Five for Fighting
Slice
If every album provides snapshots of where an artist's mind at heart is at the
moment, Slice, the latest offering from John Ondrasik (aka Five for Fighting),
is a collection of digital jpegs and faded Polaroids. The album takes stories of
friends, family and even American servicemen, and sets them to music shot through
with the spirit of the great songs of his youth. It's a diary, or a blog, in
which Ondrasik speaks his mind about current issues, experiences and sentiments,
while setting those thoughts to piano, bass and drums.
The title track, featuring Ondrasik's soaring falsetto, comes from a daydream
that we've all had at some point in our lives—that moment when we long
for a simpler time when life seemed better and the songs were bigger. It's a
sly play on one of those grand songs, Don McClean's "American Pie":
"There was a time a long, long time ago/Chevies and levies played on the radio/No
cell phones just 20,000 lights, swaying on a Saturday night."
Academy Award-winning composer Steven Schwartz (who penned the songs for acclaimed
musicals such as Wicked, Godspell and Pippin), helped Ondrasik
bring the idea to fruition, co-writing "Slice" (as well as the
song "Above the Timberline"). "We sat down at a coffee shop to talk
about writing together," says Ondrasik, " I told him about my idea for
'Slice," and 'American Pie' actually came on the radio. It was
surreal. Stephen immediately wrote the first two lines on a napkin, and we were
off and running.
"I've been a fan of Five for Fighting since I first heard 'Superman',"
says Schwartz, "and then was blown away by '100 Years.' I got the full
CDs and was really impressed by John Ondrasik's writing—great tunes and
smart and surprising lyrics. So naturally I didn't hesitate a moment when John
asked me to co-write a couple of songs with him. It was, as I expected, great collaborating
with him—experiencing first-hand his musicality and gift for melody, his incisive
way with words, and the passion and care he puts into each of his songs."
The release of Slice is being led with first single "Chances,"
a sweeping, grand pop song with a simple message: "Until you crash what have
you done/Is there a better bet than love." Says Ondrasik, "It's all
about taking the swing—there's beauty in the scars."
The celebrated, Southern California-born singer/songwriter's fifth album under
the Five for Fighting banner, Slice finds Ondrasik spreading his creative
wings, ever so gently incorporating his love for classic R&B on songs like "Love
Can't Change the Weather" and even firing up a Marshall stack on "Transfer."
Lyrically, he honors his family ("Story of Your Life" was written for
his wife of 12 years), friends and personal heroes, from fitness pioneer Augie Nieto
to American servicemen serving around the world. If it's a tribute to a bygone
era, Slice, the follow-up to 2006's Two Lights, is also an accurate and
well-rounded snapshot of who Ondrasik is at the moment, as an artist. Produced by
Ondrasik and Gregg Wattenberg, and partially tracked at his Southern California
home, the album features sweeping statement songs like the title track, but quiets
on sparse ballads like "This Dance" and the ageless "Hope,"
before ramping up again on tracks like "Note to the Unknown Soldier".
It was of course his tender playing and touching vocal on the Grammy-nominated "Superman"—from
the Five for Fighting album America Town (2000) —which thrust Ondrasik
into the national spotlight eight years ago. While written and released well before
9/11, "Superman" has endeared Ondrasik to the survivors and families of
those lost in that tragedy, as well as to servicemen serving around the world.
The events of 9/11 are at the core of the Slice song "Tuesday,"
on which Ondrasik sings: "The thing about memories/They're sure and bound
to fade/Except for the stolen souls/Left upon her blade". Ondrasik explains:
"That song isn't 'Superman Part 2,' there's none of that in
there. It's much more of a plea for us to not forget the lessons we learned
that day."
Ondrasik's relationship with those survivors and families has led to life-changing
experiences and celebrated philanthropic work for the singer, who has since found
performed USO concerts around the world. His audiences have included General David
Petraeus and the National Guardsmen at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Ondrasik also conceived
and produced For the Troops, a series of compilations featuring superstar
recording artists that are available for free to every active service member in
the U.S. Armed Forces (the forthcoming collection, For The Troops III, will
feature comedians exclusively). Ondrasik's charity work doesn't stop there.
His site whatkindofworlddoyouwant.com collects money for various charities.
The singer's ongoing support of servicemen and women, and his dedication to
his own wife and children, even led to him receiving a special fatherhood award
from the National Fatherhood Initiative's 2009 Military Fatherhood Award Ceremony.
Married with a daughter and son, Ondrasik says it was actually his devotion to all
three and his desire to stay home that is to blame for the new album taking a little
longer than previous albums. That, and of course the fact that he fills his life
with myriad projects, from writing a column for Sports Illustrated to co-writing
with the likes of Brooks & Dunn, Josh Groban, and scoring music for such films
as August Rush and Chicken Little.
It's all a culmination of a life literally spent playing music. Born in L.A.'s
San Fernando Valley and raised in a musical family, Ondrasik was just two when he
started playing piano, later adding guitar. Yet it wasn't for almost three decades
(and four years after the release of the debut Five for Fighting album, Message for
Albert), before he became a mainstream star via "Superman" from
the critically lauded America Town album, which Ondrasik and company followed
up in 2004 with The Battle for Everything, a springboard for the classic
"100 Years." Ondrasik's songs "Superman," "100 Years,"
"World," and "Freedom Never Cries" continue to endure in America's
songbook proving Ondrasik's ability to stand the musical test of time.
"Every round I try to write the best songs I can, and perhaps step out of the
box a bit. To me, records are about offering my worldview while providing sentiments
to which people may attach themselves or escape into. Slice is where I've
come from, where I am, and a few scraps I've picked up in between. All in a
slice of time."
