Dave Bess is living the dream. The Hawai'i-born 'Iolani '99 grad rents a house with six bandmates so they can save money for their cross-country tours. They spend summers playing at music festivals, travel together in a van, write most of their own music and enjoy the oddball notoriety of being an all-white reggae band from Iowa.

From where?!

Well, maybe that part is getting a little old.

"After three albums, 3 years and hundreds of gigs, the group no longer need defend itself from skeptics or critics who believe reggae is one color and comes from one place," Public Property declares on its Web site.

"Most of that comes from critics outside the Midwest," Bess explained. "Some people think we're a gimmick or something."

Bess graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in Italian language. He started Public Property in 2003 in his senior year. The rest of the band members are from Iowa, but singer Mareva Minerbi, Bess's girlfriend, is also from Hawai'i. She graduated from Mid-Pacific Institute in 1999, though she and Bess didn't know each other in high school.

Bess played electric bass in the 'Iolani jazz band and orchestra. He later learned the 'ukulele, which helps give Public Property its unique sound. They play covers sometimes, but have released three albums of original music. Bess says they're trying to spread their own message, not other people's songs.

"There's also a whole range of things that reggae can represent, from love songs to speaking out about cultural issues and political issues," Bess said. "Reggae music has been a great inspirer and critic in the music scene."

There are a number of well-known Besses in Hawai'i, and Dave is related to most of them. He's not, however, related to UH receiver Davone Bess. His father is Benjamin "Buddy" Bess of Bess Press; mother is Ann Rayson, a UH English professor; and brother Daniel Bess is an actor known for roles on Fox's "24" and Steven Spielberg's "Munich."

Public Property is on the road so much that none of the members can hold regular jobs. To consolidate expenses and maximize efforts, they all rent a house together and travel in a 15-passenger van with a trailer behind hauling their equipment. Nights spent on the road are catch-as-catch-can.

"A lot of times if we don't have hotels, we try to work the crowd and find a place to stay," Bess said. "There's a lot of sleeping over at new people's places."

Public Property will be doing a series of performances in Hawai'i in February, the highlight of which will be participating in "Bob Fest," a musical tribute to Bob Marley. Their busy Hawai'i schedule is still shaping up and will be posted on their Web site soon. To hear some samples of their music, go to www.publicprop.com.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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