1. Mark Speer was born on November 9,1979 and is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the guitarist and one of the founding members of the musical trio Khruangbin.
14 Facts About Mark Speer
1. 2.
Mark Speer was born November 9,1979, in Houston, Texas.
3.
Mark Speer wanted to put chords on them, so he borrowed a guitar from a friend and started learning jazz fusion chords.
4.
Mark Speer met future bandmate Donald "DJ" Johnson in 2004 while playing in Rudy Rasmus' St John's Methodist Church gospel band in Houston, Texas.
5.
Mark Speer later met Laura Lee Ochoa through mutual friends, where they initially connected over a shared love of Afghan music and Middle Eastern architecture.
6.
Mark Speer has recorded five studio albums with Khruangbin: The Universe Smiles Upon You, Con Todo el Mundo, Mordechai, Ali, and A La Sala.
7.
Mark Speer's family owns a barn in Burton, Texas, where Khruangbin records all their music.
8.
Mark Speer replaced its neck and bridge pickups with DiMarzio Cruisers to avoid 60 cycle hum in studio settings.
9.
Similarly, Mark Speer only has one guitar pick, which is worn to a round tip.
10.
Mark Speer connects his guitar into a Dunlop Cry Baby pedal that he never turns off.
11.
Mark Speer prefers the band's compositions to center primarily around bass and drums, instead of guitar.
12.
Mark Speer provides occasional vocals for the band, although he dislikes singing in general.
13.
Mark Speer described Kassav's album Lague mwen as an album that changed his life.
14.
In Khruangbin, Mark 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.