Originally posted on MySpace on June 7, 2007.John Ondrasik is a brilliant singer-songwriter, but I don't think I really have to tell you that...you know. He is a master when it comes to writing beautiful music and poignant lyrics. There's a reason why they call those who create such masterpieces musical artists...it IS a form of art. But, who knew John possessed another hidden artistic ability. And, it manifested itself in quite an honorable way.
In the fall of 2004, the GRAMMY (National Academy for Recording Arts and Sciences) Foundation wanted to raise awareness and funds for their Signature Schools program. The program spotlights those public high schools in the U.S. with excellent committment to music education. To help promote Signature Schools, 7 Up and the GRAMMY Foundation recruited 6 GRAMMY nominated/winning musicians to provide artistic renditions of the GRAMMY logo for a series of limited edition 7 Up products cans. Those artists were: Brian McKnight for Sunkist, Michael McDonald for 7 Up, Dave Koz for Canada Dry Ginger Ale, Wynonna Judd for Cherry 7 Up, Randy Travis for A & W Root Beer, and John Ondrasik for Diet 7 Up. For participating in the promotion, 7 Up made a donation in each artist's name to the GRAMMY Signature Schools.
For those of you who didn't know, Five For Fighting was nominated for a GRAMMY award back in 2002 for Superman. For some reason, John was in the Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group category. Back then, like now, they thought John was a band, not a solo artist. The other nominees were The Backstreet Boys, N'Sync, R.E.M. and U2. John was happy that U2 won the award, but later admitted he wouldn't have minded winning himself.
After discovering Five For Fighting in the summer of 2005, I had a lot of catching up to do. I found my calling on eBay, buying up all the merchandise and memorabilia I could get my hands on. At times, it was like a feeding frenzy for me...I couldn't get enough. Most of the stuff was pretty unexciting...CDs, T-shirts and posters were the norm. But, in February of 2006, something quite amazing caught my eye. GRAMMY Charities was putting on an auction of celebrity memorabilia to raise money for their MusiCares Foundation. This organization provides financial and services support to music people in times of need.
As I scrolled down the auction offerings, I first came across the Michael McDonald framed art piece...the original art, signature and pop can from the 2004 Signature Schools promo campaign. Right below that, the Dave Koz piece...my anticipation was building. Please, please, please, let it be there! There were only two more, and the next in line happened to be...the John Ondrasik art piece! Opening bid price: $350. Without hesitation, I put in the minimum bid. Now, came the waiting game. The auction for the art piece was 10 days long...would anyone else be interested enough to put in a counter bid? I was prepared to pay a premium for this one-of-a-kind John Ondrasik original. I registered with the auction house, should it be necessary to bid above $1000. The nice guy I spoke with on the phone told me that similar pieces went for about $350. He must have been referring to the other two of the original 6 in the series. That was reassuring.
Well, we all know how it turned out. Thankfully, no one else put in a bid, and John's art piece was mine. The same couldn't be said (at least, at the time) for the Dave Koz, Michael McDonald and Brian McKnight pieces...they had no takers. I guess John should feel pretty good that at least one fanatic wanted his! About a week after the auction ended, my art piece was delivered via FedEx. It's quite impressive...the photo in my pic section doesn't really do it justice. Inside a black metal and glass frame, is the mounted limited edition Diet 7 Up pop can, and the carefully matted original signature and John's art created for the can.
After I found out I won the art piece, I emailed John to let him know, and to also ask him for his interpretation of his little painting. Well, he didn't tell me, and I haven't asked him since, so you be the judge. It's obvious the hand print was contributed by one of his kids, and the "U.S.A." is probably representative of John's sense of patriotism. One might say after examining the other artists' creations that John's artistic contribution isn't that good. But, what's more important...how the message is delivered or the message itself? I would say the latter. Whatever the case, I'm proud to own a piece of John's art...it's like a small part of his world. And, who wouldn't want to be part of John's world...that's why you're here reading this, right?
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