Yuki&Demian

Breaking the molds of typical instrumentation, they bring the piano and drums combination to a new level. This high-energy duo has been making great music together since the summer of 2003, when they met during their time at Berklee College of Music. Coming from such different places on the globe such as Japan and Venezuela they manage to combine their musical and personal strengths creating a great experience, full of upbeat rhythms, great musicianship and positive vibes. Their music encompasses Salsa, R&B, Guaguanco, Hip Hop as well as elements from Jazz making subtle yet powerful sounds full of improvisation and substance. Yuki & Demian have performed in Bostons top venues such as Johnny Ds, The Charles Playhouse and The Paradise Lounge among others.Yukihiro Kanesaka was born and raised in Chiba, Japan. Since his arrival to Boston, Yuki has performed with numerous acts and in every important venue. His musical talent expands to all Keyboards, Sax, Guitar, Drums, bass and even Turntables. He has studied under amazing teachers such as Jetro Dasilva (Whitney Houston, Brandy) and Stephen Hunt (Stanley Clark). In 2003 along with his group Moment of Truth he won the Gibson Jazz Guitar Contest for outstanding overall performance. He is a member of the famous Berklee College of Music Jazz Hip Hop Orchestra that has performed all over USA. Yuki has had the privilege to perform with Bruce Bartlett, John Blackwell (Prince), Giovanni Hidalgo (conga legend), George Duke (Frank Zappa), and C-LO (Goody Mob) among others. Currently he is the musical director and producer of the former trumpet player for Elvin Jones, Darren Barrett.Demian Arriaga was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela. He has collaborated with musicians such as Gary Cherone (Extreme, Van, Halen), Leo Mellace (Tribe of Judah) Eguie Castrillo (Tito Puente), Alex Alvear (Mango Blue), Pablo Bencid (Leo Blanco), Manolo Mairena (La Timba Loca) and Winston Maccow (Nancy Wilson) as well as performing with the East Coast bands iWest 8 Five (NYC), the Boston ska band Mass Hysteria and the hip hop group III Kings. He has shared the stage with Latin American legends Ruben Blades and Juan Luis Guerra. He has studied percussion with Eguie Castrillo, Ernesto Diaz (Mango Blue) and Jamey Haddad (Paul Simon). His drum studies have been under Dave Dicenso (Duran Duran, Hiromi), Mike Mangini (Steve Vai, Extreme) and Pablo Bencid (La Timba Loca, Victor Mendoza).