Born an Irish-Iranian-New Yorker, David “Shak”  Shakiban has been a lifelong lover of creativity, connection, and community. In 1993, after obtaining an education from the Visual and Performing Arts School at Syracuse University where he majored in Film Art, David moved from New York to the San Francisco Bay Area in pursuit of his passion for improvisational jam music (and more sun!).  David has been playing guitar for more than 20 years, and he has recorded and performed with numerous projects all over the Bay Area.  Shakiban is a culmination of years of jam band style improvisation with more modern electronically produced beats and loops.  Listen and buy on the Music page.

As an artist, David has been creative in multiple media all of his life (drawing, painting, sculpting, digital, mosaic, etc…). Today his art is a combination of numerous influences, from Kandinsky-esque abstracts, to comic book/grafitti doodles, to intricate Persian rug influenced mandalas. Please peruse the Art Page to see some examples.

As a film maker, David has begun production of his first professional motion picture, The Adventures of ZA, a documentary about dreams and aspirations.  David will be filming as he busks (street performs) his way across Europe this summer, capturing magical musical moments and people’s dreams.  Join The Movement!