Donavon Frankenreiter
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Donavon Frankenreiter

Donavon Frankenreiter Radio

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Glow

03:17 | 1698 plays | Sep 28 2010

General Info

  • Genre: Rock / Soul / Surf

    Location LAGUNA BEACH, California, US

    Profile Views: 1569852

    Last Login: 10/14/2011

    Member Since 1/11/2006

    Website http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmRvbmF2b25mLmNvbQ==

    Record Label Liquid Tambourine Records

    Type of Label Indie

  • Bio

    When Donavon Frankenreiter was 10 years old, he got his first surfboard. Six years later, he picked up his first guitar. It was the beginning of a wildly creative journey: His improvisational twin obsessions have carried him around the globe and into his fans' hearts. As Frankenreiter prepares to release his fourth album, Glow, this fall, the 37-year-old singer/songwriter/pro surfer admits he still thrives on simply taking the plunge. "We don't have a set show, if we did, I would go crazy," he says. "You never know what's going to happen. I love that element of surprise with music and surfing – you never catch the same wave twice." Growing up in southern California, Frankenreiter was drawn first to guitar gods like Clapton and Page, then to songwriters like Dylan and Marley. Ska-punk soundtracked his moves in surfing films, but his first high school band was so inspired by Pearl Jam, they named it Peanut Butter and Jam. His next outfit, a Southern rock group, scored a spot on the Warped Tour and was promptly pummeled with debris whenever their harmonies followed acts like Sick of It All. He continued to play rhythm guitar with a cover band, staying comfortably out of the spotlight, until one day something clicked: he needed to branch out on his own. Good pal Jack Johnson was starting up Brushfire Records, and offered Frankenreiter a shot, producing his first album of folk songs – including the hit "Free" – along with famed Beastie Boys collaborator Mario Caldato, Jr. Frankenreiter followed his 2004 self-titled debut with a full-band record, 2006's Move by Yourself (Lost Highway), where he plugged in and chronicled his life on the road. Joe Chiccarelli (The White Stripes, My Morning Jacket) produced 2008 disc Pass It Around, which featured guests Ben Harper and G. Love, and marked a major musical turning point for Frankenreiter: "The first time I started working with other writers." He kept up the spirit of collaboration on 2010's Revisited, a track-by-track reinterpretation of his debut disc through a Hawaiian lens. After relocating to Kauai fulltime with his wife and sons Ozzy and Hendrix three years ago, Frankenreiter became enamored with the sounds of the islands. "It started off with ukulele and my voice and [guitarist] Kirk Smart added slack key guitar, lap steel, and everything else, and it just kind of grew from there," he says. "It's really neat to hear an alternative version of what happened seven years ago." Revisited proved a fascinating challenge, but Frankenreiter hasn't spent the last year focused on the past. And as soon as he got into a room with producer Mark Weinberg, he knew he'd found the perfect partner for Glow. "I wrote 'Keeping Me Away From You' with Mark the first time I ever met him in 30 minutes," Frankenreiter says of the warm, wistful mid-tempo track. "He looked at me and went, 'Wow, that was quick.' I asked, 'Does that normally happen?' " They recorded the entire album over three days at California's Pulse Studios, utilizing a band of crack players to amp up the original acoustic arrangements into gorgeously polished chill-out rock with U2-esque guitar flourishes ("Shadows"), lush strings ("Keeping Me Away From You"), and bluesy organ wails ("Hold On"). "In Your Dreams" is about the haunted home Frankenreiter lived in as a kid, where he imagined "the houses talking to me." On "All Right," what the singer calls "a bitching drum pattern" built on a synthesizer gives way to organic drums, finger-picked guitars and Frankenreiter's smoky vocals as he croons a soothing lullaby: "Let the good life shine/it's gonna be all right." "The first thing I do is grab a surfboard or guitar if I'm depressed or bummed – I think that's why a lot of my songs are positive and uplifting, because those two things make me happy. I've really enjoyed living in the moment, enjoying what's going on right now," he says. The disc's title track captures this sentiment perfectly: Riding a sweet, syncopated acoustic strum, the song swells into a beautiful chorus as Frankenreiter sings, "I want to see you glow/I want to see your daylight shining all around your heart." "The sounds are something I've never had on my records, ever," Frankenreiter says, adding he just played his acoustic guitar on the album and was pleasantly surprised by the addition of echo and delay on the disc's electric guitars. "I don't want to say it's a risk, but I don't know what people are going to think," he admits. But in true Donavon Frankenreiter fashion, there's little room for stress on Glow. The album's 10 tracks are the perfect antidote to trying times: warm, organic, and overwhelmingly hopeful. And Frankenreiter is ready to bring the new tracks to his international fanbase as he continues to crisscross the globe on more surfing and musical adventures. "If there's anything I learned, it's that you really gotta be yourself," he says, reflecting on his career. "You can't fool people in music if you want to stick around for a long time."

  • Members

    Donavon Frankenreiter, Craig Barnette - Drums, Matt Grundy - Bass, Pete Winders - Guitar, Eric Brigmond - Keys

  • Influences

  • Sounds Like

Comments

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  • ナオヤ

    hi! I am koichi that meets in Tokyo.
    How was the Japan tour?
    Did you hear passed CD?
    Wave large when this time coming to Japan.

    Let's do surf together this time.

    1 year ago
  • The Uptights

    Stoked your playing Webster tonight, have fun you furry furdog...

    1 year ago
  • Agnomic





    1 year ago
  • Dawn Hendrix

    Awesome show last night at The Independent.  We were standing net to the guy who caught your hat...a new fan..you made his evening! Love your new CD! 

    1 year ago
  • Suzanne M. M.

    Finally got to see Oct. 26 Jimmy Kimmel Live... Great appearance !! ;)

    1 year ago
  • Rob Kennedy

    Nov 7th, Vancouver, Gunna be Awsome!

    1 year ago
  • jaclyn milan

    Jimmy Kimmel apperance was amazinggg!! i got chills...congrats donavon

    1 year ago
  • Tadanori KANNO

    Thanks you!
    So happy!!

    1 year ago
  • Nicola Duke

    once again!!

    1 year ago
  • Fabpie

    whats up donavon...i saw u in 2009 or 2008 dont remenber ehhe in sao paulo at the Ibirapuera Park...was amazing...now i'm in dublin any plans to come to europe....great new tunes man....peace..

    1 year ago
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  1. Donavon Frankenreiter

    VENUE CHANGE - the show in Melbourne, Australia on 2/4 at The Waterside has been moved to "The Deck" at 6pm. Still a FREE show though!

  2. Donavon Frankenreiter

    ♫ This Week: Melbourne, Australia - Feb 4 at The Deck http://t.co/55l0NOBp

  3. Donavon Frankenreiter

    ♫ On Sale: Virginia Beach, VA - May 26 at Jewish Mother http://t.co/ul76dhFj

  4. Donavon Frankenreiter

    New dates for FREE shows in February all thru Australia thanks to the Corona Summer Sessions!!! http://t.co/Ub6NWqhx

  5. Donavon Frankenreiter

    Heading to buzios

    Chung Ivory liked this.

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