Cincinnati Pops gets Five for Fighting

There was once a time when John Ondrasik cut his albums like Frank Sinatra – setting up shop in a studio at the iconic Capitol Records building in Hollywood and making room for a full orchestra.

But things have changed industry-wide not only since the last decade when Ondrasik was cranking out soft-rock hits like “Superman (It’s Not Easy),” “100 Years” and “The Riddle” under his stage name Five for Fighting. Recording budgets have shrunk commensurately with album sales. There are more cost-effective ways to add strings to a song than hiring musicians.

Today, Ondrasik scratches his orchestral itch by occasionally touring with a string quartet. Other times, like this weekend, he goes full-on symphonic. Before Five for Fighting makes its debut performance with the Cincinnati Pops on Sunday, Ondrasik discussed how he became a touring pops-orchestra frontman.

Question: Was it your idea to do these orchestra gigs?

Answer: It was kind of my idea. I’ve seen some of my colleagues – Jewel was starting to do symphony shows and Sarah McLachlan started to do them. I had songs of mine that I wouldn’t necessarily do with the rock band, but they had such incredible string arrangements, and I’ve had such a blessing to work with some incredible composers throughout my career, so I thought, 'why don’t we at least try a symphony show?' Not only can I play “Superman” and “100 Years” with a new dimension, but I can also pull out some of these songs from my catalog. And it went over really great. Now, probably 80 percent of my shows are either symphony shows or string-quartet shows. 

Q: What’s the repertoire? Your hits?

A: Most of it’s mine. Every show, I try to let the quartet or the symphony pick a piece of their own, and I’ll walk offstage and join the audience and let them do their thing, whether it’s a classical piece or a pop piece – let them have their moment to shine. We might bust out an “American Pie” here or there with the orchestra to give it a new sense of life for an encore.

Q: You are essentially a one-man band. How do you like the collaborative nature of working with an orchestra and a conductor?

A: There’s nothing more inspiring than hearing the orchestra behind you, and with these arrangements, I can just kind of sit there and play and sing. Sometimes I get lost in their magic. I kind of have to remember where I am and what I’m doing, because it’s just so awesome and beautiful. There’s really nothing more satisfying than doing one of these shows.

Q: What has been the peak moment in the orchestral phase of your career?

A: For every record that I’ve made, the highlight of the record is going into the studio and recording the orchestra. I remember back in the day when we had budgets, I would go into the basement of Capitol Records, where Frank Sinatra and all of the greats recorded their iconic hits and we’d have a 32-piece symphony, and I’d just sit in the room, and I wouldn’t even listen to the track. I would just listen to them play, and it was so emotional for me. One, probably because it meant that the record was almost done. But also just to experience the strings and the magic. And every time we do one of these shows, it’s kind of a rebirth for me as a performer.

If you go

What: Five for Fighting

When: 7 p.m. Sunday, April 8

Where: Music Hall, 1241 Main St., Over-the-Rhine; 513-621-1919

Tickets: $105-$25