Five for Fighting!

I am so lucky. Last night I caught Five for Fighting at Jammin' at the Zoo. Along with the lions and gorillas, I and about 2,000 others snuggled our chairs and blankets onto the Lincoln Park Zoo main mall and gently rocked.


Five for Fighting is the professional name of singer/songwriter John Ondrasik who performs with various back-up bands. Last night's trio of lead guitar, bass guitar, and drums was work- man- like, but Five for Fighting was in great form. He sang some of the best known tracks from America Town, Easy Tonight and Superman, and my favorite, 100 Years from Battle for Everything. (I'm 45 for a moment/The sea is high/And I'm heading into a crisis/Chasing the years of my life.)


He added NY City Weather Report, Angels and Girlfriends, The Riddle and Chances from his upcoming album Slice. There were others as well, and he ended the set with a rousing rendition of Elton John's Rocket Man, one of my all time favorite songs. What great taste.


Ondrasik is an interesting and admirable character. In one of his numbers last night he saluted those in the military and praised freedom in a song. In 2007 and 2008 he coordinated the production of mix CDs of some favorites like Billy Joel, the Fray, the Goo Goo Dolls, and Keith Urban donated by the artists. He distributed over 200,000 free copies of each CD to members of the U. S. military. He also uses his music to raise funds for several charities such as Save the Children, Autism Speaks, and ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). In person, he is as down to earth a rocker as you ever can see.


I wish I could say the same for Five for Fighting's opening act, Angel Taylor. Like Ondrasik, who briefly studied opera, Taylor has a beautiful and powerful voice. Both artists' voices sounded much stronger in person than they do recorded. But Taylor's set was gloomy and pretentious, featuring her piano, a simple drum, an acoustic guitar, and her unmelodic tunes. I only liked one of her tunes, Like You Do. One of her best numbers was written by someone else, Sex on Fire by the Kings of Leon. Angel is only 21 years old; she has the talent to be a fine pop singer, but not all talented performers have the songwriting ability of Five for Fighting.

RIP Les Paul (and Mike Seeger)

Les Paul 1915-2009


A king of pop music, Les Paul began his career as an accomplished jazz guitarist with a fluid, swinging style. Never able to read music, Paul had a magnificent ear and could hear entire arrangements in his head.

Born Lester William Polsfus in Waukesha, WI, in 1915, Paul first discovered music at the age of eight when he took up the harmonica. By age 13 he was performing as a country guitarist. Throughout the 1930s he played jazz guitar, releasing his first 2 recordings in 1936.

In 1939, he built one of the first solid bodied electric guitar, known as The Log. In the early 1950s, Gibson produced a guitar that used Paul’s ideas and marketed it as the Les Paul Standard. He played that guitar throughout his career, although his personal models were heavily modified. In 1962 Paul was issued a U.S. patent titled “Electric Musical Instrument”.

In 1948, Paul suffered a near-fatal automobile accident which shattered his right arm. Told that he would never move that arm again, Paul had his doctors set the arm in a bent position that would allow him to play guitar.

After his recovery, Paul teamed up with his second wife, singer Colleen Summers who he renamed Mary Ford. The couple had a series of mega hits in the 1950s including “How High the Moon’’, “Bye Bye Blues”, and “Vaya Con Dios”. Always innovative, Paul’s work with Mary Ford benefited from his invention of multi-track recordings.

Les Paul semi retired in the late 1960s with occasional returns to the recoding studio. In 2005 he received a 90th birthday tribute concert at Carnegie Hall, and in 2008 he received the American Music Masters award with a tribute concert in Cleveland sponsored by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.


Mike Seeger 1933-2009

Although not as well known as Les Paul, in his limited sphere Mike Seeger was a musician of influence.

Seeger began playing traditional instruments - banjo, fiddle, dulcimer, mouth harp, mandolin, and Dobro - at age 12. He learned traditional folk music from the recordings his parents brought home from the Library of Congress where they assisted John and Alan Lomax collect songs for the Archive of Folk Music.

His music credentials extend to his siblings Pete Seeger, the godfather of American folk singing, and Peggy Seeger, a respected folk singer as well.

In the early 1950s Seeger began to collect his own field recordings. In 1958 he co-founded the New Lost City Ramblers, a group specializing in string band music from the 1920s and 30s. In the 1960s, Seeger released solo recordings and formed the Strange Creek Singers. He went on to continue solo recording throughout the 1970s and became involved in the Newport Folk Festival. In 1970 he became director of the Smithsonian Folklife Company.

In Chronicles: Volume One Bob Dylan acknowledges a debt to Mike Seeger who helped Dylan in his early struggle to gain notice in the New York city folk scene. Seeger also served as a role model for Dylan, who admired Seeger as a folk musician.

Mike Seeger on You Tube

Freight Train

New Lost City Ramblers

RockDocs: The Rolling Stones

Summer is the time to rock and roll. For the second Summer, here at Niles Library we are presenting a series of rock and roll documentaries. So far this summer we are seen Elvis (you have to ask "Elvis who?") in his short-lived prime as he rehearsed and performed in a dynamic Las Vegas concert. In a two part presentation we have followed the early career of Bob Dylan as he made the transition from beloved folk and social protest singer to electrified rocker.

Third up is Shine a Light, director Martin Scorses's take on a present-day Rolling Stones concert. The 60-something Stones haven't lost their energy or charisma. Supplemented by Jack White, Christina Aquilera, and Buddy Guy, the Rolling Stones produce a jaw-dropping mix of music and moves enhanced by Scorses's tight camera angles that make you feel like you're on the stage. This 122 minute film and rated PG13 and will be played on the big screen on Saturday August 15 at 2:00 PM in the large meeting room. Don't miss it.


In a special showing, to honor Michael Jackson on what would have been his 51st birthday, we are also screening the film Dangerous, a compilation of music videos and behind the scene action from the making of the 1991 Dangerous album and tour. This 112 minute film is unrated and will be shown on the big screen on Saturday August 29 at 2:00 PM.


We have extended music films into the Fall, turning the coming season into Jazz Fall with showings of A Great Day in Harlem on October 10 and, ironically, Jazz on a Summer's Day on November 21. Look at this space and the AV Desk on the first floor for more information to come. Meanwhile, enjoy the eye candy below: the Rolling Stones in their youth.