Did You Know...

John Ondrasik was born in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. He began studying music at the age of two. His mother was a piano teacher, and she taught him her instrument until he was twelve or thirteen. It was at that time that his sister acquired a guitar for her birthday. Ondrasik promptly stole it, taught himself how to play, and began writing his own music. John Ondrasik's third instrument was his voice. He had formal vocal training in opera. However, he decided that opera was not for him, as his inspiration came from musicians like the Beatles, Billy Joel, Journey, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, and Earth, Wind, & Fire.

After he graduated from high school, John Ondrasik attended college at UCLA. He graduated with a Bachelor's degree in applied mathematics. In spite of his studies, John continued to perform and write music. After college he worked at his father's wire manufacturing business. However, John continued to pursue his dream of performing and signed with record label EMI.

John Ondrasik first used the name Five for Fighting when he released his debut album, MESSAGE FOR ALBERT, in 1997. The name he picked to represent his music is taken from a hockey penalty. A player gets five minutes in the penalty box for fighting. Hence the name Five for Fighting.