Passafire


Passafire is a reggae rock band based in Savannah, Georgia.

Biography

Passafire was created in 2003 by students attending Savannah College of Art and Design. Since then the band has been regularly touring, playing shows with bands such as 311, Pepper, Rebelution, Matisyahu, Michael Franti and The Wailers. They also toured with Slightly Stoopid at the end of December, 2013.
Passafire's third album, Everyone on Everynight, was released on the band Pepper's recording label, LAW Records. Their fourth album, Start From Scratch, produced by Paul Leary, debuted in the fall of 2011 and reached number one on the Billboard Top Reggae Albums chart. Start from Scratch marked the departure of original keyboardist Adam Willis from the band in 2010. It was the first album to feature Mike DeGuzman on the keys, who was discovered after playing with The Expendables in Chicago during the 2010 Winter Blackout Tour. Adam Willis left the band for personal reasons after the decision to not continue touring and parted ways with Passafire amicably.
In 2013, Easy Star Records signed Passafire and welcomed them to the Easy Star family.
Passafire's fifth album, Vines, debuted in the fall of 2013 at number one on the Billboard Top Reggae Albums chart. This came after working again with Paul Leary, who also worked alongside Sublime, Pepper, U2, Slightly Stoopid, and several other successful groups.
On May 12, 2017 the band released the album Longshot.

Musical Style

While earlier work mostly fits within the reggae-rock genre, the band's sound has taken on many forms since their self-titled release. Elements such as intricate lead guitar and unexpected instrumental breakdowns are reminiscent of progressive rock. This and other alternative influences are evident as early as their 2007 release, Submersible. In 2011, Start from Scratch explored more organic textures that touched on folk rock. The use of banjos, mandolins, acoustic guitar, and melodica were a temporary shift in sound that would influence later releases.

Discography

Band members

Current band members:
Former band members: