Mark Speer
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Mark Speer (born November 9, 1979) is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the guitarist and one of the founding members of the musical trio
Khruangbin Khruangbin ( ; , , ) is a musical trio from Houston, Texas, Houston, Texas. The band consists of Laura Lee (bassist), Laura Lee Ochoa (bass guitar and vocals), Mark Speer (guitar and vocals), and Donald "DJ" Johnson (drums, keyboards, and vocals ...
.


Biography

Mark Speer was born November 9, 1979, in
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
,
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
. The first music video he remembers seeing on
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
is
Grandmaster Flash Joseph Robert Saddler (born January 1, 1958), known by his stage name Grandmaster Flash, is a Barbadian-American musician and DJ. He created a DJ technique called the Quick Mix Theory. This technique serviced the break-dancer and the rapper by el ...
’s " The Message", the production of which he found intriguing. One of the first concerts he attended as a child was that of
Parliament-Funkadelic Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk) is an American musical collective, music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton (funk musician), George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament (band), Parliame ...
. Speer initially wanted to play drums but could not afford them, so he started playing bass guitar. Later, he borrowed a four-track cassette recorder from a friend of his dad, and was making tracks with
Casio is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturing corporation headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Its products include calculators, mobile phones, digital cameras, electronic musical instruments, and analogue and digital watches. It ...
drums by playing them with his fingers. He wanted to put chords on them, so he borrowed a guitar from a friend and started learning
jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...
chords. Speer met future bandmate
Donald "DJ" Johnson Donald "DJ" Johnson, Jr. is an American musician, songwriter, and music producer best known as the drummer for Khruangbin, a trio from Houston, Texas, and one half of the hip hop production duo Beanz N Kornbread. Background Johnson grew up playi ...
in 2004 while playing in
Rudy Rasmus Rudy Rasmus is an American pastor, author, and humanitarian. He is co-pastor of the St. John's United Methodist Church located in downtown Houston, along with his wife Juanita. St. John's began with nine members in 1992. Biography Rasmus was ...
' St. John's Methodist Church
gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...
band in Houston, Texas. The church employed Speer as the guitarist and Johnson as the organist. He later met Laura Lee Ochoa through mutual friends, where they initially connected over a shared love of Afghan music and Middle Eastern architecture. In 2010, Speer and Lee went on tour with Yppah and
Bonobo The bonobo (; ''Pan paniscus''), also historically called the pygmy chimpanzee (less often the dwarf chimpanzee or gracile chimpanzee), is an endangered great ape and one of the two species making up the genus ''Pan (genus), Pan'' (the other bei ...
. During this time, they recruited DJ on drums and formed Khruangbin. Speer has recorded five studio albums with Khruangbin: ''
The Universe Smiles Upon You ''The Universe Smiles Upon You'' is the debut studio album by American musical trio Khruangbin. It was released November 6, 2015 under Night Time Stories label. Critical reception Max Savage Levenson of ''Paste'' reviewed ''The Universe Smiles ...
'' (2015), ''
Con Todo el Mundo ''Con Todo el Mundo'' is the second studio album by American musical trio Khruangbin. It was released January 26, 2018 under Dead Oceans and Night Time Stories. Critical reception ''Con Todo el Mundo'' was met with widespread acclaim reviews f ...
'' (2018), ''
Mordechai Mordecai (; also Mordechai; , IPA: ) is one of the main personalities in the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. He is the cousin and guardian of Esther, who became queen of Persia under the reign of Ahasuerus (Xerxes I). Mordecai's loyalty and ...
'' (2020), ''
Ali Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until his assassination in 661, as well as the first Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Born to Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib an ...
'' (with
Vieux Farka Touré Boureima "Vieux" Farka Touré (born 12 March 1981) is a Malian singer, composer and guitarist. He is the son of Malian musician Ali Farka Touré. Biography Touré was born in Niafunké, Mali, in 1981 to Ali Farka Touré. Despite his father's ...
; 2022), and '' A La Sala'' (2024). His family owns a barn in
Burton, Texas Burton is a city in Washington County, Texas, United States. Prior to the 2010 census, Burton changed its status from a town to a city. Its population was 294 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. History Burton was established in 1870 ...
, where Khruangbin records all their music.


Songwriting, technique and equipment

Speer uses a
Fender Stratocaster The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of double- cutaway electric guitar designed between 1952 and 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corpora ...
. He replaced its neck and bridge pickups with
DiMarzio DiMarzio, Inc. (formerly DiMarzio Musical Instrument Pickups, Inc.) is an American manufacturing company best known for popularizing direct-replacement guitar pickups. The company also produces other accessories, such as hardware, guitar strap ...
Cruisers to avoid 60 cycle hum in studio settings. He uses D'Addario Chromes flatwound strings, buying .012-.052 sets and an additional single .010, throwing away the .052, and tuning to standard EADGBE. Due to the consistency of tone throughout the lifespan of flatwounds, he only changes his strings approximately once per tour. Similarly, Speer only has one guitar pick, which is worn to a round tip. In the studio, Speer uses a Fender Deluxe Reverb '65 Reissue guitar amplifier; live, he uses a '68 Custom Deluxe Reverb. He connects his guitar into a Dunlop Cry Baby pedal that he never turns off. From there, the connection goes to a Boss PH-3, Boss DS-1, MXR Dyna Comp,
Electro-Harmonix Electro-Harmonix (also commonly referred to as EHX) is a New York City-based company that makes electronic audio processors and sells rebranded vacuum tubes. The company was founded by Mike Matthews in 1968. It is best known for a series of g ...
Holy Grail, and Strymon El Capistan with an
expression pedal An expression pedal is an important control found on many musical instruments including organs, electronic keyboards, and pedal steel guitar. The musician uses the pedal to control different aspects of the sound, commonly volume. Separate expr ...
. Sometimes, he uses his amp's
vibrato Vibrato (Italian language, Italian, from past participle of "wikt:vibrare, vibrare", to vibrate) is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch (music), pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. ...
effect. Much of Speer's guitar style comes from seeking to emulate the harmonic and timbral characteristics of other instruments, such as the
krar The ''krar'' (Geʽez: ክራር) is a five-or-six stringed bowl-shaped lyre from Ethiopia and Eritrea. It is tuned to a pentatonic scale. A modern ''krar'' may be Instrument amplifier, amplified, much in the same way as an electric guitar or el ...
,
bağlama The bağlama or saz is a family of plucked string instruments and long-necked lutes used in Europe, Balkans, Caucasus, Middle East, Khazar, Central Asia including Germany, France, Belgium, TRNC, Netherlands, Albania, Greece,Bosnia, Serbia, Croat ...
, rubab,
shamisen The , also known as or (all meaning "three strings"), is a three-stringed traditional Japanese musical instrument derived from the Chinese instrument . It is played with a plectrum called a bachi. The Japanese pronunciation is usually b ...
,
mbira Mbira ( ; ) are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board (often fitted with a resonator) with attached staggered metal Tine (structural), tines, played by holding the instrument ...
, and
djembe A djembe or jembe ( ; from Maninka language, Malinke ''jembe'' , N'Ko script, N'Ko: ) is a rope-tuned skin-covered goblet drum played with bare hands, originally from West Africa. According to the Bambara people in Mali, the name of the djembe ...
. Speer prefers the band's compositions to center primarily around bass and drums, instead of guitar. He provides occasional vocals for the band, although he dislikes singing in general.


Influences

Speer has mentioned
Roy Ayers Roy Edward Ayers Jr. (September 10, 1940 – March 4, 2025) was an American vibraphonist, record producer, and composer. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several studio albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure ...
,
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
,
Roots Radics The Roots Radics Band is a Jamaican reggae group, formed in 1978 by bass player Errol "Flabba" Holt, guitarist Eric "Bingy Bunny" Lamont and drummer Lincoln "Style" Scott. The nucleus of Holt and Lamont had previously worked together in the ...
,
Mark Knopfler Mark Freuder Knopfler OBE (born 12 August 1949) is a British musician. He was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits from 1977 to 1995, and he is the one of the two members who stayed during the band's existence ...
,
Steely Dan Steely Dan is an American rock band formed in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, in 1971 by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Originally having a traditional band lineup, Becker and Fagen cho ...
,
Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar (; born Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. He ...
,
Sezen Aksu Sezen Aksu (; born Fatma Sezen Yıldırım; 13 July 1954) is a Turkish singer, songwriter and producer. She is one of the most successful Turkish people, Turkish singers, having sold over 40 million albums worldwide. Her nicknames include the "Q ...
,
DJ Sun Andre J. E. Sam-Sin (born January 19, 1966), known professionally as DJ SUN, is a Dutch-born American record producer and DJ. He is one of the most prolific musicians in Houston, having secured his position as the top-ranked DJ and as the owner/op ...
, and
Ernie Isley Ernest Isley (born March 7, 1952) is an American musician best known as a member of the musical ensemble The Isley Brothers, and also the splinter group Isley-Jasper-Isley. Biography Ernie was born in Cincinnati, where his older brothers formed ...
as his biggest influences. He described
Kassav' Kassav', also alternatively spelled Kassav, is a French Caribbean band that originated from Guadeloupe in 1979. The band's musical style is rooted in the Guadeloupean gwoka rhythm, as well as the Martinican tibwa and Mendé rhythms. Regarded ...
s album ''Lagué mwen'' as an album that changed his life. A self-professed "
world music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...
nerd" and a devoted crate digger, Speer is interested in music from all over the world, preferring music that is not in the English language, and tones that are not very prevalent in Western music. In Khruangbin, Speer tries to replace the lead singer's role with his guitar, so he listens to a lot more singers than he does to guitar players.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Speer, Mark American rock guitarists American funk guitarists American soul guitarists American male guitarists 21st-century American guitarists 1979 births Living people American lead guitarists Musicians from Houston 21st-century American male musicians Khruangbin members