Five For Fighting has one main member, John Ondrasik, who considers himself mainly a singer and songwriter,
though he is also competent as a guitarist and pianist. The name he
picked for his band refers to a form of discipline used in the turbulent
sport of hockey. Players who fight during the game are sent storming
away to cool down for five minutes in a penalty box. In other words,
they get five for fighting.
Ondrasik, born and raised in the San Fernando
Valley of Los Angeles, started his musical training when he was only
two years old. His mother, a piano teacher, gave him lessons. When he
was around 13, he appropriated -- which is a nicer way of putting it
than saying stole -- his sister's guitar. He taught himself to use this
instrument and soon to write music. Somewhere along the way, he also
took vocal lessons in opera. He soon discovered that opera wasn't his
cup of tea, and Ondrasik leaned toward music by artists like Billy Joel,
Journey, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, and Earth, Wind & Fire.
In 1997 Ondrasik, using the stage name Five For Fighting, saw the release of his debut album,
Message for Albert, recorded under the Capitol Records label. Five For
Fighting followed it three years later with America Town, released
through Columbia Records. It continued Ondrasik's themes of love and
life, but with a bit more political spin. The album might have quite
simply been another strong outing from a talented singer/songwriter,
were it not for the tragic events of September 11th, 2001 and the
nationwide embrace of Ondrasik's delicate piano ballad "Superman [It's
Not Easy]". Five For Fighting performed the song at the Concert for New
York City that winter, and America Town went platinum. While it was a
bittersweet way to find fame, "Superman"'s success gave Ondrasik the
artistic license he'd always craved. When The Battle For Everything
appeared in early 2004, it was Five For Fighting's most stylistically
ambitious and lyrically bold recording to date
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