Donavon Frankenreiter

So Donavon, you’re heading down to Australia next month for huge a run of shows. What are you looking forward to most about this upcoming tour?
I am really excited that Corona has these concerts going all around Australia. It’s going to be fun to play free acoustic shows for people and drink some great beer. Also I’m looking forward to seeing so much of Australia in such a short time!

It really is a massive tour you’re undertaking playing a number of shows in each city. Was this a deliberate plan to fit in as many shows as possible?
It was a schedule that Corona presented to me and it looked like so much fun. We have two to three shows a day, Friday through Sunday hitting up some great pubs and clubs.

Now it’s no secret that you are a keen surfer. So I imagine you’re going to try and fit in as much surfing as possible while you’re down here in OZ?
Yes, I am living with my family for the next six weeks in Coolangatta. It’s been amazing surfing Snappan Rocks and all the great waves of the Gold Coast.

Are there any Australian beaches that you’ve heard about and just can’t wait to surf?
I just love surfing wherever I can so any beach that we are able to swim or get a quick surf in before a show is going to be great!

You have talked before about how both music and surfing has helped you out when you’re feeling a bit down or things just aren’t going your way.  Have they always acted as a kind of therapy for you in this way?
Yes, it’s the one thing in my life that I love doing when things aren’t going good. Music and surfing seem to be such a forever changing fun and pure way for me to escape; I just love them both so much.

And living in a place like Kauai, how much has being in that sort of environment influenced your recent songwriting and when are we likely to see a new record from you?
It has so much. I have a new album we just finished recording. It’s coming out last week of May, it’s called Start Livin. It has a bunch of ukes and lap steel on it; I just love the sound of those instruments with the acoustic guitar. It was recorded in seven days over December. I am so proud of this new album it has a lot of influences on what happened in the last year of my life.

Finally, once you have finished the Australian tour, what are your plans for the rest of 2012?
We will be touring with a full band all over the world supporting (Start Livin). We hope to be back at the end of the year for New Years and into January touring with this new record all through Australia.

BY JAMES NICOLI