Exposed to music at an early age, Ben Kweller started playing drums at age seven. He also began to play guitar and piano. Radish formed when Kweller was in his early teens. After two independent releases, Radish was signed to a major deal in 1995 in hopes they would be "the next Nirvana". After releasing one album, Restraining Bolt, Radish were dropped by their record label and disbanded. Kweller, now 19, relocated to New York City where he began a solo career, recording four EPs at home. These early EPs got the attention of Evan Dando, who asked Kweller to tour with him. Signing a solo deal in 2001, Kweller released one more EP, Phone Home, before releasing his debut album, Sha Sha, in 2002. Sha Sha included popular singles 'Wasted and Ready' and 'Commerce, TX'. In 2003, Kweller was a part of The Bens tour which also included Ben Lee and Ben Folds. The trio released a four-track EP to coincide with the tour. On My Way, Kweller's second album, was released in 2004 and recorded almost completely live. The best known song from this album is lead single, 'The Rules'. Tours with Kings of Leon and Death Cab for Cutie, amongst others, followed. Kweller's third album, which is self-titled, was released in September 2006. All instruments on the album were played by Kweller. In the lead-up to the album's release, Kweller produced nine episodes of an internet mini-show called One Minute Pop Song.