Five for Fighting comes to NCC for concert
By Annie Alleman For Sun-Times Media September 20, 2012 12:28PM
Five for Fighting will perform on Sept. 27 at North Central College. | Courtesy of NCC
It’s been a couple of years since Five For Fighting’s come out with a new album, but the band hasn’t been taking a break.
Five For Fighting is the artist name for singer/songwriter John Ondrasik. He will appear with his band Sept. 27 at North Central College in Naperville for an 8 p.m. show.
Five For Fighting broke through in 2001 with the release of the platinum album “America Town,” that included the Grammy-nominated song “Superman.” Five for Fighting’s latest album, “Slice,” was released in 2010. Five for Fighting’s popular songs include “100 Years,” “World” and “Freedom Never Cries.”
“I took a little bit of time and played Daddy for awhile. I ran a marathon, I coached my kid’s soccer team, and we took a lot of family trips,” he said. “My kids are 11 and 13, so they’re at that age where they need Daddy. Pretty soon they’re going to be gone or not want to talk to me. I’m taking advantage of these years.”
His kids know that Dad’s a singer, and his 13-year-old daughter will hop on stage with him sometimes, he said.
“They don’t think it’s as cool as if I was Justin Beiber or Taylor Swift, but they do enjoy some of the perks that go along with it — like my daughter sharing the spotlight once in awhile. Or should I say stealing the spotlight,” he joked.
Ondrasik has developed relationships with Sept. 11 survivors and their families, and has performed USO concerts for U.S. service men and women around the world.
He didn’t take his kids overseas on his USO tours, but he makes sure to bring them to a lot of the military activities.
“My son loves to go. He loves the snipers,” he said. “It’s great for him to experience those who keep us safe and meet those people and their families. My kids have been lucky to meet some amazing people through my career.”
He personally doesn’t have any family members in the military, but felt inspired after the events of Sept. 11, 2001, to begin corresponding with firefighters, police and military members and soldiers overseas who were in combat theater.
Now, he’s working on a new record.
“It’s very exciting. Obviously, it’s kind of lyrically-driven, pop, singer-songwriter music,” he said. “But I do think we’ve added a fresh element. There will be a few surprises on the record.”
Naperville audiences probably won’t hear any of the new material, but that doesn’t mean they won’t hear any surprises.
“I’ve been pulling songs out of the catalog that we’ve never played before. So you’ll definitely hear a few songs that you know, that you’ve heard on the radio, but there will be a few obscure Five For Fighting songs that I think the hardcore fans will be excited to hear,” he said.
“Of course, with every five For Fighting show, there’s orchestral stuff, there’s jazz stuff, there’s rock stuff and there’s maybe a few a cappella things in there. We try to provide something for everybody.”
