It’s no secret I’m a huge fan of Donavon Frankenreiter and his music so I just had to share this. Donavon recently performed in the NYC subway station on Lexington/63rd as part of Subway Sessions. I had not heard of Subway Sessions before this and quite frankly think it’s wicked cool; plus great artists like Matt Costa and Damian Kulash of OK Go have also performed as part of the initiative. More than anything, mad props to Thomas McAulay, Sam Spar, and Matt Pelosi for creating Subway Sessions and finding yet a way to share music with the people. To me music is the one thing that can always put me in a good mood no matter what and this is just another way to share the good vibes all around.
Tag Archives: Donavon Frankenreiter
NEW: G. Love – Fixin’ to Die
18 NovI’m a huge G. Love fan and if you are too this video below will definitely get you amped up for his new album, Fixin’ to Die due out February 22, 2011. Adding to the spectacular for this blues heavy disc, The Avett Brothers are producing it!
And for all my Denver peeps, make sure you grab Dec. 30 and 31 tickets to see G. Love and Widespread Panic! Sounds like one heck of a way to ring in the New Year.
Donavon Frankenreiter – “Glow” Music Video
21 SepThe offical music video for Donavon Frankenreiter’s latest single “Glow” has arrived. Check it out on GrindTV.com. Loving it!
Favorite Albums
19 AugA friend recently asked me what albums can I listen to all the way through and never get sick of. A tough question on the spot but nonetheless I was able to figure out a handful.
Bob Marley: Legend
Do I really need to explain this one? From beginning to end this CD is such an incredible compilation of music from an artist whose songs and lyrics are appreciated worldwide.
O.A.R.: The Wanderer
Those who know me are well aware that O.A.R. is my favorite band and those who know O.A.R. were probably introduced to them by the song “That Was A Crazy Game of Poker” like I was. While I can listen to their music day in and day out, this CD is definitely a chart topper for me, as it seemed everything just clicked when I listened to the album. From “Poker” and “Conquering Fools,” two favs and ending with “About Mr. Brown” and “Ladanday” this CD brings me back to my days at ASU when I first heard of the band and that first show at Nita’s Hideaway.
Donavon Frankenreiter: Self-Titled
He just rereleased this as Hawaiian-style but to me this was one heck of a debut album that had sweet tunes and beautiful lyrics on every track. Add guest appearances by Jack Johnson and G. Love and what you get is a remarkable album from a surfer turned rocker.
Bruce Springsteen: Essential Hits Vol.1
Hit after hit but to me, the best version of “Blinded By The Light,” “Rosalita” is a song that should be on everyone’s playlist and “Born to Run” is just legendary. You can’t go wrong with the Boss and this three disc set is fantastic but disc 1 takes the cake.
Dave Matthews Band: Under The Table and Dreaming
I remember when my brother gave me this CD and I think for an entire summer I didn’t listen to anything else. To think that this album spurred on my love of DMB and to know I could pop in the CD or play on the iPod and it would be like day one all over again.
Jurassic 5: EP
This EP is to me arguably one of the greatest hip-hop CDs of all-time. The lyrics are fresh and it was a breakout in the alternative hip-hop scene and aligning J5 with the likes of A Tribe Called Quest, Kool Keith and Black Star.
Lupe Fiasco: The Cool
I’ve been a Lupe fan since I first heard “Kick Push” and after seeing him live I was amazed. When The Cool came out, I just really dug the sound and the lyrics he spits.
Caesars: Paper Tigers
You know that song from one of the first iPod commercials, “Jerk it out?” Well what if I told you that was the worst song on the entire album. This disc has a good tempo all the way through a definitely a great CD for a workout or road trip.
Kings of Leon: Youth and Young Manhood
The first disc from the fellas is raw and I love it. It’s just good clean rock and roll, also a must have for any KoL fan. They’ve definitely stepped up their game in the years but this disc is special.
Revisited: My Mile High Music Festival – Day 2
18 AugWith a successful first day at Mile High Music Festival I was definitely looking forward to Day 2 and the great line-up.
- Day 2 started out at the Wolf Stage to check out Los Angeles based Oh My Stars and they delivered way more than I was anticipating. Rocking out with tons of energy definitely help set the tone for the day of music ahead. Their set included fun renditions of Lady GaGa’s “Bad Romance” and Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind” and a wicked performance of their single “Bloody November”
- Next up was a southern rock performance by Drive-By Truckers. It was good old rock and roll jam session perfect for the mid-afternoon
- One of the big highlights of Day 2 came mid-afternoon when Ozomatli performed. Always an upbeat, festive time, the boys did not disappoint and really had the crowd in unison singing and dancing the entire hour of their set. In traditional Ozo fashion it was straight into the crowd to end the performance and I can’t wait for them to hit Vegas again on September 3 at the Hard Rock Hotel
- Jimmy Cliff may be getting up there in age but he can still put on a show and I was thrilled to see the legend live. Hearing him sing “I Can See Clearly Now” and “The Harder They Come” made my day
- Knowing that Dave Matthews Band was going to draw the biggest crowd of MHMF, we decided to home base it from the Kyocera Main Stage which turned into the best idea for multiple reasons but one being that we got to check out Trevor Hall’s set at the adjacent Cougar Stage. While I have one of his LPs I really was wowed by how good he was live and his performance was definitely one of the top surprises for me at MHFM. He also did a fun cover of M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes”
- My Morning Jacket performed next on the main stage and while I didn’t get to hear my favorite song by them, “Dancefloors,” it was still an entertaining set with a fun sing-along of “Off The Record”
- Another pleasant surprise for me and a band that has been around for some time was Railroad Earth jamming on the Cougar Stage. In addition to myself becoming a fan I think they gained a whole heap as folks trickled in grab their spot for DMB and grooved to their whole set
- DMB as expected came out and rocked MHMF. In what typically is always an amazing show, the fellas brought a festive energy and a mix of old and new songs. Looking back the set list was an amazing one. Starting out with “Shake Me Like A Monkey” set the tone and hearing “What Would You Say” followed up by “#41” was definitely a highlight as was “Lie In Our Graves” with a little cover of Eric Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight.” Last three songs before the encore were “Two Step” “You & Me” and “Ants Marching.” The whole set list can be found here
Overall Day 2 was a rousing success. I would have loved to have taken in the performances by Weezer, Z-Trip, Boombox and Atmosphere but just like Day 1, too much music and too many decisions to make.
Also pretty saddened of the Denver Post’s coverage of the festival since it was in their backyard and only sending one reporter to cover and not even given a fair shake to many of the 40 plus acts over the two days. I mean on Day 1 the reporter didn’t even arrive until after 4 p.m. surely missing some great performances. You can read the recaps here and here.
Revisited: My Mile High Music Festival – Day 1
17 Aug
Well back from Denver and I already miss that place. What an incredible city that really has everything to offer. Every time I visit I find more reasons to love the city. To say Mile High Music Festival was a success is an understatement, it was just about as good as it gets. Spread over 24 fields, it was definitely music euphoria with three stages, two tents and a “beach” to bounce back and forth to. AEG did a really great job laying out the festival and making everything easily accessible and a fun time for all. Enough small talk, here are some highlights of Day 1.
- While getting settled for Donavon Frankenreiter as the first act of the day, had the chance to hear Bobby Long’s set and this might have been my surprise of MHMF. He’s a British singer-songwriter and has a great voice and rocked the stage as if he was the headliner at MHMF. I’ll be checking out his music this week and I suggest you do the same as he just signed with ATO Records (Dave Matthews) so expect big things from this fella
- Donavon Frankenreiter was the perfect act to get the afternoon set in motion. A great crowd convened to the main stage and we were treated to a few surprises; John Oates of Hall & Oates sat in on the entire set, Donavon did a very chill cover of Tom Petty’s “American Girl” and he also performed his new single “Glow” which we wrote about on August 4
- ALO crushed MHMF with their upbeat and lively performance. Opening with one of my favorites, “Maria,” the crowd kept growing and growing as the boys jammed nonstop to songs old and new including “Man of the World” the title track off their latest release
- Nas & Damian “Jr Gong” Marley was one of the most entertaining acts of the day. In what began as a high energy emcee/DJ hip-hop get down, turned into a Nas greatest hits concert with the rapper performing everything from “Street Dreams” to “If I Ruled the World” and then melding into reggae-rap with the duo performing “As We Enter” and a heap of other tracks before giving way to Marley performing “Welcome To Jamrock” and singing a bunch of his father’s legendary music
- Rusted Root jammed on well past their scheduled time with “Ecstasy” reverberating throughout the festival grounds
- Cypress Hill was getting wild and definitely running the gamut on their hits
- Keane came on late and was disappointing enough that I only stayed for two songs. The only good thing about Keane coming on late was the opportunity to sing-along to the Steve Miller Band
- Slightly Stoopid the act I was most looking forward to seeing at MHMF put on a fun set that included “Wicked Rebel” and “Collie Man” and the boys were joined by B-Real of Cypress Hill for their encore
- Sadly missed Phoenix (same time as Slightly Stoopid) but heard they killed it
- Caught the end of Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi on the way to Jack Johnson – it’s a shame they didn’t have a great crowd and I really can’t talk since I didn’t make the extra effort to hear them either
- Jack Johnson definitely brought the masses and put on a really fun show but it seemed too chill and not enough energy coming from him. Some highlights of his set did include Jack brining up Doanvon Franenreiter to perform “Breakdown” and “Mud Football” – which had the two embrace with a big hug at first (not sure the last time they shared the stage together since having a musical “falling-out”) and performing ALO’s “Girl I Wanna Lay You Down” with Zach Gill
More notes from Day 1: Beta Beach was bumping great house music all day and provided a good place to cool off in the water playground; in Coors Country and Budweiser was the beer sponsor?; Whole Foods was easily the best vendor at MHMF with cheap (yes, really) food and drinks and an amazing deal on SIGG water bottles and Honest Tea refills for $1; Justin’s Almond Butter and Hazelnut Spread are amazing; TicketHorse is the future of purchasing concert tickets.
Mile High Music Festival
9 AugMile High Music Festival is finally here! Ok well a five long days away but man am I stoked about two days of amazing music. After booking tickets months ago the flight to Denver is oh so close and I can’t wait. On Saturday, August 14 and Sunday, August 15 The Fields at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park will be home to over 40 music performances and definitely over a handful of acts I can’t wait to hear.
The toughest part over the two days will be agonizing over which performances are a must see and which I’ll sadly have to take a pass on. I do know that Saturday will get started with Donavon Frankenreiter’s performance and I’m definitely in to see ALO, Nas & Damian “Jr Gong” Marley, Slightly Stoopid and Jack Johnson. The rest of Saturday is a toss-up. As for Sunday, Drive-By Truckers and Ozomatli are shoe-ins for the early side with Jimmy Cliff, Z-Trip, Weezer, My Morning Jacket following and Dave Matthews Band wrapping up the festival.
So much good music in one place over two days and add in what a city Denver is and you can’t ask for much more. DoyouHearTheMusic.com will mostly be devoted to my preview of Mile High Music Festival artists the rest of the week aka a way for me to talk about some of my favorites. If you’re reading this my hope is that you find some new music to listen to along the way and if you want to throw in your two cents, please do!
Peace + Love + Music
Your August Playlist
6 AugFor the first Friday in August here’s a little summer playlist of songs you should be adding into your music rotation to help get you through the hot, hot heat. While I suggest checking out all the songs and artists below, don’t miss a few of the unknowns like Blue King Brown, a fantastic reggae band from Australia, the original recording of “The Seed” by Cody ChesnuTT (not The Roots) and “Some Fantasy” by D.W. Brandt which is a must and you can only find it on the 1% For The Planet album.
“Come and Check Your Head” – Blue King Brown
“Yes I Will” – Michael Franti
“Pictures of People Taking Pictures” – Jack Johnson
“Misery Runs” – MyNameIsJohnMichael
“Stay Lucky” – The Gaslight Anthem
“Zebra” – John Butler Trio
“The Seed” – Cody ChesnuTT
“Can I Kick It” – A Tribe Called Quest
“Past My Shades” – B.o.B. ft. Lupe Fiasco
“In the Flesh” – Jurassic 5
“The Light” – Common
“Periscopes” – The Beautiful Girls
“What Ya Know About” – Donavon Frankenreiter
“Bullet Holes” – Dispatch
“Bright Side of the Road” – Van Morrison
“Maria” – ALO
“One Drop” – Bob Marley
“Jimi Thing” – Dave Matthews Band
“When It’s Good” – Ben Harper
“Sunshine” – Matt Costa
“Ocho Rios” – The Movement
“Landalay” – O.A.R.
“Back In The High Life Again” – Steve Winwood
“Funcry” – Thomas Cunningham & The Locofocos
“Some Fantasy” – D.W. Brandt
“Fishing Song” – G.Love
“Cocaine Eyes” – The Rolling Stones
“Watching The Detectives” – Elvis Costello
“Give It Up” – Pepper
“KRS One” – Sublime
New Donavon Frankenreiter Song
4 AugDonavon Frankenreiter’s music can always bring a smile to my face and remind me of good times. He just posted his new song “Glow” on his MySpace page and you can click here to take a listen.
Donavon Frankenreiter at Wasted Space, Hard Rock Hotel, Las Vegas. Sunday, December 6. Photo credit Craig A. Nyman
Do You Hear The Music? 