HHH (Out of five)

Former fulltime surfer and wannabe Kato Kaelin, Donavon Frankenreiter has made some smart decisions since reasoning that music might offer more longevity as a career than shooting the curls.

The amiable beach boy has honed his guitar skills, developed his songwriting abilities and become a competent singer (in a Tom Cochrane sort of way).

But his best life-decision remains that of renting a house from Jack Johnson’s folks several years ago.

As Frankenreiter demonstrated with his debut album two years ago, he owes a great deal to Johnson — personally and musically.

And if you can’t get enough of Johnson’s music, Frankenreiter is ready to handle the overflow. The songs on the optimistic Move By Yourself (life’s been good so far, after all) are all born of familiar tunes that echo the singer-guitarist’s transparent soul influences. The Way It Is recalls early Rod Stewart; By Your Side puts one in mind of Otis Redding; Everytime is a mellower take on Lee Dorsey’s Get Out of My Life Woman. (The influence of New Orleans R&B figures prominently throughout the CD … hardly a bad thing.)

What we’re left with is undeniably Jack Johnson lite. But it’s no less enjoyable for it.