Artist Biography
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
In the hysteria to find a new
Silverchair, several major-label record companies decided that
Radish, a Dallas-based heavy post-grunge trio led by 16-year old guitarist
Ben Kweller,
would be the next big thing. Kweller had been playing guitar and
writing songs since the age of eight; when he was nine, he entered
Billboard's songwriting contest and earned an honorable mention. Over
the next four years he played in local, Greenville, Texas-based bands
like Green Eggs & Ham, eventually founding
Radish when he was around 12 years old. Drummer
John Kent
joined in 1994, when he was 14, and the group made a handful of demos
with producer Roger Greenwalt. On Greenwalt's advice, they added 28-year
old bassist Bryan Blur, and began shopping the demo tape.
Unexpectedly, the tape began an intense, prolonged bidding war. Eventually,
Radish signed to Mercury Records in 1996 and began recording their debut album with alterna-rock producers
Sean Slade and
Paul Q. Kolderie. After much media hype,
Radish's debut album
Restraining Bolt was released in April 1997.
Tracklist
