On working with Brickman on this song, Ondrasik said, “It was fun. It is nice not to have to play the piano. It’s nice to work with a real piano player. I have great respect for Jim Brickman. He is ‘Mr. Christmas.’ It was just great to be able to collaborate with him. We have this mutual love and appreciation for our soldiers and their families, so we wanted to write a Christmas song for the troops.”
Ondrasik continued, “For me, the song is really a thank you for the troops that are away from home. It is a simple thank you, a postcard and a hug to our troops and their families for what they do for us. More importantly, the troops provide the freedom for our children and our grandchildren. On this holiday season, Jim and I wanted to give them their own Christmas song.”
Regarding his future plans, he said, “I’m doing a lot of touring. I’m doing symphony shows and quartet shows. I’ve sold a couple of television musical shows, and I do some keynote speaking and talking, and I have two teenagers. I’ve been pretty busy these days.”
Digital transformation of music
On the impact of technology on the music industry, he said, “It’s a double-edged sword. The music industry never got ahead of the illegal downloading so there is a culture out there that thinks music is free, and that is dangerous for the creators, since it is more difficult for them to make a living out of it. On the other hand, you are not hostage to the big record companies to get your music out there. There are so many people discovered on YouTube and on the Internet. It is easier than ever to build a career by yourself, and get recognition. You may not sell millions of records, but you can make a living out of it. I try to tell young artists, the goal, at least in my mind, is never to have a No. 1 song or record, the goal is to have a career, and at 52 years old to do a show, where people will buy a ticket. Technology allows you to get your music out, and it also helps you make your records much cheaper. Back in the day, to make a record, you had to go in the studio and pay $1000 a day, and now you can make a great sounding record on your laptop. Technology has its good and bad, but overall, for music makers there are a lot of options that I didn’t have 15 years ago, as a young songwriter.”
Five for Fighting and Jim Brickman’s “Christmas Where You Are” is available on iTunes.
Read More: Jim Brickman chatted with Digital Journal about his new Christmas song with Five for Fighting.