When Public Property started recording "Work to Do," the Iowa City reggae band's first album in four years, frontman Dave Bess thought it would be fun to assemble a list of dream collaborators.
The musicians on the list were long shots, but surprisingly, they said yes. The news got even better when reggae legend Toots Hibbert, who recorded the title track for "Work to Do" with Public Property, agreed to play at the band's CD release show at People's Court Thursday, then invited the Iowa band on the road with his band the Maytals.
Here's some info on how the all-star reggae lineup on "Work to Do" came about:
Toots Hibbert: A contemporary of Bob Marley, Hibbert and his band The Maytals are believed to have coined the term "reggae," and have had hits with songs like "Monkey Man," "54-46 Was My Number" and "Pressure Drop." Bess sent a few songs to Hibbert's manager and was surprised to hear back that he was willing to record. Bess flew down to Kingston, Jamaica in January to record the song.
"I think it was kind of different, you know, different to me," Hibbert said in an interview from Jamaica. "I think that it had a good sound."
Elliot Martin: Public Property got the singer of John Brown's Body to write and record vocals for "Fight for Your Life" at his home studio in New York.
Jake Shimabukuro: Bess grew up in Oahu, Hawaii and dreamed of working with ukulele player Shimabukuro for years. "This guy is a monster, he's been called the Jimi Hendrix of the ukulele," Bess said. After seeing him play in Davenport, Bess slipped Shimabukuro a CD. While Shimabukuro was touring in California, Bess flew out and recorded a ukulele solo for the song "Coming Down the Mountain" in a hotel conference room.
Ticklah: Ticklah works dub, a version of reggae that reworks existing songs. He's done "Dub Star of the Moon" (A reworking of the Pink Floyd album) and "Radiodread," his take on Radiohead's "OK Computer." "We had talked about doing something together before, but he was always too busy," Bess said. "This album took so long that finally he had time." He mixed up "Stank Sauce Dub" for the band.
The recording process: Public Property started recording "Work to Do" two years ago. After years of working in the same studio, they decided to switch things up in attempt to capture a "live" sound. Bess's parents have an old logging lodge in northern Wisconsin where the band could use the dining room to record. They recorded six songs and were so happy with the results they went back for another round.
During the second recording session they didn't have any songs written in advance. They started working out beats and rhythms, but no lyrics. After the instrumentals were done, Bess had to figure out the words.
"That's part of why it took so long to finish," Bess said. "I spent a lot of time figuring out what fit perfectly. I didn't want to go back and change something that sounded really good."
What's next: July is a busy month for Public Property. Friday, the band performs at the 80/35 Music Festival, then it's off to Camp Euforia, put on by another "Work to Do" collaborator, Euforquestra. Toward the end of the month they have a spot at the 10,000 Lakes Festival. Closing out July are two dates with the late Bob Marley's group, The Wailers, before more dates with Toots & The Maytals.
"I'm glad we waited a long time; the end result was all these guest stars," Bess said. "Being patient and not rushing was the key to making sure we got what we wanted."
