By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times
John Ondrasik
John Ondrasik, a veteran rocker from Los Angeles, wears many hats.
He is a singer/songwriter who plays keyboards and guitars. He is a philanthropist. He is a principal figure in a family business that has been around since 1946. He is a man who looks at the plight of people in Afghanistan and Ukraine and does what he can to help.
When Ondrasik wears his hat as a musician, he performs with a band pseudonym – Five for Fighting.
Currently, Five for Fighting is on a national tour sharing the bill with the Barenaked Ladies. The tour will touch down in Philadelphia on July 19 at The Met (858 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, http://themetphilly.com).
Five for Fighting existed as a concept long before it existed as an actual band. Ondrasik’s solo studio project was done under the name Five for Fighting. It wasn’t until later that Ondrasik assembled a band to head out on the road.
In 2002, Five for Fighting became well known — first to fans of alternative rock and then to the large number of music fans who heard Ondrasik perform at the “Concert for New York City” at Madison Square Garden. His popularity moved to a new level with his song “Superman (It’s Not Easy)” with its anthemic line, “Even heroes have the right to bleed.”
When it comes to making albums, Ondrasik has always been more concerned with quality rather than quantity. Five for Fighting’s debut album, “Message for Albert,” was released in March 1997 on EMI Records.
Ondrasik’s sixth – and most recent – album was “Bookmarks,” which was released in September 2013.
“I’ve been doing a lot of stuff outside of the music business lately,” said Ondrasik, during a recent phone interview from his home in Thousand Oaks, California.
“We have a family business as wire artisans that was founded by my grandfather 78 years ago. I’ve been working a lot with that. My son works here too.”
Ondrasik’s birth name is Vladimir John Ondrasik III. The family patriarch Joseph Ondrasik emigrated from Slovakia in the early 1900s and relocated from the banks of the Danube River to the shores of the Pacific Ocean.
In 1911, using knowledge he brought with him from Slovakia, he opened “Wire Products” in downtown Los Angeles. They made items such as lampshade frames and baskets for the tuna industry of San Pedro. In 1946, Ondrasik’s grandfather and grandmother 1946 opened “Precision Wire Products” in downtown Los Angeles.
Ondrasik’s interest in music goes back to childhood days – learning piano as a child. In his teens, he learned to play the guitar and started to write music. While he also learned to sing opera, he decided that he would like to be a singer and songwriter. While in college, Ondrasik continued to pursue music in his spare time. He graduated from UCLA with a degree in applied science and mathematics.
Just before the turn of the century, Ondrasik began his music career in earnest.
Five for Fighting’s critically acclaimed debut album, “Message for Albert,” was released in 1997 but the breakthrough came in 2001 with the Grammy Award-nominated platinum-selling song, “Superman (It’s Not Easy),” from the platinum certified “America Town” LP. The single was a chart-topping hit at both Top 40 radio and at Hot AC.
In 2004, Five for Fighting recorded the platinum-certified album, “The Battle for Everything,” which yielded the retrospective double-platinum hit, “100 Years,” a song that spent 12 weeks at #1 at Hot AC. 2006 saw the release of the “Two Lights” album, which featured the hit songs “The Riddle,” “World” and “Freedom Never Cries.” In 2009, the “Slice” LP included the certified gold hit “Chances,” which was featured in the Academy Award-winning film “The Blind Side.”
In 2014, Ondrasik created a new song specifically for the 100th episode of “HAWAII FIVE-0.” The song was titled, “All For One.” Five for Fighting’s music has also been featured in more than 350 films, television shows, and commercials, including the Oscar-winning “The Blind Side,” “The Sopranos” and the CBS drama, “Code Black.”
“I haven’t done much recording recently – except for the Afghan song and the Ukraine song,” said Ondrasik.
In September of 2021, Ondrasik released the powerful, “Blood on My Hands,” a protest song that takes a non-political, moral stance against the 2021 United States chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.
In July 2022, Ondrasik performed his new Ukraine tribute song, “Can One Man Save the World,” with the Ukrainian Orchestra in the ruins of the Antonov Airport in Kyiv in front of the Ukrainian’s beloved Mriya, the world’s largest cargo plane – the plane that Putin cynically destroyed at the outset of the war.
Ondrasik’s passion for supporting humanitarian efforts and freedom has been a longstanding commitment for the artist as well. The song was inspired by the courage of President Vladimir Zelenskyy and the people of Ukraine. The video debuted on Good Morning America and went viral worldwide.
According to Ondrasik, “In sharing this musical collaboration on such hallowed ground, I saw firsthand the fortitude and grace of the Ukrainian people who, whether they are playing a violin or driving a tank, will not be deterred by Putin’s atrocities and aggressions.”
Proceeds from the single and its companion video will benefit the NGO Save Our Allies and further its mission of providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine and Afghanistan.
Ondrasik has also given countless performances for the USO and has participated in keynote speaking engagements across the globe. Over the years, Ondrasik has given away five volumes of his compilation, “CD for the Troops,” to our U.S. Armed Forces, and more than one million copies have been distributed to soldiers worldwide.
Ondrasik’s charity site www.whatkindofworlddoyouwant.com, inspired by his song, “World,” has seen fans uploading videos showing their respective interpretations of a better world. That initiative has raised more than $250,000 for five designated charities – Augie’s Quest, Autism Speaks, Fisher House Foundation, Save the Children and Operation Homefront.
Unfortunately for fans, there is no new album on the horizon.
“It’s such an effort to do an album,” said Ondrasik. “I try to write songs that people will hear – not necessarily with radio play. With successes with two songs without having to deal with record companies, I am thinking about a new album.
“Writing a record is so insular – and then you get out of that dark room for a year, tour and get exhausted – and then go back to the room. Touring is so exhaustive. The recording part is easy.
“For now, it’s great not to have that pressure. With the last two songs, there were no expectations.
“Albums don’t exist like they did. It’s a shame. I always liked the deeper album tracks. Songs 3-10 were the joyful part of writing. Still, at the end of the day, a good song is a good song.
“I have been doing a little writing. When I was touring in the U.K., I wrote some notes that could become songs. Hopefully, I’ll put some things together after he tour.”
Now, Five for Fighting will be joining Barenaked Ladies on their Last Summer on Earth tour from June 28-July 22. Ondrasik will bring along his band, drummer Randy Cooke (Mick Jagger, Ringo Starr, Dave Stewart), bassist Sean Hurley (John Mayer, Ringo Starr, Alanis Morissette), and guitarist Peter Thorn (Chris Cornell, Melissa Etheridge, Don Henley).
According to Ondrasik, “The boys and I are thrilled to be back in the bus this summer opening for Barenaked Ladies across the United States. Our summer 2022 post pandemic headline tour was a poignant reminder of how fortunate we are to share the communal experience of live music with audiences, and we are grateful to be back, again, living our childhood dreams and having the A-TEAM of Pete, Randy, and Sean alongside me every night brings me inspiration and great joy, both on stage, and off. So here we go! If this tour really is the ‘Last Summer on Earth’…there’s no place I’d rather be!”
For Ondrasik, this tour is the right time and the right length.
“We’re out with the Barenaked Ladies for one month,” said Ondrasik. “It’s perfect. A month is enough. And they’re my buddies. We’re excited. Barenaked Ladies put on a great show.”
Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian rock band formed in 1988 in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, Ontario. The band developed a following in Canada, with their self-titled 1991 cassette becoming the first independent release to be certified gold in Canada.
The band’s style has evolved throughout their career, and their music, which began as exclusively acoustic, quickly grew to encompass a mixture of pop, rock, hip hop and rap. In the 2010s the band became well-known for creating the theme song for the sitcom The Big Bang Theory.
The band’s live performances feature comedic banter and free-style rapping between songs. They have won multiple Juno Awards and have been nominated for two Grammy Awards. The group has sold more than 15 million albums and singles and was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in March 2018.
Video link for Barenaked Ladies — https://youtu.be/Uf3uik5QH40.
Video link for Five for Fighting — https://youtu.be/Bm3XEsIXJaI.
The show on July 19 at The Met, which also features Del Amitri as an opening act, will start at 7 p.m.
Ticket prices start at $27.
