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Hey, I'm Erik Leiken. Nice to meet you. I am the bass player in the band although I'm more well known for playing the Scottish bagpipes, which is where most if not all of my musical talent is focused. I was born in the wee hours of March 7th, 1986 (My dad's 33rd birthday) on a rainy friday morning in Berkeley, California. I was exposed to music ever since my mom was pregnant with me, so it was only natural that I would make some myself one day. I first tried guitar when I was seven, but I was such a little s@#% back then, I never practiced it. I remembered hearing bagpipes in the Animal's song "Sky Pilot" when I was really little and falling head over heels in love with the sound and music they produced. When I was eight years old, I finally decided I had to learn the bagpipe, no matter what it took. I got these toy pipes, broke them, got another set, broke those, then got a slightly more realistic toy pipe that was made of wood. I learned the scale, and didn't learn much more for a while until I got a practice chanter just before my ninth birthday. I also tried playing viola, but I hated the teacher and that alone killed my interest and I quit at the end of forth grade. I tried trumpet in fifth grade and played that until seventh grade where I stopped playing it in school. I still whip that old horn out every now and then. Even though I took many musical diversions, I always stuck with the pipes. I got my first pipe from the man who I first heard play bagpipes. I taught myself how to control the thing (not a good idea!) and eventually I got a teacher. Then I got another different teacher and joined this pipe band geared for kids then known as the "Prince Charles Jr. Pipe Band" out of San Francisco which I hung around for about 4 years until I "burned out" and quit. During this time, I started competing and I won some stuff. Also, during this time, I played with the man who inspired me to play the bagpipe, Eric Burdon of the Animal's five times for "Sky Pilot." Not long after I quit the pipe band, I finally got a bass. I had been playing music with Whit for a while and now I had some use finally. It took a while to get an amp, but I finally did. Now Whit and I were ready to find other guys to form a band...
I am playing bass quite a bit now, and having a lot of fun with it. Whit also showed me some stuff on the guitar and that was the inspiration of "Whit's guitar method" that you can find on this here site. I am also playing a lot of bagpipes still, with my new (not so new anymore) band, The Dunvegan Pipe Band. I am also playing for Highland dance competitions now and then and I also play for anyone who wants to hire me to play for them. I have done everything from funerals and weddings, (Two Scottish and one Jewish.) to doing demonstrations for schoolchildren and military services, the latter which for me hits close to home for personal reasons. I also have other interests oddly, I like to daydream, write stuff, and walk around with nowhere to really go. I enjoy cooking and I like to be by the sea. I like this band because I have met several great people in the process of putting this group together. Whit and I have been friends as long as I can remember. Even our parents are friends with each other! Whit talks more about this in his bio and I find it quite accurate. We all met in at the M.U.G.A. bowling alley at U.C. Davis sometime in 1993. Whit, his brother Blake, and I bowled together for about three or four years in a youth bowling league until we realized that it was starting to suck. Thinking about all of this reminds me of how much of an a$$ I was then. We've all hung out with each other ever since. We have yet to return to the bowling alley though. It would be cool if we ever played a gig there! Now you know me, and I'll shut up now.
Erik
P.S. Go meet Whit and Mike now if you haven't already. |
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