Friday, July 14, 2023 at 11 p.m. on KPBS TV / Stream now with the PBS App + Encore Monday, July 17 at 9 p.m. on KPBS2
San Diego has long been known as a hotbed of great musical talent. What’s more, San Diego is home to one of the best music venues on the West Coast. Since 1974, the Belly Up has been featuring great local bands from the Cedros Design District. This episode features Donavon Frankenreiter and his full quiver of songs from beachy acoustic to rippin' 1970s sounding electric guitar songs.
To create his fifth full-length album "Start Livin'," Hawaii-based singer/guitarist/songwriter Donavon Frankenreiter holed up in a Southern California studio for seven days with his longtime bassist Matt Grundy - and no one else. The follow-up to 2010's "Glow," "Start Livin'" is a nine-track selection of folk-infused songs that sweetly reflect the simplicity of their recording. With its smooth showcasing of Frankenreiter's rich, honey-thick vocals and masterful guitar work, "Start Livin'" bears all the intimacy of an impromptu back-porch performance and the tenderness of a treasured love letter.
"'Start Livin' is basically a love album," says Frankenreiter, who co-produced the record alongside Matt Grundy and Adam Ableman. "Most of the songs are about my wife and our two boys, and the life that we've built together in Hawaii." Thanks to Frankenreiter's infectious warmth and finely honed pop sensibilities, each of those songs has the singular effect of drawing the listener into that bright and breezy world for a blissed-out moment.
Donavon Frankenreiter is on Facebook and Instagram
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Belly Up brings the best in new, up-and-coming artists as well as established legends in genres ranging from alternative rock, rock, reggae, and hip-hop to blues, folk, jazz, Latin & more! Visit their online calendar of shows.
