Donavon Frankenreiter

Before entering the music industry as a solo act under the guidance of Jack Johnson, Donavon Frankenreiter spent his early years as a professional surfer. He entered the world in Southern California on December 10, 1972, secured a sponsorship deal with Billabong while still in his early teens, and relocated to Hawaii at age 14. There he leased a residence owned by the parents of fellow surfer Jack Johnson, whose musical abilities had yet to surface. The pair quickly bonded over shared interests, picking up the guitar at the same time and spending time together away from the waves. Although Frankenreiter treated music as a pastime and joined the local rock outfit Sunchild on guitar during his later teenage years, he waited until 2002 before feeling ready to pursue a solo path. By then Johnson’s own career had surged forward dramatically, prompting him to establish the Brushfire Records imprint. Frankenreiter contacted his longtime acquaintance, who issued the self-titled debut album in May 2004; Johnson contributed to the project, as did G. Love and Koool G Murder of the Eels.

Frankenreiter next parted ways with his mentor’s label to sign with Lost Highway, which put out Move by Yourself in 2006. The following year brought the covers EP Recycled Recipes, and the more refined full-length Pass It Around arrived in 2008. Around the same period he settled on Kauai and developed an affinity for traditional Hawaiian sounds, including slack key guitar, lap steel, and ukulele. Those instruments shaped his 2010 release Revisited, a tropical reinterpretation of the 2004 debut. Also appearing that year were a follow-up installment of the Recycled Recipes series and Glow, his fourth collection of original songs.