Joshua Radin will make a stop in Atlanta this weekend as part of his new tour which kicked off Tuesday in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. The singer/songwriter will perform an all-ages show at Center Stage (formerly Earthlink Live) Saturday at 7 p.m. with Schuyler Fisk opening.

Radin didn’t always plan on being a musician. His intention was to be a painter, for which he studied at Northwestern University where he met pal Zach Braff (television star of “Scrubs” and writer/director/star of the film “Garden State”). He spent six years as a screenwriter and a painter in New York City before coming to the realization that he was born to sing.

It was an open mic night that began Radin’s career in the music business. He wrote the song “Winter” for the appearance, a song which later appeared on Braff’s series “Scrubs.”

Radin’s heartbreaking yet hopeful lyrics about the end of a serious relationship struck a chord with the audience and with friends. He recorded two independent albums and spent time performing in clubs, such as the Knitting Factory, all over New York while continuously growing his loyal fan-base.

In 2005 Radin relocated to Los Angeles where he immediately found a home at the Hotel Cafe, a Hollywood Club known for featuring some of the best up-and-coming acts around.

Licensing of Radin’s music for television shows and films began picking up, and Radin’s self-released album “We Were Here” began making its way up the charts.

Last September, Radin contributed two songs to the film “The Last Kiss,” a soundtrack compiled by the man behind the cult-hit “Garden State,” Braff. “Star Mile” as well as “Paperweight,” which Radin performs with Fisk, appear alongside artists like Imogen Heap, Ray LaMontagne, Cary Brothers (another college buddy of Radin’s), and Rachael Yamagata. “When I first got the call that two of my songs were going to be on the soundtrack I was so excited,” said Radin in a recent phone interview. “Some of my favorite artists are on the CD, and it was amazing in terms of exposure.”

With his rapidly growing popularity, Columbia Records signed Radin and re-released “We Were Here” on their label. Radin has been on the road virtually non-stop since May of 2006, and is currently coming off a month break, his only time off for the year, he says.

“[Being on tour] is great,” said Radin. “You get so weary [on tour] but after a week of vacation, you get the itch to be back on the road again.”

And what does Radin say is the best part of touring? “All of it,” he says with a laugh. “The best part is playing for a living, seeing new cities, being with the band. It’s like summer camp, and school’s over. We’re one big, happy family.”

For Radin this tour feels especially homey given that his girlfriend, Fisk, is opening for him. “It makes it much better having that special someone with you on the road,” he admits. “You can rack up quite a phone bill with four hour conversations each night.” Fisk will take stage singing backup harmony for Radin’s show after performing her own set.

The current tour will make stops across the east coast and midwest before wrapping up in Los Angeles at the end of April. His appearance at Center Stage on Saturday will mark the second time Radin has performed at the venue, which seats 1,100. Previously he has appeared at Smith’s Olde Bar, a more intimate venue, with a capacity for only 350.

Radin notes that trying to compare playing larger versus smaller venues is like “two different animals.” “Different venues have a different feel,” he explains. “You can get more intimate at smaller venues, but bigger venues mean more people, which is the ultimate goal. I love both.”

Notably, Radin makes every effort to turn every performance into one that is personal and intimate for his eager audiences. “Performing is very comfortable to me, and I want every show to be the best,” states Radin.

His laid back personality is reflected in his quiet and earnest music, and is sometimes only slightly louder than a whisper. His lyrics come from his own life experiences, such as breakups as well as new love: he wrote “Someone Else’s Life” after his first date with Fisk. “I write very personal, very truthful,” he says.

“[When I’m writing], I never think about the audience,” notes Radin. “My songs are more like journal entries, to get stuff off my chest. If friends I trust, like Schuyler and Cary Brothers like it, I’ll work it into a show. If people respond to it after a show, I know it works. I like it when people want to know the story or interpret it for themselves, and make a personal connection with a song.”

One way Radin discovers how well new songs connect with his audiences are his post-show meet-and-greets. After each performance, Radin spends time meeting and chatting with his fans, “It’s great for me to see how people respond, and how they found out about me. It makes it all worthwhile. There are so many great bands out there now and people have a choice of who to go and see, so it's flattering when they choose me.” Mutually, it gives fans a chance to share their own experiences and opinions on Radin’s work with the artist himself.

Another way in which Radin connects with fans is through his MySpace account. “I go on about once a day. I read all the comments, and scan the subjects of the messages and read any that interest me. I just don’t have time to read each individual message, unfortunately,” explains Radin. “When I have time I post bulletins for a more personal interaction.”

Musically, Radin has been compared to such consummate artists as Nick Drake and Elliot Smith. These comparisons are flattering to the relative newcomer as he says they are two of his favorite musicians. “Nick Drake, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, James Taylor, Cat Stevens are all my musical influences. I like to express myself in the way I have been influenced,” he says.

He is currently writing new songs, but says he will stick to what his fans are familiar with for the most part during his shows. “I’m not gonna use these shows as experiments, testing new material,” he wrote on a recent MySpace bulletin. Rather, fans can expect to hear the bewitching melodies and emotive lyrics Radin has mastered with his album “We Were Here.”

“Someone once told me that all you need are three chords and the truth,” concludes Radin. It is that very pure approach to what he does that will keep Radin moving forward in his musical journey.

Joshua Radin will be performing at Center Stage on Saturday at 7 p.m. Tickets, which are $15, are still available and can be purchased at any Ticketmaster outlet, at www.Ticketmaster.com or at the venue’s box office the night of the show.

Center Stage is located at 1374 West Peachtree Street, Atlanta, Ga. For more information call 404-885-1365.

For more information on Radin, visit his website at www.joshuaradin.com or on MySpace at www.myspace.com/joshuaradin.

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