On Stage Extra: John Ondrasik comes to Ardmore

John Ondrasik, a veteran rocker from Los Angeles, has performed in the Delaware Valley many times over the last quarter century – mostly doing shows under the name of his stage identity Five for Fighting.

Grammy® nominated, platinum-selling artist, Five for Fighting/John Ondrasik

has been out on the road in July and August doing shows with his band. They will be playing the songs his fans have loved for over two decades along with his recent viral sensations.

The tour visits the area for a show on August 6 at Ardmore Music Hall (23 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore, www.ardmoremusichall.com).

“It’s a short tour that will run through August mostly in the Northeast,” said Ondrasik, during a phone interview last week from his home in Thousand Oaks, California.

“I’ll be playing with my rock band which includes Pete Thorn on guitar and Why Not on bass. I’m excited to start the tour in Philly. Then, I’ll be going out with a string quartet for a few weeks in September and October.”

Right now, the focus is on his rock quartet.

According to Ondrasik, “We look forward to playing songs people know and love and some of the newer songs like ‘OK (We Are Not Ok)’ that I performed in Hostage Square in Israel the night Iran attacked.  We’ll tell some stories along the way and, as always, recognize our wonderful troops and military families.”

Ondrasik’s passion for supporting humanitarian efforts and freedom has been a longstanding commitment for the artist as well. Recently, he’s been taking a non-political stance on key events around the world, writing songs from a humanistic perspective. He recently released “OK (We Are Not Ok)” in response to the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel, while addressing the cultural aftermath both in America and around the world.

“I wrote ‘OK (We Are Not Ok)’ a couple days after the Hamas attack,” said Ondrasik. “It’s not a political message, but a moral one. A call to action.”

Hours before Iran’s missile attack on Israel on April 13, Ondrasik performed “OK (We Are Not Ok)” in Tel Aviv.  The singer/songwriter also performed his 911 anthem song, “Superman (It’s Not Easy).”

Ondrasik penned the track for “OK (We Are Not Ok)” in the same vein as his previous songs, “Blood On My Hands” about the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and “Can One Man Save The World?,” which was recorded in Kyiv in support of Ukraine.

Ondrasik 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, Ukraine and Israel and does what he can to help.

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.

“After 2013 with ‘Bookmarks, I had a lot of other things to do,” said Ondrasik, “I’ve been doing a lot of stuff outside of the music business lately.

“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.

“Precision took all my time during COVID,” said Ondrasik. “A lot of work was making shopping carts, which are essential. If you’ve used a shopping cart at Costco, you’ve used one of our shopping carts.”

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.”

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.

“I haven’t done much recording recently – except for the Afghan song and the Ukraine song,” said Ondrasik. “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.

“Even though it’s been a while since my last album, I don’t think I’m done making albums. I’m intrigued about making a record. I love making albums. I love the journey.

 “I’ve been writing songs when I have something to talk about. 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.

“I will say that my 2023 tour with Barenaked Ladies was the most fun I’ve had touring in a long time. It was like an adult rock star tour and summer camp – hiking, jumping in lakes, playing pinball.

“This tour is fun too. I get to play with a great band. We play some newer songs along with from the catalog. We close the set with ‘Bohemian Rhapsody.’”

Video link for Five for Fighting — www.facebook.com/fiveforfighting/videos/735098570943106.

The show on August 6 at Ardmore Music Hall will start at 7:30 p.m.

Ticket prices start at $33.

The dance music scene in 2024 has quite a few young female artists who are making great music and setting trends.

One of these musicians is Zoe Ko.

Ko is the only American on the bill for the “Sophie Powers Glitch Tour.” Powers is from Toronto while the opening act is Novul, a young singer from Saskatchewan.

Ko grew up in New York and recently relocated to Los Angeles.

She has released one EP, “Baby Teeth,” along with a bunch of emotional alt-pop singles, including her newest single, “Touch Therapy.” Ko just finished her first full-scale national tour.

“The tour was a roller coaster of emotions – so many highs and lows each day” said Ko, during a recent phone interview. “It’s really cool. It’s my first long tour.”

The tour with Games We Play started in Detroit in mid-March, travelled to the Pacific Northwest with a show in Vancouver and wound its way across the country and back to the East Coast.

Referring to the early summer tour, Ko said, “I can’t even express how incredible it feels to meet and talk to the people who listen to my music.

“When I went on tour recently, I finally met fans and heard how much my songs meant to them. It confirmed that my little hobby of writing songs is something way bigger than myself.”

Growing up in New York, Ko studied at the Clive Davis Institute for Recorded Music (a part of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts).

“I grew up in Queens and went to school in Manhattan at the School of the Future,” said Ko. “Then, I moved to Manhattan. I was there until I moved to L.A. a year ago.

“It’s weird. I grew up in New York and I have a love/hate relationship with the city. I moved to California because I wanted to experience a new place.”

Ko is the latest signing to Big Loud Rock, the alternative/rock imprint of Big Loud Records and home to genre standouts Blame My Youth, Letdown., HARDY, Jagwar Twin, and Yam Haus, in partnership with Double Down 11.

In celebration of the announcement, Ko released an angsty, rock-infused single, “Dirt,” and its companion, “Eat.” It was her first release since “Baby Teeth.” It is a not-so-subtle suggestion to her Angeleno friends that they need to add some New York-style grit and dirt to their cultural diets

“My very first release was ‘Line’ in May 2022, and I’ve released more than 10 singles since then,” said Ko. “My first EP, ‘Baby Teeth,’ came out last November.

“Many of the singles were done with Jonny Shorr. He has his home studio in L.A. Right now, I’m living in Los Feliz on the east side of L.A.

“Here in L.A., I found myself missing the grit and dirt of New York City. The stereotypes are true in L.A., and I missed the rawness and no bullshit attitude of people in New York.  I liked the word ‘dirt’, so I wrote a gritty dance track – a song like what I used to hear in of my favorite clubs in Manhattan.”

Ko’s songwriting is the result of a smart, talented musician coming of age in NYC and L.A.

“I usually always come up with a concept or some lyric I want to land on,” said Ko. “Next is the guitar riff and then build it up with the drums. The topics come from my life although some details may be different.”

Ko cited her musical influences.

“

I love old No Doubt songs and anything else that Gwen Stefani has done,” said Ko. “I also have been influenced by Olivia Rodrigo, Kesha, Avril Lavigne. I always have attitude and I like women with attitude.”

Ko showed some of that attitude with “Eat” a not-so-subtle suggestion to her Angeleno friends that they need to add some New York-style grit and dirt to their cultural diets.

Video link for Zoe Ko — https://youtu.be/89TVkSeOmGQ.

Video link for Sophie Powers — https://youtu.be/TYPrStbUFYA.

Tickets are $15.