Brother please tell me the name of that color of your PRS Piezo it is the most beautiful guitar I have ever seen. Please let me know when you can I want to buy myself one I have been dying to get the perfect PRS to complete my set of guitars I always have my Southern Belle Telecaster, Gibson 1960 Les Paul, Gibson Explorer and a Mexican Byllet series strat... I am dying to buy that guitar please let me know what it is. Thank you
Mark is one of the most exciting new guitarists I have heard in past decade. Not to mention the band is amazing. The more you listen the better it gets, especially trying to play his style. He has a very vocal, melody driven style to his playing.
Khruangbin is the band we all want to be in. Mark Speer is the guitarist we all wanted to be when we started playing until we drowned in cliche and mindless repetition. The guy is just a genius.
Discovering Khruangbin is the highlight of 2020 for me. Something different outside of what I normally listen to and they have such a tight rhythmic groove. I have to thank my sister who lives in Austin for suggesting this Houston band to me and my siblings. She plays Khruangbin to her one year old daughter!😁😁 Great video Michael and keep up the great work!!🎸🎸🎸
For that performance yes. I was at a Las Vegas show April 2024. Was my first Khru show. Absolutely AWFUL mixing. Obviously loud, horrible distortion. Also found out Khru has two set lists. They did two shows in Vegas. Night 1 was the chill show, which I didn’t attend. Night 2 was the “jam session”. Found out about the two set list shows after visiting w fellow Khru fans at the airport. Maybe the next show I attend will be better.
Not quite. Laura was the one who suggested starting a band after being on tour with Mark as bassist for Yppah. He did help her learn bass in order to get the Yppah gig.
@@ljanzen31 wrong watch any interview she was askes and had never played so learnt t play bass by learning one album a dub album by the scientist. Ra Denney is correct very easy to confirm
Michael..Great song and I'm glad your taking a look at Khraungbin. The secret to knowing this song is learning the bass line first. This is a strict tempo song. Mark is actually starting with an A triad and flating the B min on the bass tempo. At the beginning, after this A triad he falls back to a G triad and does the same by flatting the A min with his ring finger and pinky. I've watched Mark Speers play this many times. He then goes down to the 10th and the 9th fret and plays two more triad shapes resolving back to his original intro riff. Mark is from Houston Texas so you really can hear that influence, plus a ton of old 70s Asian funk. Mark rarely uses a pick, and also usually always uses a full bar chord shape, finger picking (a la Jeff Beck) melody notes. His fills are usually always arpeggios with a few notes outside the box. I've learned many of Khraungbin's songs on guitar (I started playing in 74..I'm 61) This being live. Mark ventures out and ad libs a bit. Nice video brother. Great song by one of today's best bands. ✌
I was watching an interview and Mark was saying that he doesn't have to worry about the root bc Laura has that covered. He's covering everything else. It cool to see that in action. There must be so much trust between the three of them to know that they don't have to worry about the other members. Really cool.
Missing my late father on his birthday, after closing my restaurant a few years ago, I had the tunes going. This song came on in the background, catching my attention, I was stopped in my tracks of thinking about the old man. I was so drawn to this new song. My Dad was born August 10, 1947. I love you Dad.
The guitarist loves looking into the way guitar and music is played in other countries. He applies it to the sound of Khru and makes it heavenly ear food!
I hear a lot of eastern tones in his playing. He does it so well I even thought he had his guitar modified with microtonal frets. Nope, just a really good player.
the guitarist also plays with a wah pedal all the way forward all the time. saw that on a rig rundown a while back. I can't believe im foregetting his name
When you have a drummer and bassist as deep in the pocket as they are I think it would allow the guitarist a lot of freedom to do his thing because he knows exactly "where" they're going to be all the time and they don't get in each other's way, if that makes sense....
@@Chalup4 Yup totally. Also they said they draw alot of inspiration from thai looktoong music which is kinda cool. Never heard of them till i saw this video though and was like..thats a thai word lol and looked them up
Aw man, I’ve been wanting you to watch Khruangbin forever. This song is awesome but it would’ve been so cool for you to also see Dern Kala, the song before this one in the set. Awesome song and the transition to this one is so dope
So cool man, great video. Crazy to watch your brain work. Mind blowing how effortlessly knowledgeable you are about music theory. It’s August 10 and Khruangbin is one of my favorite bands so I’m cruising through YT videos of that song and found this. Thoroughly enjoyable
Michael, your passion and thirst for knowledge are contagious. Finding your channel a few weeks ago reignited my desire to get better at guitar which had pretty much fizzled out a few years ago. Thanks again dude !
Usually when they play this live they tease Night Nurse by Gregory Issacs and police in helicopter by John holt. He goes straight to reggae chops from Bm to A. He only does a second of it in this.
The drummer also plays the keyboard, it’s behind him; and those are wigs. Check out when they have Leon Bridges singing with them. She’s really a relative beginner on the bass.
It just works. Wouldn't it be nice if you could just go to the top music schools and find the best music? Somehow it never works out that way. Excellence is where you find it.
Forget the reggae/rock steady idea. Understanding Khuangbin’s schtick requires a minimal background in the Molam music of Thailand. That is where Mark Speer is getting his concepts for using the 9s and trills in the minor aspect of the piece. 🤙🏼🖖🏼
Doesn’t matter that he’s unaware of Khruangbin’s Thai music roots. He’s exploring a form of music he doesn’t normally listen to ( as he admits in the beginning ) from a musicians perspective . If he hears a reggae influence ( and you must know that Khruangbin are also influenced by dub reggae records as well...Lee and Spears reference them constantly in interviews ) that’s fine. It’s not just an academic exercise or about” getting it right”. A different perspective ( even if it appears “wrong”to those of us who are already invested in the band ) especially a real musicians is cool.
@@kyoaty how do you know Speers isn’t also exploring / utilizing dub reggae sources for the same effect? Is it because you read Thai funk was the Wikipedia description? Not denying there is an influence but don’t write off the dub reggae importance
There is a vid of them performing a medley of hip hop tracks that is simply fantastic. They are a great live act and when touring begins in 2021 , I highly recommend you grab a ticket and check them out. And the EP they released with Leon Bridges called TEXAS SUN is a perfect Sunday morning album.
"Inside ... on the drywall," probably the greatest video opening in history. I was hooked! Keep the videos coming! BTW, no need to say ... but lots of strong wall anchors.
In my last house, I framed out a small lounge/tv room in the attic.. it had a big screen, cool lighting, and a couple cloth bean-bag chairs. The only way to get to it, was from the rock wall I made in the corner of the kitchen. I made a bunch of holes in the wood sheets, so I could make different climbing routes.. had 2 ceiling anchors for rope, so I could swing around from my harness. I had 2 holds positioned over a large walkway for pull-ups. It was a fun way to exercise and work out. I definitely miss it! I'm sure your kiddos will love it! Oh yeah.. cool song review. Haha. Sending peace & love from Missouri -Todd
The Bin has always sounded very Asian to me.. the heavy vibrato reminds me of a Sitar in the way Mark plays and bends notes.. also the many hammer on and pull offs he play seem to remind me of Asian style music. I think you nailed it with the term 'texture'... The bass and drums are locked.. tight. while Mark plays lead/ rhythm 'texture' over/under/around them. Such a unique sound. Thanks for reviewing them!
At Lockn 2019, the first day it rained and stormed all day. The festival wasn't even allowed to open the gates until like 7:00pm. A lot of bands got bumped off the show. Skies cleared and it was a gorgeous night with Khruangbin opening the fest at 8:00 at night with Trey sitting in. Next was a full set by Gary Clark and then 2 sets of JRAD. Lockn totally salvaged what looked like a lost day when it was raining sideways earlier in the day.
That festival was great for them. First time I saw Khruangbin was the late night woods stage at Lockn in 2015 maybe (little cloudy on the year but that’s close). They blew me away. My buddy was hammered and half asleep against a tree but I was absolutely loving it. There was maybe 300-400 people there in the woods starting around 1230am. It was magic. I’ve been obsessed ever since.
Apparently heavily influenced by thai 70s funk, which as a non musician kinda opened my eyes to the fact that, not only do you have countless genres, but each countries own flare on each genre
Evidently (from what I've read) that Thai 70s funk is actually looked down upon over there - associated with a working, lower class of Taxi drivers and the like. I've read every time they visit Thailand they're avid visitors of record stores and keen on collecting any records they can find.
Look up chicha. Its like 70s psychedelic rock mixed with cumbia from peru. Also looked down upon as music for the working classes. Bachata is the same way in the DR. Rich people hate it and look down on its fans as low-class. So around the world. The urban poor always have the best tastes in music and middle class people are too stuck up to realize it.
Cool reaction. To me, the guitar in Khruangbin is more a means to an end rather than a point of focus, which I respect highly, because I admire and appreciate subtlety and restraint in favor of a larger unified soundscape. I think of the Edge, in U2, like that also.
Really nice mistake. “August 10” is a sweet jam and I’m glad you broke it down. I’m glad I’m not the only one who appreciates their ability to surprise the listener.
Hm. We tend to get so locked into our own patterns, clichés, riffs, vibrato and other techniques, and styles, we are sometimes unable to catch nuances of any other style. Mark's style is clean, played with fingers often using unusual chord voicings that allow him to play melody and rhythm simultaneously, world beat influenced, (Thai, African, Middle Eastern) reverby and often uses three notes per string legato runs, arpeggios and string skipping. This ain't Santana. It would be worth your time to copy his unique lyrical style. Also you seem to be confusing the A7 with F#m. He sometimes retains the 5th degree of the Bm chord, which is F#, so prolly that's what confusing you. But the basic structure for the A section is Bm to AMaj. With lots of chord inversions played on the top strings.
I love the seamless transitions from chords to melody that are so fluid. Laura Lee’s bass is always solid and tasteful. DJ’s drumming is understated, but it grooves hard.
In regards to watching musicians and their internal subdivisions, that's my favorite part of watching live music as well. Literally seeing how music flows through someone creating it. Like a feedback loop of sorts. Also love seeing musician interactions, or how they react to a specific part of a song, an improvisation. As someone who has gigged, I can tell you that I too live for those moments.
Great analysis amigo! It’s spot on and My fav so far! I love when you shed bias and get into it - your instincts are spot on - Reggae but not, modal but not! To me it gets to the core of their essence. This is a great example of playing over chords and really telling their story melodically. The live analysis of the bass and drummer at the end is great to appreciate as well. But the best part of this video? You are about to embrace the notion of your kids literally climbing the walls - as parental advise it’s Gold - If your kids are climbing the walls, give them handles 😉 that’s boss level.
Khruangbin was initially inspired by '70's Thai Funk/Jazz records. Digging into those inspirations is so much fun. Their PG Rig Rundown is great too because the host has no idea how to talk about anything related to this band.
It’s so funny you say this! I skipped through all of the host bits to only hear the band and didn’t pin point why I did that. They should’ve had someone else interview Khruangbin because they’re way too experimental for the kind of questions the interviewer asked them.
Thanks, Michael! OG viewer here. Love the 'all in, all education, all the time' approach you have now made famous! Cracks me up with the honest post-edit you threw in about your mistake! Still gave it your full attention and detail! Thank you. Great stuff, regardless! You look a bit 'Torn And Frayed' (please break down this classic Stones tune🤞) making a memorable Christmas for your family! Your obviously a devoted family man! Merry Christmas! -✌RareDirt77
Khruangbin has a great combination: Diverse group, Rock solid drummer, beautiful female bass player who keeps it simple, monster guitar player, a great visual, and well-crafted original music.
Respect to Micheal’s knowledge of music theory but the magic of Mark Speer is not only the notes he chooses but his incredible touch and impeccable instincts. Micheal is playing like a guitar teacher and making this song sound like an Eagles cover band. Mark is next level.
first, awesome video - it's great to have breakdowns like this for quick study that illustrate the theory fundamentals (relative major/minors, triads, the jedi powers of the maj7) with a little zest on the side (i.e. the discussion of modality) so that people can take what they want or what they are ready for and then get back to making pretty noises with their tone tools of choice - I think there's a great temptation for the "thoroughly initiated" theory nerds to go way off the deep end with analysis, like it's some kind of [male anatomy]-measuring contest or something, and when that's joe schmoe's only real exposure to theory, of course he's gonna grow up a skeptic of "all that mumbo jumbo." With approachable instruction, people are magnetized toward the theory. It gives them a language and a structure to speak in the emotive power of music, and that's super powerful. At least , I think it is. Seconds of all, between your drywall-centric preamble and your repeated, enunciated use of the word "cool", your dad energy is str8 thru the roof on this recording. I bet you were wearing birkenstocks with high socks and cargo shorts. Your "cool" streak was probably leaking over to your cellular commmunications as well - I bet youve got *multiple* sent text messages from the day of this recording where you spell "cool" with intensely dad-esque variation, e.g. (kyuuu-well, kewehl, Q.L., etc.). I mean this with only the utmost respect and highest esteem.
