Joshua Radin with Schuyler Fisk
Saturday, Feb. 3, Cafà Montmartre, 9 p.m.
She's the daughter of Sissy Spacek. He's best buddies with Scrubs actor Zach Braff. They're beautiful, they write romantic songs and, according to the fashion magazine Elle, they're very much in love.
Schuyler Fisk and Joshua Radin will bring Hollywood glamour to Mifflin Street this Saturday when they play a small, intimate guitar show at Cafà Montmartre.
The gig revives Madison's fling with celebrity culture via The Last Kiss, a 2006 movie that featured Braff and was partly filmed here. The final song on The Last Kiss soundtrack, 'Paperweight,' was co-written and performed by Radin and Fisk.
They may be young, on-the-road troubadours (he's 31 and she's 24), but Radin and Fisk don't quite personify the starving artist. Their star power has already landed them major-label contracts.
It all started when Radin befriended Braff during his years as an art student at Northwestern University. After finishing college, Radin moved to New York to make his way as a painter.
When a friend asked Radin to play guitar at a local open mike, Radin wrote an original song for the occasion. Titled 'Winter,' the song was a crowd-pleaser, so Radin decided to record it.
He then sent it off to Braff, who included 'Winter' on an episode of Scrubs.
Fisk's connection to Hollywood has been lifelong. She finds no darkness in the shadow of her mother's fame. In fact, Spacek frequently sings backup in Fisk's band.
'In high school, I played one of my songs in the talent show, and my mom sang harmony with me,' Fisk writes in her promotional biography. 'She was the only mom in the talent show. What a trouper. She still sings with me when she's in town, and it's great.'
Radin and Fisk's own love affair has influenced their songwriting, too. Radin says he was inspired to write 'Someone Else's Life' after his first date with Fisk.
'When I met her, I was like, now I can write a love song,' Radin told Elle.
Stylistically, the two artists have yet to become one. Radin's delicate music and sparse, whispery vocals draw comparisons to Elliott Smith. Fisk's songs are brighter and more open, sometimes embellished with a happy beat.
Opening the show will be Madison-based singer-songwriter Mike Droho, formerly of the pop/rock heartthrob band the Profits.
