What Khruangbin’s Laura Lee Can’t Live Without

Multiple people have told me that they know that it’s me across the park because they can see mywater bottle. Mine is a sort of desert-orange color. I’m on my third one because I lost the other two that came before. I lost the most recent one on this tour. And I was very sad. Everybody knew I needed to replace it ASAP, otherwise I’d lose my mind. I drink a gallon of water a day. I drink five of my Ramblers a day. It keeps me honest about my hydration. It’s a very solid water bottle. One time it fell in an airplane during turbulence and flew from the front of the plane to the back and had, like, a giant dent in it, but it was still totally solid. I’ve had a lot of water bottles, and some of them don’t seal properly. My daughter has amini-versionof mine, same color, and it’s very cute.

[Editor’s note:Subscribe to theStrategist Kids’ Departmentnewsletterto learn more about the kid-specific products that Lee can’t live without.]

In my head, everybody uses it, but I realize more and more that it’s not an everyday thing. It’s basically like natural Vaseline. I use it on cuts, scrapes, any kind of rough skin. I’ve never really had acne, but supposedly it helps with acne scarring. Well, it helps with any kind of scarring. I haven’t had a tattoo in nearly a decade, but I used to use it on my tattoos when I got them. And now that I have a toddler, I use it on her all the time, every day. And she loves it. It’s really sweet because she thinks of it as this fix-all ingredient. I hurt my back about a month ago, and when I was having a hard time, she was like, “Oh, you want me to put some Magic on your back, Mama?” It lasts forever too. I’m at the bottom of my jar, but it lasts like a year if you use it all the time. It’s like Aquaphor or Vaseline, but just a really solid product that you feel good about using. And it has nice, esoteric branding, which everyone likes.

I’m wearing them a lot right now because it’s cold and they’re just incredibly practical for all terrains —street, dirt, hiking, snow. It’s a really good all-purpose shoe that is also stylish. If I had to pick one shoe to bring all tour, it would be this one. I have silver, so they’re also kind of flashy. They feel like a sneaker, so they’re incredibly comfortable. Also a good height, so it’s like my jeans become a little high-water-y, but in a good way for being on the go, because I don’t have to worry about puddles or, right now, snow.

Best pepper grinder. You’ll never want to use any other pepper grinder ever again. One twist is like 20 twists of your average grinder. It also just feels really good when you do it. It’s a cooking staple. And I’m not somebody who’sreallyinto pepper. I like pepper as much as anyone likes pepper, you know? I do eat eggs and salad and things that always need it. But I don’t think many people know about this pepper grinder. And it is epic. My partner found out about it on Kickstarter; he was an investor in the Kickstarter package and now it’s a full-fledged company. We’ve given it as a gift to many people. It’s just one of those really practical things that everyone needs but is like a really good version of it.

Similar thing; it’s just a really practical household item. Also a good housewarming gift. I don’t like cold butter; I like room-temp butter. This keeps it perfectly soft, room temperature, and from going bad. It also looks beautiful. When I’m at home, I usually go upstate every couple of weeks and I get local butter from the Hudson Valley. It’s delicious.

I love getting dressed for bed, because you spend more time sleeping than you do most activities. So why shouldn’t it be a place that you luxuriate? My nighttime routine — going to bed clean, face washed and moisturized, and all that stuff — is really important to me. So the clothes that I wear to bed fit that. It just feels exciting and jazzy to dress up for bed.

On tour, comfort is a real luxury. When you’re sleeping on a bus and there’s a lot of creature comforts that you’re missing, a really solid pair of pajamas that makes you feel good is priceless. And Karen Mabon’s are fun and colorful. They feel nice on your skin, and the prints — every morning my daughter will come into bed and call out the names of all the animals or whatever is on my pajamas. On the road, I tend to take cotton, just because they’re easier to wash, but at home I do have a couple silk pairs, and they are very nice.

It’s huge, at least double anyone’s largest tote bag. It is also incredibly well made. You can put a lot of weight in that bag. But then on top of it, it’s denim patchwork and beautiful. And it looks good with all of my outfits. I usually carry my purse inside of it, but then I can also put my water bottle, my daughter’s diaper bag, and all of my stuff, and it’s a perfect on-the-go situation. I use it at home as a sort of glorified tote, but then on the road it becomes my day bag. It follows me from the bus to the venue to the hotel. It’s sort of that bag for me.

I’m a huge Mara Hoffman fan. I followed her for years before Khruangbin started. But the very first year we toured, I wrote begging to be lent stuff from Mara Hoffman. And that first year I wore a lot of Mara Hoffman; she was lovely to me. I was really heartbroken when she stopped making clothes. But I also respect the creative process, and so much about being an artist is realizing that the process of changing and evolving sometimes requires a step back.

[Editor’s note: Lee’s Mara Hoffman x Mercado tote bag is no longer available, but you can buy similar Mercado totes at Mercado Global.]

I love a shiny boot, I guess. I’ve been wearing these onstage as well. I also wore them in a recent music video we put out for “White Gloves ii.” I’ve been wearing that boot since 2019. I’ve had several pairs, not because they don’t all last, but sometimes the color comes off after a certain amount of wear and tear. They’re also super-comfortable. I’ve had to get the heels repaired every so often, but otherwise it’s just an incredibly solid boot, really good shape, and it elevates jeans and a T-shirt, which is a very important tour outfit. If I have either my Jordan boots or my Modern Vice boots and my Mara Hoffman tote bag, I’m good. I have actually worn those boots with my Karen Mabon pajamas, leaving a venue where the bus couldn’t be parked nearby and I had to walk to the bus. And I got so many compliments on my quote-unquote “outfit.”

I usuallywear this on flights. It sounds really cliché, but it’s so comfortable. The color I have is like this beautiful light eggplant. On the road, I’m all for practical clothes that still make me feel like someone who cares about what they wear, because I do. And it just takes the guesswork out of what I’m going to wear on the plane, which weirdly is a thing. And I travel on a plane all the time! You’re like,Okay, these jeans, this top, this jacket, am I gonna be cold?And it’s like, actually, I can just wear my flight suit and I’m good to go. There’s a lot of pockets, which is another awesome thing for traveling, so that I have my AirPods with the littleplane Bluetooth adapter, my lip balm — all my tools for flying are easily accessible, all on my person.

[Editor’s note: Lee’s Nike Flight Suit is no longer available, but you can find it on some resale websites, which we’ve linked here.]

I feel like whether or not New Yorkers realize it, they know this person. I don’t know what percentage of crosswalk signs, but on the back, it says “Messiah is here” and there’s an old rabbi. And I saw him all the time and then realized who he was in the Crown Heights community I live near. Then I ended up going to a friend’s son’s bar mitzvah at his grave site. It was one of the most moving experiences I’ve had. I felt really inspired to know who this person was, because he was this person who I saw every day when I was at home. So I got this book, and it’s basically his teachings, sort of translated and put into very succinct chapters by one of his pupils. It’s advice for every aspect of life, like babies, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, marriage, how you spend your time, values. And they’re like five pages, six pages each.

While I’m not a participant in organized religion and I struggle with some parts of that, the spiritual aspect of his teachings I really resonate with. And I find, especially because I’m traveling all the time and have a tendency to live an unground lifestyle, that connecting with a spiritual side of myself in these little short doses is really nice. If I have ten minutes, I can just pick any chapter and sort of get in touch with that. The world is nuts, and to remind yourself of what’s important, what’s meaningful, and your sense of purpose is important to connect with on a regular basis.

In terms of bougie skin products, this is my bougie skin product. I like nice products, but I also think that not-fancy products work just as well. However, this is my one fancy product I stand behind. I use it after I wash my face, morning and night. My skin changed a lot when I became a mom,
during pregnancy and then after I had my daughter. I developed rosacea and started having breakouts, especially while performing, with makeup and heat.
And this product was my hero. It feels really good to put on, and it smells good. And ever since I’ve been using it, whenever I have anybody look at my skin under a microscope, I always get good feedback. So I’m just going to always use it.

I found out that sulfur face wash is really good for rosacea around the same time. On first use, I wasn’t sold on whether or not I liked it. But now I can’t live without it. I use a more traditional face wash at night, but this is what I use in the morning, and I just love the way it feels. It’s almost like putting on lotion. There’s something about the sulfur; that texture is really addictive. I remember when I first had a breakout, I went to the dermatologist and she gave me her own version of the sulfur face wash. And she was like,It’s gonna smell; some people are really averse to this, but please just do it anyway.And I didn’t have an aversion to it. It was just like,Huh, okay. This isn’t the traditional feeling of soap.This almost feels like you’re putting cream on, so you’re like,Is this actually doing anything?But when I don’t use it, I can really tell. I ran out two days ago, and I called my tour manager and I was like,I can’t find it anywhere and I need to have it ASAP.

My skin care at night is one of my postshow musts, because I need to come down from playing a show and basically go to sleep as soon as possible so that I can wake up at 7 a.m. and be a mom. And I find that my skin-care routine is one of the things that I can do to kind of transition from show mode to home mode. The act of cleansing not only feels good and is relaxing but is this like transitional state? Washing your face is sort of symbolic, like I’m leaving my past face there.

I have it on the road. I have it at home as well, but I’m on the road right now, so I’m thinking about it. But we order it at the start of tour and carry a box on the bus. I don’t drink alcohol anymore, but I still like the ritual of having a celebratory glass in my hand. And it’s nice to treat yourself to the ritual of a drink. It does not taste like wine, but it takes the place of it in this really lovely way. And it’s a very thoughtful combination of flavors. Non sellswine stoppersfor this type of wine and it works really well, so if I only drink one glass in a night, I am not wasting the bottle. If you do decide to drink a nonalcoholic beverage, it’s not like you can just drink wine that’s not alcoholic. That’s not really enough. You want to find a drink that actually suits you. And this is my perfect celebratory glass.

They’re so much better to me than any other sparkling water. The flavor profile is very subtle, very delicate. I don’t like an overpowering flavor profile in my sparkling water. I usually just have a plain sparkling water, maybe a slice of lime. But I had this in Santa Fe at a restaurant and I became totally addicted. Now I order them by the box at home. I have a huge stash, and I take them on the road. Dram and Non, those are my drinks. And coffee.

It’s a solid oat milk, but also it’s the one oat milk I know that only has oats in it. Most oat milk, if you look at the ingredients list, it’s very long. And this is the one oat milk that’s honest. It’s neutral. I mean, it tastes sweet, like oat milk. I special-order it from Canada, so luckily in New York, it doesn’t take very long to get here. It’s around; I see it at coffee shops and stores. But I think it’s a superb oat milk. It’s one of those things like coconut water. Not all coconut water tastes the same. It all tastes like coconut water, but you find the coconut water that feels right for you.

Best coffee beans. I am somebody who drinks coffee every day. The Non wine I don’t have every day; I have it as a treat when I feel like celebrating. But otherwise, I just drink water and sparkling water all day. My only other beverage that I consume is coffee. And so I really look forward to my morning coffee. I know a lot of people do, but it feels like my morning treat. So the oat milk fits into this because I make cold brew, even in the winter. I use the cold brew blend. Otherwise, if I’m drinking hot coffee, I’m a French roast girl. I have tried many a bean and it’s the superb bean. It’s upstate in the Hudson Valley, and I don’t use any other bean if I can help it.

J.B. Peel also has a beautiful process for itsdecaf beans, which I drank when I was pregnant. They use a Swiss-water method, which is a time-consuming process to make beans decaf.

It’s my practice amp. I can plug this into my bass and put a pair of headphones into it and I can hear myself play because it’s an instrument that you can’t hear unless it’s plugged into an amp. And it’s not always convenient to carry an amp with you. But it is convenient enough to carry around the guitar, and as long as I have this, I can play and hear myself. And there’s an auxiliary jack, so I can plug in my computer and my headphones and I can play along to stuff. It’s really helpful for me at home. It’s helpful for me in hotel rooms on the bus or even backstage if I just need to isolate the sound in my head and hear what I’m playing. I’m not a gear nerd as a musician, but it’s my one piece of gear that’s really important to me.