Not Your Father's Donavon: Pass it Around

What do you think when you hear the name Donavon Frankenreiter? You think I am making it up, don’t you? I’m not, I swear. If this is a name that you don’t know, you better ask yourself why. Donavon Frankenreiter is a blast straight from the 1970s, bringing you only the best relaxing, soothing tunes. Think Jack Johnson with a little dash of funk (a little “dance to the music” if you will).

The first single from Frankenreiter’s third album, Pass it Around, titled “Life, Love & Laughter” perfectly sums up every aspect of what Donavon stands for: “Don’t look back, it won’t do any good. Don’t look ahead you’ll just be misunderstood. Everything you need could be right in front of you. It doesn’t take much to see what is true.” With Donavon, a Southern California born surfer, it is all about the simple things and he relates that in his music.

With songs such as “Life, Love & Laughter,” “Too Much Water” and “Mansions on the Sand,” Donavon is sure to keep you and your friends grooving. The simplicity of his music is what makes Frankenreiter so good. He knows how to make a song that is catchy but is just repetitive enough to the point where it doesn’t get annoying. You could take any of his first three albums and put them on at a party or while you are relaxing by the pool and they would provide the perfect soundtrack.

If you are looking for a more in depth explanation of Frankenreiter’s music you could compare him to Jack Johnson (the two are good friends and Johnson actually signed Frankenreiter to his Brushfire Fairytales record company for his first self-titled album). His music has been classified as soft rock or surf rock, acoustic guitar with a little bit of rhythm guitar to accompany the drums and bass guitar.

If you are already a fan of Frankenreiter you will not be disappointed by his latest release, Pass it Around. If you are new to him and you like music that can jam, is chill at the same time and can even make you dance if you are feeling a little saucy then I would suggest you go pick up a copy of the album and maybe pick up his first self-titled album while you’re at it.

Wait a second...how did we get here?

Music is powerful.

Or atleast I believe it can be, but then again I am one of these "suckers" that falls into the trap that the person that is writing this music actually feels like this or sees such events. I hope that they are making this music for the love of music, not just because they are money hungry corporate whores that will do anything to make some scratch (ja-mean?).

So then as a believer in music tell me - what is it about music that can literally "take you away". Listen to songs such as Donavon Frankenreiter's "too much water", Jason Mraz's "i'm your's" or Incubus' "wish you were here", after listening to such songs you think you would rather be relaxing on a beach with powder white sand or jumping into the waves of the crystal blue water as they crash into the beach. Why do we feel like this? Don't get me wrong, I love that feeling but just what about those songs make us think like this?

Another question that could be posed is can the life depicted in these songs really be that great? Not to sound like a complete pesimist but do we long for these types of feelings simply because we are where we are? I love Dayton and specifically the University of Dayton, but come on, who wouldn't rather be on a beach or even dare I say, in Daytona?

But are these thoughts just a break from the norm? We long for these feelings simply because everytime we go to the beach it is because we are on vacation. So we don't have to worry about making money or any other problems that might arise. So for the time being we can say: "Man, why don't I just pack up all my stuff and move out to a beach house" but once we get there will things be any different? Or will we continue to have our constant daily struggles?

This is why music is powerful. If we analyze the situation it can get messy but for that brief three minutes and change these artists can take us to a completely different place and give us a whole new outlook on life, the choice is yours - you honestly could go anywhere you want to through the use of music, I got an afternoon to spare, where do you want to go?