Laura Lee Ochoa | |
|---|---|
 Laura Lee Ochoa performing with Khruangbin at Haldern Pop (2019) | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Leezy |
| Born | October 14, 1986 Houston, Texas, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Labels | |
| Member of | Khruangbin |
Laura Lee Ochoa [1] (born October 14, 1986), also known as Leezy, is an American musician and singer-songwriter, best known as the bass guitarist and one of the founding members of the Grammy-nominated musical trio Khruangbin.
The daughter of Mexican-American parents, [2] Ochoa played piano and guitar as a child, but picked up bass at the suggestion of future bandmate Mark Speer. Ochoa met him in 2009 through friends, where they initially connected over a shared love of Afghan music. Ochoa was an art history major with a focus on art of the ancient Near East. She worked as a math teacher for six years. [3] At the time, she was interested in playing piano again and he suggested she "follow the sound of the bass", which she had never thought about doing before. [4] [5] This recommendation led her to begin playing, which she says came very naturally to her. [6]
Ochoa has recorded five studio albums with Khruangbin: The Universe Smiles Upon You (2015), Con Todo el Mundo (2018), Mordechai (2020), Ali (2022) and A La Sala (2024) as well as two EPs: Texas Sun (2021) and Texas Moon (2022), both with the band and Leon Bridges. Prior to forming the group, Lee played bass on tour with Yppah. [4] In April, 2021, she collaborated with Los Angeles–based singer-songwriter Niia on the song "Not Up For Discussion." [7]
In Khruangbin, Ochoa performs as "Leezy", an alter-ego that helps her keep some parts of herself private: "It helps me separate from her and it helps me emotionally to put it on her, so I let her take on all of the pressure." [4] She is the band's creative director, using her training in art and architecture to set up staging and create choreography and graphic design. [8] Both she and Speer sport long black wigs while performing [9] and "Leezy" goes through many costume changes throughout a show. In 2011, she made the decision to never wear the same outfit twice on stage, estimating that she has worn 600 different outfits while on tour. [10] She wears two different outfits per show, a decision inspired by Elton John, who was known to change up to four outfits. [3] She is also inspired by Prince who handled choreography and played guitar at the same time. [8]
Aimee Elizabeth Mann is an American singer-songwriter. Over the course of four decades, she has released ten studio albums as a solo artist. She is noted for her sardonic and literate lyrics about dark subjects, often describing lost or lonely underdog characters. Her work with the producer Jon Brion in the 1990s was influential on American alternative rock.
Nanci Caroline Griffith was an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. She often appeared on the PBS music program Austin City Limits starting in 1985 during Season 10. In 1990, Griffith appeared on the Channel 4 programme Town & Country with John Prine in a segment entitled "White Pants", where Nanci Griffith wore white pants at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, Tennessee, along with Buddy Mondlock, Barry "Byrd" Burton, and Robert Earl Keen. In 1994, Griffith won a Grammy Award for the album Other Voices, Other Rooms.
Emm Gryner is a Canadian singer, songwriter, recording artist, and author. She has released 20 albums as a solo performer, and has collaborated with artists including David Bowie and Chris Hadfield.
Miss Black America (MBA) were a punk rock band formed in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England in 1999 and active until 2006.
Sara Lee is an English-American bassist and singer-songwriter, who came to prominence when replacing Dave Allen on bass guitar in the post-punk band Gang of Four, of which she was a member from 1982 to 1984. She was also a member of Robert Fripp's short-lived band The League of Gentlemen and is also notable for work with the B-52s, Ani DiFranco, and Indigo Girls. As of October 2021, Lee rejoined Gang of Four with founding members Hugo Burnham and Jon King as well as David Pajo, to tour in 2022.
"Save Up All Your Tears" is a song written by Desmond Child and Diane Warren, and originally released by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler. The song was subsequently covered by other artists including Robin Beck, Cher, Freda Payne and Bonfire.
Amy Lynn Lee is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She is the co-founder, lead vocalist, lead songwriter and keyboardist of the rock band Evanescence. A classically trained pianist, Lee began writing music at age 11 and co-founded Evanescence at age 13, inspired by various musical genres and film scores from an early age. Lee has also participated in other musical projects, including Nightmare Revisited and Muppets: The Green Album, and composed music for several films, including War Story (2014), Indigo Grey: The Passage (2015), and the song "Speak to Me" for Voice from the Stone (2017). She has also released the covers EP Recover, Vol. 1 (2016), the soundtrack album to War Story, the children's album Dream Too Much (2016), and collaborated with other artists such as Korn, Seether, Bring Me the Horizon, Lindsey Stirling, Body Count, and Wagakki Band. Lee has a mezzo-soprano voice type.
Niia Bertino, known professionally as Niia, is an American singer, pianist, and songwriter.
"No" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Meghan Trainor from her second major-label studio album, Thank You (2016). Ricky Reed produced the song and wrote it with Trainor and Jacob Kasher Hindlin; Epic Records released it as the album's lead single on March 4, 2016. A dance-pop song inspired by 1990s pop music and R&B, "No" has lyrics about sexual consent and empowerment, encouraging women to reject unwanted advances from men.
Khruangbin is a musical trio from Houston, Texas. The band consists of Laura Lee Ochoa, Mark Speer, and DJ Johnson. The trio is known for blending music influences from across the globe, such as classic soul, dub, rock and psychedelia.
Kadhja Bonet is an American musician.
The Future Nostalgia Tour was the second concert tour and first arena tour by English and Albanian singer Dua Lipa, in support of her second studio album, Future Nostalgia (2020). It began on 9 February 2022 at the FTX Arena in Miami and ended on 28 November of the same year at Tirana's Skanderbeg Square. The tour visited cities across North America, Europe, South America and Oceania.
Mark Speer is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the guitarist and one of the founding members of the Grammy-nominated musical trio Khruangbin.
"Save a Kiss" is the fifth single by English singer-songwriter Jessie Ware from her fourth studio album, What's Your Pleasure? It was released 7 May 2020. It was written by Ware, James Ford, Shungudzo Kuyimbia and Danny Parker. Ford also produced the song.
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.
Mordechai is the third studio album by American musical trio Khruangbin. It was released June 26, 2020 under Dead Oceans and Night Time Stories.
Ali is a collaborative studio album by Malian singer and guitarist Vieux Farka Touré and Texan trio Khruangbin. It consists of covers of songs by Vieux's father, Ali Farka Touré. It was released on September 23, 2022, on Dead Oceans.
Donald "DJ" Johnson, Jr. is an American musician, songwriter, and music producer best known as the drummer for Khruangbin, a Grammy-nominated trio from Houston, Texas, and one half of the hip hop production duo Beanz N Kornbread.
A La Sala is the fourth studio album by American musical trio Khruangbin. It was released on April 5, 2024, through Dead Oceans and Night Time Stories.
| International | |
|---|---|
| Artists | |
