah, my mom went to Case Western.
Did she? Okay. Very cool.
I know that place very well. And yeah, I mean, a lot of my family still lives there, including my mom, my sister. And they say the same thing all the time. I haven't lived there since I was 18. I left after high school. But when I do come back, it is pretty shocking what you can get for what you spend when you get so accustomed to New York and LA and Paris and London and all these cities that you grew up in Cleveland thinking about you want to live in and you want to travel to. And I love it, but man, it's pricey.
No doubt. And we are excited to have you back in Cleveland at the Music Box Supper Club on September 26th. Want to be sure to get that plugin.
Thanks.
When was the last time you played Cleveland?
Every tour. I always come through Cleveland. Although last tour, I came through and played Beachland Ballroom.
Excellent. I love it there.
I love it too, but this time around, I'm playing the Supper Club because it's my mom's favorite. She likes to sit and bring her friends and sit around a table and have some drinks and dinner. And so she made a request for that one. You never turn down your mom's request.
Absolutely not. Your mother or your family, were they the inspiration to start playing music? Is that where your love of music comes from?
No, I didn't start playing music 'til I was 30, much later in life. I didn't grow up playing any music. I bought a guitar when I was 30 and taught myself a few chords and then just started writing songs. I fell into this career, fortunately, but it was not a plan at all. My parents just supported me, I mean, through college, and then I was on my own financially. So I feel lucky for that. But they also supported me emotionally. It's like when I was living in New York, was a struggling screenwriter or painter and living on five bucks a day for food, it was like they never gave me that parental, "Hey, maybe one of these days, you should get a real job," when I was waiting tables. They were always supportive. They always just believed in me and believed I'd figure it out. And I love them for it.
That's beautiful. And I think anytime anyone asks you what you want to be when you grow up, I never really had a good answer throughout my life because it's just dictated by whatever I'm feeling and passionate about at the moment and whatever I love doing.
Yeah, I always just wanted to be an artist in some capacity. It took me a long time to organically fall into the right medium that was going to make me financially successful. I mean, I tried a different other mediums that I struggled with, although I loved it, just happened to try music late.
I'm not overwhelmingly optimistic about us as a species all the time, but I think creativity and art-
Join the club.
Yeah. It's becoming harder with each passing day.
Right. But I mean, you've been to the DMV. So you know.
Right. But our ability to create and express our lives and communicate that lived experience through art is one of the best things.
It's what brings us all together. Any good art makes us all feel like we're having a shared experience.
I always like closing my interviews by asking for three record recommendations.
Okay. All time, I would say my favorite album of all time is the Van Morrison's Astral Weeks. That's the one I've played the most in my life probably.
And then I would say lately, I've been re-listing to a lot of David Bowie's Hunky Dory back to back. It's bulletproof.
One hundred percent.
And let's go with the soundtrack for Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid from Bob Dylan. I love that movie and I love that soundtrack. And maybe some of your listeners don't know it so well, so I'll throw that out there.
Joshua Radin, thank you so much for joining me on The Eisenberg Review. Best of luck on the forthcoming tour.
Appreciate you.