On Saturday afternoons in Raglan’s town centre, the melodies and grumbling of live music spill out from behind the shops along Wainui Road and Bow Street. At the end of Volcom Lane, The Yard Music Café hosts its weekly Deckside Sessions — a free jazz event led by local band The Sauce, along with an array of local guest musicians. For one of the performers, Leon Davey, this area means more than just a gig: this is where his life in music first began.
A founding and backbone member of the Deckside Sessions is drummer and musician Leonard “Leon” Davey. Davey is a well established musician within the Aotearoa (New Zealand) music industry, best known for his role as percussionist in internationally acclaimed all-Maori reggae band, Katchafire. Beyond percussion, he is also a singer, songwriter, and producer – though the drums have always been his main instrument. Davey shares that music has long been a central part of his life and much of the foundation for this is attributed to his time as a child living in Raglan.
“I was raised very religious,” Says Davey, “I wasn’t allowed any… toys. We didn’t have a TV… I always used to listen to the radio 24/7”.
Originally from Wellington, Davey’s family moved to Raglan in the mid 1980’s when he was 11, where they would live for the next four years. Though only a short time, he shares that they were some of the most formative and, “… best years of… [his] life”. Adding, “This is why I’ve come back”.
This time period in the mid-80’s also coincided with the musical renaissance in Raglan, as its live music scene was in its infancy but growing rapidly. Living right in the centre of town, in an apartment which used to stand on the site of Volcom Lane, he got his first taste for live music listening to the live acts echoing throughout town centre at nights from his very own home, playing at venues nearby. Davey recalls saying to himself, “That’s what I want to do”.
As he grew older, his father bought him his first drum kit which he quickly devoted his time into learning. Following high school, he was accepted into The New Zealand School of Music at Victoria University to study Jazz in Wellington. He studied here briefly before his partner fell pregnant, forcing him to look for lines of work to support the new baby. He ended up taking a job in China, touring Asia as a drummer at Hard Rock Cafes which he said paid well at the time. He did this job for three years before choosing to move back to New Zealand, picking up odd jobs as music fell out of the picture.
Having come close to giving up on his dreams of becoming a musician, personal life events along with the death of a close friend made Davey reassess giving music one last shot. Davey shares how it was still deeply important to him however, to balance maintaining a close relationship with his son, but that he decided “…this is what I’m going to do. I’m going to figure it out. Just give it all I got”.
He took up playing in live bands again, joining Hamilton-born group Native Sons. After a series of lineup changes, he eventually left this group to join Katchafire which he remains in to this day. Going on to international recognition, Davey has toured with Katchafire around Aotearoa as well as in Australia, the U.S., Brazil, the U.K., and many of the Pacific Islands.
Though the success was a welcome outcome, it entailed tiring touring schedules away from family and home. “When everything took off and we were touring all over the world, it was great. But then… I realized I was missing out on too much”.
As the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Davey had plans to leave Katchafire. However, the pandemic gave a welcome pause and a simultaneous opportunity to return to live again in Raglan. This is where he has remained since – happily, with family, and playing once again in the place where the passion which became his career began.
He now only tours a welcome three months out of the year with Katchafire, compared to the previous six to seven months, and spends the rest of the time primarily here in Raglan playing local gigs like the Deckside Sessions.
He says, “…jazz has been my first love. Jazz and hip hop…. So when you see me playing there, that’s actually my first love. And the fact that I get to do that now, you know, in my hometown…”
Davey plays as often as he can at the weekly gigs and other odd performances around town – filling the very streets that he used to live on, listening as a child through the windows of his home, now with music of his own.
by Erin Smith
