by Gavin Heaney
There’s a place where hip meets hippie, city slick yet perfectly torn and frayed at the edges. It’s where all the pretty people meet at the magic moment. On first glance it all seems kismet, but in the hipster scene, spontaneity is carefully crafted and surreptitiously staged. Fashion is passion and threading the needle between the look and the hook is the art form.
It is here where Donavon Frankenreiter was poised, picture perfect on the Saint Rocke stage like a late ‘70s country music star who just moseyed off the cover of a vintage vinyl. His shadowed face sang out from under his white straw ranchero hat to the crowded club on Sunday, December 29, as his band broadcasted bouncy, soft country rock sonics, like on AM airwaves.
Frankenreiter is a prototypical guitarist come frontman and songwriter come singer. His performance is pragmatic yet playful. You get a sense he is still somehow modest in the limelight, which is endearing. This humility allows him to blend in with the band, where he seems at home and where style melds with skill, soldering the combination of his straightforward songwriting, soothing, serviceable singing and gritty guitar grooves. The sound is the sum of these parts, like sawdust in a sunbeam, swirling and circulating through the room.
Frankenreiter was accompanied by Jeremy Long who embellished the songs with honky tonk blues piano, funky Rhodes, gospel B3 and silky pedal steel that coated the night with country twang. On bass and blues harp was Matt Grundy, who added tight vocal harmonies to Frankenreiter’s mellow croon. Forgoing a harp holder, he blew and played bass one handed at times as Jara Harris pounded out punchy rhythms ecstatically on drums, driving the train home.
Frankenreiter later featured local underaged guitar prodigy Saxon Weiss whose fretwork is uncannily graceful beyond his years. It takes most players a lifetime to cultivate his flow. Understanding this, Frankenreiter gave Weiss a generous stay on stage.”It was incredible having Saxon up there.” Frankenreiter said after the show. “That made us all feel the future of music is in really good hands.”
Coasting on California cool is Frankenreiter’s forte and playing it cool is all that’s required. The former professional surfer, like his surfing, delivers his music with a smooth, plain elegance that is subtle and enduring.
“Well, you’re like a big wave comin’ on strong
Ain’t never seen nothin’ like you in so long
I wanna thank you for lettin’ me know
What it feels like to have love.” — “Big Wave” by Donavon Frankenreiter.
“It felt so good to be back in Hermosa Beach, a good warm up for BeachLife in May,” he said.
Both Frankenreiter and the 12-year-old Weiss performed at BeachLife2024. They are scheduled to return to BeachLife 2025 over the weekend of May 2, 3 and 4. For more information, visit BeachLifeFestival.com.
BeachLife’s fifth lineup shows
Line-up expansion early years
The fifth iteration of the annual BeachLife Festival continues to expand its range of performers. The lineup announced last week included rock star Lenny Kravitz, ska star Sublime and Americana star Jackson Brown. The lineup also draws heavily from South Bay stars, including Tomorrows Bad Seeds, Too Rude and Milo Aukerman of the Descendents. Pennywise singer Jim Lindberg, who is the festival’s musical director, will also perform.
The first BeachLife Festival, in 2019, was headlined by the Beach Boy’s Brian Wilson, the Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir and Willie Nelson.
Kravitz headlines the festival on opening night, Friday May 2, in Seaside Lagoon at King Harbor. Sublime headlines Saturday night, and Alanis Morissette headlines Sunday night.
Jackson Brown also performs Sunday night. Browne last performed in Hermosa Beach in 2011, at the Hermosa Beach Community Theater in a benefit for the Guacamole Fund. ER
