Katchafire returns to Saipan after 10 years

Resident Katchafire percussionist Leon Davey hypes up the crowd attending their concert last Saturday at the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan beachfront. (Erwin Encinares)

The moonlight, beachfront, chilly air, and Katchafire made for a perfect Saturday night as the reggae band performed on Saipan 10 years after their last visit to the island.

The 8-piece band, led by lead singer and guitarist Logan Bell, was last on Saipan in early 2007. The band features multiple percussion sets, horn sets, and the standard lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass guitar and keyboards for live performances.

This year, Katchafire held a concert last Jan. 14 that was attended by about a hundred attendees.

“It’s taken us 10 years to get back here, but [Saipan] has always been one of those places that we’ve always wanted to return to. We don’t always get the opportunity [to come to Saipan] so every time we do we are blessed,” said Bell.

Katchafire hails from Hamilton, New Zealand. Formed in 2000 as a Bob Marley tribute band, Katchafire released the highest selling New Zealand single for 2002, Giddy Up, in their first album, Revival.

Bell’s favorite part of the concert was the beach venue.

“Just turning up at this venue [was my favorite part of the concert]. We had a pretty early flight this morning, so we didn’t see the venue and we didn’t do a sound check; we let our sound guy set up without us. It was exciting for us to come her and be right on the beach. We really like this amazing venue; we like turning up and having a surprise on Saipan waiting for us,” said Bell.

Bell said the genre associated with Katchafire is unclear even to him. Bell does recognize however, the elements of root reggae that is present in the bands’ songs.

“People have kind of [categorized] us as a boy-band as well, maybe because we are all guys, but I think we are just roots music. We have reggae, but with a twist; we have a bit of pop and commercial appeal. I don’t really know how to [categorize] ourselves as a band,” said Bell, chuckling.

Katchafire’s front man said the band writes their songs collectively, but for songs that Bell has written on his own, inspiration is taken from everything.

“I draw inspiration from everywhere, tonight’s crowd, my kids, the beautiful scenery I woke up to this morning, basically it comes from everywhere—you got to take it where you can get it,” said Bell.

Concertgoer Ged Mariur and her friend said, “The concert was awesome.”

“My only disappointment was a song they failed to play. It’s titled Feels Like, but it’s okay,” the friend said, refusing to be named.

Mariur and her friend confirmed that they would definitely be attending if there is another Katchafire concert.

Katchafire dropped by Trench Fest 2017 in Guam before performing here on Saipan. The band is going to be performing in Arizona on March 17 later this year.