Katchafire

Biography

Katchafire are an all Māori New Zealand roots reggae band from Hamilton, New Zealand.

History

Katchafire formed in Hamilton in 1997, originally as a Bob Marley tribute band. The band's name derives from Catch A Fire, The Wailers' debut album. They have released six albums: Revival (2003), which featured the highest-selling New Zealand single of 2002 "Giddy Up", Slow Burning (2005) Say What You're Thinking (2007), On the Road Again (2010), which peaked at No. 3 on the US Billboard Reggae chart, and the compilation Best So Far (2013) Legacy (2018).
The band has extensively toured Australia, the UK, Europe, the United States, New Caledonia, the Pacific Islands, Guam, Indonesia, Brazil including their home country of New Zealand and have played on the same bills as The Wailers, The Marley's, Steel Pulse, Third World, UB40, Shaggy, Lauryn Hill, Fiji, and Horace Andy.

Band members

The band's original line-up consisted of founder Grenville Bell (manager, lead guitar) with his two sons Logan (vocals) Jordan (drums), the line-up expanded to include eight members, including Jerry Taukamo (lead vocals, lead guitar), Thompson Hohepa (lead vocals), Hani Totorewa (keyboards, vocals); bass duties went to a number of different musicians, Jhonny Fish (John Kennedy), Shocka (Shane Maraki), Tere Ngarua and Travis Te Hau.
As a result of commitments with other bands, family and religion, lead singer Jerry Taukamo departed from the band Katchafire with Logan stepping into the position becoming the band's new and current lead singer.
With the addition of James "Jamey" Ferguson (vocals, keyboard, saxophone) and departure of Tere Ngarua, it opened the opportunity for Ara Adams Tamatea (bass, band management) and Leonard "Leon" Davey (percussion, vocals) to join, not long after which it allowed Grenville Bell to step out of the management duties and continue his role as the band's lead guitarist.
The band went through yet another change in line-up as Ara Adams Tamatea stepped down from his role as manager/bass player, continuing only as the band's New Zealand booking agent, with original bass player Tere Ngarua returning and Logan Bell taking over the band management.
The current line-up:

Logan Bell (guitar, vocals) 1997–present
Jordan Bell (drums, vocals) 1997–present
Leonard "Leon" Davey (percussion, vocals) 2000–present
Tere Ngarua (bass guitar) 1997, 2007–present
Roy Kaiki (keyboards, vocals) 2016–present
Wiremu Barriball (lead guitar, vocals) 2016–present
Former members:

Grenville Bell (lead guitar) 1997–2014
Haani Totorewa (keyboards, guitar, vocals) 1997–2013
James "Jamey" Ferguson (keyboards, saxophone, vocals) 2000–2013
Ara Adams Tamatea (bass) 2000–2006
Jerry Taukamo (lead vocals, lead guitar)
John "Jhonny fish" Kennedy (bass)
Shane "Shocka" Maraki (bass)
Travis Te Hau (bass)

Featured appearances

Katchafire have appeared on a number of compilations since 2002 in New Zealand. The following is a list of these albums that have featured tracks by the band.