Donavon Frankenreiter rocks Pontiac, Mich.

PONTIAC, Mich. — Donavon Frankenreiter is touring again after adding an electric sound to his surfer music on his latest album "Glow." Just like close friend Jack Johnson, Frankenreiter balances his life between professional music and professional surfing.

"That's my whole life right there: music, surfing and family," Frankenreiter said in an interview with the IC.

Frankenreiter met Johnson in the 1980s when he rented a room from Johnson's parents on a surfing trip to Hawaii.

"We grew up surfing and spent a winter together," Frankenreiter said. "We played music. He started playing guitar then I started playing guitar. I started to do my own thing surfing and he went his way."

Frankenreiter focused on his surfing career while Johnson went off to college to study film. When Johnson broke into the music scene and started his label, Brushfire Records, the two teamed up again. Frankenreiter signed on for his self-titled debut solo album in 2004.

"Once he had his own label, I was kind of singing a lot of songs," Frankenreiter said. "Right from the start, that was the way to go for me. It was an incredible way to start. I co-wrote a song on that record with Jack and he produced the record. It was a great way to get things rolling."

Frankenreiter put together a band and joined a new label for his 2006 release "Move by Yourself" and since then has released three albums, two EPs and a DVD.

He teamed up with producer Mark Weinberg for "Glow." They immediately gelled, writing the track "Keeping Me Away From You" within 30 minutes of their first meeting. Weinberg helped infuse an electric element to Frankenreiter's acoustic sound.

"It was really great how he took the songs and made them what you hear," he said. "They were all acoustic. He built them up in a great way."

John Oates, from pop legend Hall and Oates, has given Frankenreiter's new electric sound a boost at recent live shows, including Friday night's performance at the Crofoot Ballroom in Pontiac, Mich.

"Being able to play all these songs live has been fun. I do a lot of electric stuff when we play live. It's fun to incorporate all of the electric stuff and have a set flow and do different things, not just stay acoustic the whole time. Plug it in and turn it up a little bit."

Frankenreiter met Oates while in Aspen and the two hit it off right away.

"I'm getting to know him better," Frankenreiter said. "We've been writing a song together on the bus. We've just been grooving and hanging out.

Frankenreiter has been encouraged by the crowds' response to the album during his tour.

"You make a record, put it out and play your songs, and you hope people dig it," Frankenreiter said. "I don't know what people think of the music, but we have a great time playing it live. People seem to really love ‘Glow' and the other songs off the record. I'm really proud of that album."

Frankenreiter enjoys crowd interaction and promotes communication between himself and fans. One fan at Friday's show called him to organize an on-stage proposal.

"Anybody that wants to call and say hi, call 949.233.7381," Frankenreiter said. "It's all about the Mustache Manifesto."

While touring this summer, he started a daily video blog titled "The Mustache Manifesto," named for his signature mustache. Since then, fans have been showing up at concerts wearing fake mustaches.

"This company I've been riding for, Sanuk Sandals, started the whole stick-on mustache thing," he said. "It's kind of taken off. It has a life of its own now. I just roll with it."

His website, DonavonF.com, even sells an official "Donavon Frankenreiter Mustache."

Sanuk Sandals is one of many companies to sponsor Frankenreiter's surfing career. He began his career in 1985 at the age of 12 and has been sponsored by Billabong ever since.

"Whenever I get a chance to get in the water, we're getting in the water," Frankenreiter said. "I'm living in Hawaii now so I'm always over there. A lot of the band surfs, so whenever we get near water, we're out there."

Frankenreiter credits all of his musical success to surfing.

"Everything I've learned has been through surfing over the years," he said. "Playing music, meeting people, learning about different countries and cultures, everything comes through surfing. That's how it all happened for me. I wouldn't have any of this musical stuff if I didn't surf."

Along with music and surfing, Frankenreiter has become an entrepreneur. He started his own label called Liquid Tambourine Records for the release of "Glow" and opened a restaurant in Maui, Hawaii called the Margarita House. The restaurant features most of his collection of surfboards hanging on the walls like Hollywood memorabilia at a Planet Hollywood.

"I've been collecting those things for a long time, so it's been super fun," Frankenreiter said. "It's cool that I was able to start it with some friends. Every couple of months I go over there to play and jam out."

His musical career began at 18 with the band "Peanut Butter and Jam" and progressed when he formed "Sunchild" with a group of other surfers. He played guitar in both bands but did not sing on an album until beginning his solo career.

After producing Frankenreiter's debut album, Johnson helped him put a band together for the tour. He introduced him to his friend Zach Gill, who is currently touring with ALO and Johnson's band as a piano player and singer.

"Jack just called me up one day and asked if I ever heard of Donavon Frankenreiter, and I said, ‘What? Who?'" Gill said. "He sent me an album and introduced us. One day I drove to L.A. when Donavon was doing a show. We jammed for a little bit. It was a good fit. A couple weeks later we were opening for O.A.R. right before his album was coming out."