​Kana has been playing drums since she was a teenager.  When she was 20 yrs old, Kana met her drum teacher, master jazz drummer Kawase Katsuhiko in Osaka, Japan, who had a profound impact on her life.  She also counts as her influences Vinnie Colaiuta, Carmine Appice, Omar Hakim, Steve Jordan, Steve Gadd and Sheila E.

 

She played drums in original music rock bands, and also as a percussionist in a Chaka Khan tribune band, Stompin' Savoy's.  In 1996, she joined the prog band Nth Ntrance and performed her first international shows in Seattle.  She married an American in 1999 and moved to Tampa, Florida where she is based today.  She worked with Tampa bands such as Red Hawk, Perco Loco All Stars, Magic a.k.a. Fencewalk, and Bobby G. Summers.  She segued into the classic rock world with Phoenix, in 2010, and Undercover Betty, in 2011.   Undercover Betty recorded several original tracks and opened for Vixen, Blondie, Wayland, Gilby Clark, and Jasmine Caine.  The Tampa Bay Music Network named Undercover Betty as the Favorite Rocking Trio of 2014 and Kana as the 2014 Favorite Rock Drummer.  Kana currently plays New Orleans jazz, country, and gospel with several bands, but most notably original blues rock with the Alex Lopez Xpress.  The Alex Lopez Express has just released its third album, "Looking For a Change."

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Kana is a devoted Buddhist.  She enjoys gardening and  discovering new food.