The following is an extended version of the article that appears in our May 2022 issue.
Khruangbin (Photo by Pooneh Ghana)
Khruangbin, the captivating collective known for genre-blending sounds and instrumental-heavy jams, wasn’t an overnight success. The Texas trio’s trip to the top of critics’ lists was a slow burn, sort of like their psychedelic, funk-tinged music that eased its way into the imaginations of their diverse fan base. Getting together as a group over a decade ago, Laura Lee, aka “Leezy” (bass), Mark Speer (guitar) and drummer Donald Ray "DJ" Johnson Jr. make their first Richmond appearance with a show at Virginia Credit Union Live on May 4. We caught up with Johnson to talk about faith, their fans and how it all began.
Richmond magazine: I know faith plays a large role in your life. Can you share more about that?
Donald Johnson Jr.: For me it’s a very, very important thing. I grew up in church, my grandfather was the pastor of my church, and I was in church all the time, even if I didn’t want to be. [Laughs] It keeps me grounded, I think, back to a lot of times of being on the road traveling from place to place, and sometimes when you’re not in one spot, you can feel lost and just being without a home and kind of gravitate toward things that give you comfort. It’s my home, it’s my foundation, it’s my compass. I wouldn't be who I am or where I am if my life hadn’t been guided by those principles I received growing up and going to Sunday school and church.
RM: When did your connection with music start, and how did Khruangbin form?
Johnson: I started playing drums around 4, and for the youth choir around 7. That led to me being the church musician, and that’s actually how I met Mark. After our church rehearsals on Tuesday, Mark and I would go to a local pub and hang out and have burgers and talk about music, and Laura just crashed our hang one night. The three of us hung out consistently for about 2 1/2 years before we even conceptualized the band. Laura didn’t even play bass yet at that point, literally just hanging out as friends. During that time is what makes the body of the band so strong because it was built on a good foundation.
RM: What’s your favorite part about Khruangbin’s evolution?
Johnson: It seems to a lot of people on the outside that it’s really fast, but in our world, we’re at it every day and [have] been playing together as a band for 11 years, but some people are just finding out about us in the last two years. I think one of my favorite things is going back to shows and seeing the demographic change over time. When we first started out, there was a very specific archetype of fan that would be at the show, and that just changed, every time. You look at what a show looks like in 2016, versus what it looks like now — it’s completely different. It looks like everyone hanging out together having a good time on this planet and putting their differences aside and celebrating our similarities, and it’s beautiful.
RM: Why do you believe that Khruangbin’s music attracts such a wide audience?
Johnson: From its conception, it is for everyone. It’s inspired by so many different cultures and people from all around the world. From the beginning, we were a band of misfits, we didn’t look like we belonged together. It's kind of cool to challenge that and present a different way of thinking and doing things.
RM: Any new music coming down the pipeline?
Johnson: We don’t really like to divulge anything; there's always something coming in the future. I can’t tell you what it is, but we will hopefully drop something that makes a big splash, or maybe it slides under the radar and the people that get it love it. [We] want to make art and things we’re proud of and leave behind something special.
RM: I’m Richmond magazine's food editor, so I always ask, what type of food do you eat on the road?
Johnson: Usually we try to eat healthy. Nowadays, a lot of proteins and greens from place to place, but early on we went to places for the first time and had to try the thing [they were known for], a lot of [the] time we would be in the places for one day only, and "OK, if I never come back here again, what do we need to eat?" Food can kind of be a gateway to a lot of different cultures, and Houston is like that, a bit of a melting pot of a lot of different cultures. We have large pockets and populations that migrate to Houston and open restaurants, and you can really get authentic cuisine from around the world. It may sound bland, but I think Khruangbin is like rice. Rice is everywhere, it’s for everyone, used everywhere and [on] every continent on the planet, you can find someone eating rice. Rice is food from earth, and that’s how I think I like to define us by a food.
Khruangbin performs at Virginia Credit Union Live at 7:30 p.m. on May 4. Toro Y Moi opens. Tickets are $37.50 to $50.
