Singer-songwriter Martin Sexton will play at the Music Mill at 9 p.m. on Jan. 19. (Submitted photo)

Before he was a singer-songwriter with a fervent following, Martin Sexton sought out an audience in the streets.

"I was fired from my job in the early '90s, around '91," he said. "That was my kick in the ass from a higher power to do what I had been dreaming about."

Sexton left his hometown of Syracuse, N.Y., for Boston, where he immersed himself in the city's vibrant busking scene. Armed with an acoustic guitar and a voice that recalls Sam Cooke and Van Morrison, Sexton quickly found that street performances could put plenty of food on the table.

"It was a beautiful, wonderful time," he said. "I realized the first day that I would never probably have a day job again."

Sexton has long since moved on, releasing six critically acclaimed studio albums in the past 15 years. But he remembers his busking days -- and his fellow buskers -- fondly.

"We supported one another," he said. "For example, there was a spot at Harvard Square, right by the subway station that was prime real estate. The way we handled who got it was very democratic: Every morning at 7 a.m. we would have what was called 'the flip,' where whoever wanted the morning, afternoon or evening slot at Harvard Square showed up. We tossed a coin, and the odd guy out got the first choice, the second odd guy out got second choice ... there was a guild and everything. It wasn't an organization, per se, but it was a fellowship of artists."

Thanks in no small part to his days in Boston, Sexton is an electrifying performer. Indianapolis fans will get a taste of his flair for showmanship at the Music Mill on Jan. 19, when he'll perform a one-man show -- much like his busking days.

Sexton recently took some time out to talk to Indy.com about his past failures, his fans, and why radio isn't all it's cracked up to be.

How did your parents feel about your decision to be a street performer?

They're pretty meat-and-potatoes Irish Catholic, and they always encouraged me to get a real job. Thank God Almighty I didn't listen to them.

On your newest album, "Seeds," you address failure and the positive role it has played in your life.

I owe so much of my success to my past failures. There's been so much failure in my life that I am grateful for -- my first girlfriend, the various jobs I was canned from.

In all this time you've never had a radio hit. Does that bother you?

Luckily, my career does not hinge on a hit on the radio. If it did, you would have heard about me 10 years ago, and then you would be wondering whatever happened to me. I have friends who are painting houses now who had a top 10 hit. Seriously. It's like having a girlfriend in the 10th grade. It's great when it's happening, but then the next year she leaves you to date the quarterback.

Your music seems to exist outside the realm of what is considered radio-friendly.

My opinion is, there is a lot of great stuff out there on the radio, and there is a lot of crap that are just rip-offs of what was out there last year. But I think music is changing. I think people are saying no to crap more than they have in the past, and it is a slow change, but I think it's happening. It's like watching the grass grow, it's gradual, but it's there.

Is there a common thread that runs through your fans?

I think the common thread would be that they're conscientious, somewhat soulful and enlightened. And they are ordinary people. A lumberjack from eastern Washington state told me that he was working on Wall Street when he heard this song of mine. So he bought a record and saw a show. He hated his job -- he had all kinds of money -- and he freaking quit his job and moved to Washington to be a freaking lumberjack. He said he was making a fraction of the money he had been making, but was happier than he had ever been. I was blown away that he was telling me this. I am just a singer, but music has this power to inspire, and I feel blessed to be doing it.