About

Khu Khris has been playing bass and guitar for 0 years! He's been teaching lessons since 2010 and wants to share his passion for music with others. Learn more about his story, influences, and favorite artists below.

Formative Years

2004-2005

Khu Khris’s journey began in 6th grade when burning and trading CD’s were common activities amongst teenagers.

He became interested and curious about classic rock, metal, jazz/bossa nova, progressive, electronic, and world music.

Carroll High School

2006-2010

In high school, he was heavily involved in the school’s music program, resulting in him being awarded the Outstanding Musician Award in 2010.

The main highlight during that time was playing with his band FIRE EAGLE LAZER DANGER!

Indiana University

2010-2015

He graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Education and a minor in Music.

His music studies included Music Theory, Music History, Electronic Music Production, and traditional Afro-Cuban music.

Show Choir Band

2015-2020

In 2015, he was hired to play guitar professionally by his alma mater, Carroll High School.

During his five-year stint, he was fortunate to travel and play his largest shows in Chicago (Waukegan), Nashville, Orlando, and New York City.

The Murmurations

2017-2022

Later in 2017, he was approached by his close friend, Jamie, to play in his new band, The Murmurations.

Khu Khris ended up playing guitar & bass with the group for 5 years, performing at many gigs locally and also helped produce their full-length album Kids.

Del Aura

2022-present

With his gigging days behind him, Khu Khris's focus had shifted to writing original music and improving his audio production skills.

In 2020, he rekindled an unnamed project with his friend, Derek, whom he met in 2014. This new project became known as Del Aura and the duo have had a number of releases since their conception.

Influences

Metallica

Metallica

Khu Khris's biggest influence. The reason he plays bass and guitar is because of Metallica. Like with many others, their songs resonated with him at a young age and led him to pick up the guitar.

AC/DC

AC/DC

The entire Back In Black album as well as songs like "Highway to Hell" and "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" are all classics that interested Khu Khris in his early days of guitar.

Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin II and Led Zeppelin IV are Khu Khris's favorite Zeppelin albums. Learning "Stairway to Heaven" was one of the tracks that helped him initially develop his lead guitar skills.

Children of Bodom

Children of Bodom

Khu Khris began learning more about how harmonies were used in songs by listening to Children of Bodom. Frontman Alexi Laiho's riffs and arrangements made a lasting impression on Khu Khris's songwriting.

Dream Theater

Dream Theater

Hearing Dream Theater was life-changing for Khu Khris. A new world of long, epic songs, new chord progressions, and odd-time signatures heavily influenced Khu Khris's compositions after hearing "The Glass Prison" for the first time.

Jaco Pastorius

Jaco Pastorius

Jaco was one of the first non-metal artists that caught Khu Khris's attention. The unique smooth, fretless bass tone along with the groovy, funky, and plucked harmonics are things that Khu Khris added to his playing style.

Tom Jobim

Tom Jobim

Khu Khris first heard Jobim's work while playing in jazz combo in high school. The percussive and beautiful chords of bossa nova made Khu Khris learn a new way of playing guitar and expanded his chord vocabulary.

Periphery

Periphery

When the djent scene started to become popular, Khu Khris started listening to Periphery. Their rhythmic patterns as well as production techniques intrigued Khu Khris after many years of playing guitar.

Meshuggah

Meshuggah

The 8-string (extended range guitar) is something Khu Khris started to learn because of Meshuggah. Learning their mind-melting riffs and rhythms is always a challenge but it makes him a better player after learning their music.

Other Notable Mentions

  • Animals as Leaders
  • Between The Buried and Me
  • Black Sabbath
  • Daft Punk
  • Disturbed
  • Duke Ellington
  • Frank Zappa
  • Killswitch Engage
  • Korn
  • Linkin Park
  • Maynard Ferguson
  • Michael Jackson
  • Nirvana
  • Opeth
  • Pantera
  • Porcupine Tree
  • Rammstein
  • Retrospect
  • Seu Jorge
  • Sleep Token
  • Slipknot
  • Snarky Puppy
  • Steely Dan
  • Steven Wilson
  • System of a Down
  • Telefon Tel Aviv
  • The Safety Fire
  • Tool
  • Trivium
  • Victor Wooten
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