Five for Fighting’s John Ondrasik discusses how he built a career on his own terms ahead of Des Plaines Theatre show
John Ondrasik is somewhat of an anomaly in the rock ’n’ roll landscape.
In no way do Billboard Hot 100 songs “Chances,” “The Riddle,” the classic “100 Years” and “Superman (It’s Not Easy)” — which spent 35 weeks on the chart and earned a 2002 Grammy nomination — mirror the aggression of Ondrasik’s stage name, Five for Fighting.
The late 1990s, when Ondrasik first came to the fore, was a post-grunge era of boy bands and Lilith Fair, he recalled on the phone from his home in Thousand Oaks, California, near Los Angeles.
“It wasn’t the age of male singer-songwriters, to put it that way,” said Ondrasik, 61.
Still, to promote his music, his record company sought something more provocative than Vladimir John Ondrasik III (he’s of Slovakian heritage).
A Los Angeles Kings hockey fan, and also being “a little miffed,” the operatically trained tenor sarcastically suggested Five for Fighting, “expecting them to hate it,” he said.
“And they’re like, ‘We love it!’ — and I’m, like, ‘You’re insane! It sounds like it should be opening for Metallica, are you crazy?’
“But we went with Five for Fighting, and here we are almost 30 years later,” he said.
On Thursday, June 18, Five for Fighting will play the Des Plaines Theatre, part of a co-headlining tour with fellow certified platinum singer Edwin McCain.
Ondrasik finds comfort in Chicago-area venues. Last August Five for Fighting played with Vertical Horizon at another Ron Onesti property, the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles.
A gig at Schuba’s in Chicago was one of his first, Ondrasik said. Five for Fighting’s albums from 2000-09 were released on Columbia subsidiary Aware Records, of Evanston.
“Coming back, it’s always like coming to my second home, and I don’t say that lightly. It should be a lot of fun,” Ondrasik said.
Pianist Ondrasik, who will perform with guitarist Peter Thorn, bassist Sean Hurley and drummer Randy Cooke, said he’ll pull out the hits, tell some stories behind them, play a song with McCain and perform covers of his influences.
“We always do a song that recognizes our troops,” Ondrasik added.
“You never know what you’re going to get, but it’s always a lot of fun, and hopefully a tear and a laugh will come along with it,” he said.
Ondrasik — whose daughter Olivia is half of the folk duo Lace and Lee — also is unique in that throughout his music career he’s also worked in his family’s business, Precision Wire Products, which specializes in manufacturing shopping carts.
“I have this parallel career of what I like to call ‘the real world,’ where you have to make a payroll, you have to work hard, and you sweat, and you make things, and you work with people, and you watch the American Dream,” Ondrasik said.
The business enables Ondrasik to create, release and perform music when, how and with whom he chooses.
“It’s a nice place, to kind of be able to just work on projects that are important to you, work with people you like,” he said.
Son of a former NASA astrophysicist and a mother who taught piano, Ondrasik has a degree in mathematics from UCLA and has made presentations at The Salk Institute, the American Cancer Society and for TEDx.
He’s had a passion for humanitarian causes throughout his recording career, which includes the platinum-selling “America Town” and “The Battle for Everything” among his six studio albums.
Five for Fighting songs have been heard in more than 350 commercials, movies and television shows, but Ondrasik also has worked for 20 years with actor, armed forces supporter, Lt. Dan Band bassist — and “my buddy” — Gary Sinise.
The Gary Sinise Foundation is a recipient of donations gained through a charitable website Ondrasik created in 2007, What Kind of World Do You Want.
Ondrasik performed “Superman (It’s Not Easy)” at the Concert for New York that honored first responders and those killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, World Trade Center attacks.
In recent years he’s written songs critical of the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan (“Blood on My Hands”) and Hamas’ attack on Israel [“OK (We Are Not OK)“], and inspired by Ukraine President Vladimir Zelenskyy (“Can One Man Save the World?”).
In June 2025 in Tel Aviv, he performed “Superman” alongside family members of hostage Alon Ohel, altering lyrics to reflect Ondrasik’s hope he’d one day be able to sing it with Ohel. That came true this past February. After Ohel was released, the two performed together in Washington, D.C.
As well, recalling his mother volunteering in his California elementary school after music education funding was cut, in 2024 Ondrasik teamed with philanthropist Cayley Tull of the Chicago-based nonprofit Tullman Family Office to found Let Music Fill My World.
Beginning with students from Farragut Career Academy in Chicago, the organization and its Music Matters Challenge supports access to music education for schools and individual students.
“Those kind of projects are the things that I think, at this stage of my career, using my voice, using the platform … they inspire me and they keep me going. They give me purpose,” Ondrasik said.
“In a way, it’s kind of a nice place to be. There’s a lot of freedom. There’s no pressure from record companies. I do what I do and the chips fall where they may.”
And while Five for Fighting is not a usual name for a balladeer, it does have its perks.
“I can get a free ticket to any hockey game,” Ondrasik said.
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Five for Fighting and Edwin McCain
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 18 (doors open at 6 p.m.). Five for Fighting closes the show.
Where: Des Plaines Theatre, 1476 Miner St., Des Plaines
Tickets: Start at $66.75 at etix.com/