Katchafire
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, which featured the highest-selling New Zealand single of 2002 "Giddy Up", Slow Burning Say What You're Thinking, On the Road Again, which peaked at No. 3 on the US Billboard Reggae chart, and the compilation Best So Far ''Legacy''.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 with his two sons Logan Jordan, the line-up expanded to include eight members, including Jerry Taukamo, Thompson Hohepa, Hani Totorewa ; bass duties went to a number of different musicians, Jhonny Fish, Shocka, 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 and departure of Tere Ngarua, it opened the opportunity for Ara Adams Tamatea and Leonard "Leon" Davey 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 1997–present
- Jordan Bell 1997–present
- Leonard "Leon" Davey 2000–present
- Tere Ngarua 1997, 2007–present
- Roy Kaiki 2016–present
- Wiremu Barriball 2016–present
- Grenville Bell 1997–2014
- Haani Totorewa 1997–2013
- James "Jamey" Ferguson 2000–2013
- Ara Adams Tamatea 2000–2006
- Jerry Taukamo
- John "Jhonny fish" Kennedy
- Shane "Shocka" Maraki
- Travis Te Hau
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | Label | Peak chart positions |
| Year | Album | Label | NZ |
| 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 | VP/Greensleeves | 3 |
| 2018 | Legacy | Universal NZ/Zojak Worldwide | 8 |
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.| 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" |
| 2003 | Off the Hook 3 | Sony Music | "Get Away" |
| 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 |
| Year | Title | NZ | Album |
| 2002 | "Giddy Up" | 4 | Revival |
| 2002 | "Who You With" | 10 | Revival |
| 2003 | "Get Away" | 8 | Revival |
| 2004 | "Rude Girl" | — | Slow Burning |
| 2005 | "Hey Girl" | — | Slow Burning |
| 2006 | "Frisk Me Down" | — | Slow Burning |
| 2007 | "Say What You're Thinking" | — | Say What You're Thinking |
| 2008 | "Love Letter" | — | Say What You're Thinking |
| 2009 | "Working" | — | Say What You're Thinking |
| 2010 | "Slow Down" feat. Rebel Souljahz | — | Bring Back The Days |
| 2010 | "Just You & Me" feat. Na Wai | — | Non-album single |
| 2010 | "On the Road Again" | — | On the Road Again |
| 2010 | "Groove Again" | — | On the Road Again |
| 2016 | "Burn It Down" | — | |
| 2017 | "Addicted" | Legacy | |
| 2017 | "Way Beyond" | Legacy | |
| 2018 | "Love Today" | Legacy | |
| 2018 | "100" | Legacy | |
| 2019 | "Fyah in the Trenches" | Legacy | |
| 2020 | "Circle Back" | — | rowspan="8" |
| 2021 | "Karawhiua" | — | - |
| 2021 | "Whaingaroa" | — | - |
| 2022 | "Always with You" | — | - |
| 2024 | "Magic " | — | - |
| 2024 | "Commit" | — | - |
| 2025 | "Collie Herb Man" | — | - |
| 2025 | "Giddy Up" | — | - |