David Leikam a.k.a. Bug is a Sense Artist, a . v . t . s . t . ( audio . visual . taste . smell . touch . ) who primarily creates his Art in the audio and visual fields respectively but not solely. His primary musical instruments are a modified Moog Rogue synthesizer (mogue R.) by Lorin Edwin Parker and an Ibanez SR1300PD 1994 Custom electric bass although he has his foundations in the acoustic piano since 1988 when he recorded his first solo piece with Friday Night Music. Formally trained in music composition and audio improvisation with a graphic designer sense optically since birth who writes spontaneous poetry / prose too.
Early in his artistic career, David was associated with Steven "Muruga" Booker, James Gurley, Harry Coleman, and the Silicon Valley, CA based improvisational Arts group Friday Night Music that his father and creative writer, Bill Leikam introduced him to in 1986.
Some of his early audio influences came from Psychedelic Rock, Industrial / Electronic, Improvisational Jazz, and Sound Designers such as Brian Eno and Robert Rich. Some particular artists of interest include the Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, Bjork, cEvin Key, Throbbing Gristle, Miles Davis, Thelonious S. Monk, William S. Burroughs, and Mark Twain to name a few. Fellow Artists have mentioned that he has aspects of Jimi Hendrix, Keith Jarrett, and Cecil Taylor within his playing styles throughout his 21 year career and is said to be a master on analog synthesizers.
He earned BFA and MFA Degrees in Music Composition / Improvisational Performance from CalArts along with Certification in Audio Engineering from the Musicians Institute in Hollywood, CA. He has studied and collaborated prominently with Wadada Leo Smith, John Bergamo, Vinny Golia, Arthur Jarvinen, Morton Subotnick, Areni Agbabian, Muruga Booker, Eddie Gale, Thomas Meracz, and Zachary Morris to name a few. He also has a strong interest in Modern Dance Collaboration and Psychology Research.
Within the last seven years, David has released 10 albums independently on his dBcL recordings label including debut EPs for his projects, z_bug and tippo in 2007. He currently has two upcoming music albums, d.L Duets: A State of I and z_bug: Passings of A Window Sil mastered by Robert Rich that will be released later in 2009. He has also been producing / hosting a regular globally broadcast live radio show on KZSU 90.1FM called "In Your Ear ..." with Bug since October 4th, 2001 at 00:00. His latest creative venture has been the CEO / Founder / Director of the Arts Noticed Corporation, an international Arts non-profit business.
