Katchafire

Katchafire are an all Māori New Zealand roots reggae band from Hamilton, New Zealand.^[1]

Katchafire
Katchafire at the Zwarte Cross festival in the Netherlands, July 2022
Background information
Origin	New Zealand
Genres	Roots reggae
Years active	1997–present
Labels	Lion House, VP/Greensleeves
Members	Logan Bell Jordan Bell Tere Ngarua Leon Davey Wiremu Barriball Roy Kaiki
Past members	Ara Adams-Tamatea Jamey Ferguson Thompson Hohepa Haani Totorewa Grenville Bell
Website	www.katchafireofficial.com

History

Katchafire formed in Hamilton in 1997, originally as a Bob Marley tribute band.^[1][2] The band's name derives from Catch A Fire, The Wailers' debut album.^[3] 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,^[4][5] and the compilation Best So Far (2013) Legacy (2018).^[2]

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 to name a few.

Band members

The bands 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 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 opened opportunity for Ara Adams Tamatea (Bass, Band Management) and Leonard "Leon" Davey (Percussion, Vocals) not long after which allowed Grenville Bell to step out of the Management duties and continue his role as the bands Lead Guitarist and the brand "Katchafire" was realised .

The band went through yet another change in line-up as Ara stepped down from his role as manager/bass player continuing only as the bands New Zealand booking agent, with original bass player Tere Ngarua returning and Logan 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) 1997 / 2007 - present
• Roy Kaiki (Keyboards, Vocals) 2016 - present
• Wiremu Barriball (Lead Guitar, Vocals) 2016 - present

Former Band 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)

Discography

Albums

Year	Album	Label	Peak chart positions
			NZ [6]
2003	Revival	Mai Music	5
2005	Slow Burning	Mai/Shock	12
2007	Say What You're Thinking	EMI	5
2010	On the Road Again	EMI/Lion House Records	3
2013	Best So Far (compilation)	VP/Greensleeves	3
2018	Legacy	Universal NZ/Zojak Worldwide	8 [7]

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 Katchafire.

Release	Album	Label	Track
2002	Simply the Best Reggae Album	Warner Music	"Bounce"
2003	The Reggae Collection	Universal Music	"Collie Herb Man" and "Giddy Up"
	Off the Hook 3	Sony Music	"Get Away" (Remix)
2004	Conscious Roots	Capitol Music	"Get Away"
2005	Conscious Roots 2	Capitol Music	"Frisk Me Down"
2006	More Nature	Sony BMG	"Giddy Up"
2007	Conscious Roots 4	EMI	"This World"

Singles

Year	Title	Peak chart positions	Album
		NZ [6]
2002	"Giddy Up"	4	Revival
	"Who You With"	10
2003	"Get Away"	8
2004	"Rude Girl"	—	Slow Burning
2005	"Hey Girl"	—
2006	"Frisk Me Down"	—
2007	"Say What You're Thinking"	—	Say What You're Thinking
2008	"Love Letter"	—
2009	"Working"	—
2010	"Slow Down" feat. Rebel Souljahz	—	Bring Back The Days
	"Just You & Me" feat. Na Wai	—	Non-album single
	"On the Road Again"	—	On the Road Again
	"Groove Again"	—
2016	"Burn It Down"	—
2017	"Addicted"		Legacy
	"Way Beyond"
2018	"Love Today"
	"100"
2019	"Fyah in the Trenches"
2020	"Circle Back"	—[A]	Non-album singles
2021	"Karawhiua"	—[B]
	"Whaingaroa"	—[C]
2022	"Always with You"	—[D]
2024	"Magic (What She Do)"	—[E]
	"Commit"	—[F]

Notes

1. "Circle Back" did not enter the NZ Top 40 Singles Chart, but peaked at number 11 on the NZ Hot Singles Chart.^[8]
2. "Karawhiua" did not enter the NZ Top 40 Singles Chart, but peaked at number 11 on the NZ Hot Singles Chart.^[9]
3. "Whaingaroa" did not enter the NZ Top 40 Singles Chart, but peaked at number 21 on the NZ Hot Singles Chart.^[10]
4. "Always with You" did not enter the NZ Top 40 Singles Chart, but peaked at number 23 on the NZ Hot Singles Chart.^[11]
5. "Magic (What She Do)" (acoustic) did not enter the NZ Top 40 Singles Chart, but peaked at number 29 on the NZ Hot Singles Chart.^[12]
6. "Commit" did not enter the NZ Top 40 Singles Chart, but peaked at number 28 on the NZ Hot Singles Chart.^[13]