Photo by Jackie Lee Young Onstage, Laura Lee Ochoa — better known as Leezy — has a larger-than-life persona. Her elaborate wardrobes of sparkling dresses and stiletto-heeled boots are as mesmerizing as her rolling bass lines and entrancing grooves. She’s become a modern icon of fashion, regularly gracing the covers of magazines while inspiring new trends, including hordes of people who dress as her for Halloween every year. As the focal point of her Houston-formed trio Khruangbin, she taps inspiration from James Jamerson and other bass greats while playing supremely catchy riffs with a recognizable sound. Everything about Leezy is bold, confident, flashy, and spotlight-ready. Her fanbase is constantly growing, as famous actors, musicians, and celebrities hit Khruangbin shows and wait to talk to the rising star. Laura Lee, on the other hand, is a shy, quiet introvert with an insatiable passion for the arts, having worked as a math teacher right up to the point that she picked up her first bass. Modest and laconic by nature, there couldn’t be a vaster divide between her and her stage alter ego — but somehow they exist symbiotically, in perfect balance. Luckily for Laura, when the sequined outfits and the wigs come off, she gains all anonymity back and can go about her life exactly as she pleases. While on tour, the 36-year-old Texas native bides her free time by walking three to five miles every day, in whichever city she lands in, and not once has she been recognized in the streets. Fans have every reason to recognize Leezy and her Khruangbin bandmates, guitarist Mark Speer and drummer Donald “DJ” Johnson. They’ve somehow taken their primarily instrumental psychedelic groove-rock to the top of mainstream music, as their songs are commonly heard in movies, television shows, and commercials, topping playlists and best-of lists in every direction. As the band reaches new heights of popularity, this is the time when most artists would lean into their appeal and write their poppiest and most accessible hits yet, but not Khruangbin. Instead, they teamed up with Malian guitarist Vieux Farka Touré to write Ali, a September-released tribute album to Touré’s father, one of Mali’s most celebrated guitarists, Ali Farka Touré. In sticking with their collaborative theme, earlier in the year they issued their second EP with soul singer Leon Bridges, Texas Moon. Following a long run of touring in 2022, and the recent announcement that Laura is pregnant with her first child, the ever-prolific Khruangbin is planning to begin writing their fifth studio album after some much-needed time off. Laura’s home in Upstate New York, where she transplanted several years back, is a long journey from the small barn in Burton, Texas, where Khruangbin writes and records all of their material, but she knows she’ll find her way back there soon. As much as Laura Lee enjoys her quiet life outside of the spotlight, Leezy is always itching to ret