Stephen "Doc" Kupka Interview
The Making of "Bumped Up to First Class"
July 25, 2007
With the imminent release of Doc's latest Strokeland Superband project, "Bumped Up to First Class", we convinced the Funky Doctor to give us a few thoughts about his experiences making this great new CD.
Doc, what was the vision or concept for "Bumped Up to First Class"? Did you set out to take this project in a particular musical direction?
The concept was to do a CD in the classic R&B style with great original material done by the best players available. I like the freedom of being able to use Tower of Power greats from the past to play on my Strokeland projects.
You and Jeff Tamelier co-produced "Bumped Up to First Class". You've worked together for a long time now. How did you divide production responsibilities for this latest release?
Jeff was the line producer on this project. He laid down most of the tracks when I wasn’t even there. I was very involved in the writing of the songs and the tune selection and, of course, the horn section tracks. For the rest of it, I just added quality control.
You and Jeff seem to work really well together. As co-producers, do you typically see eye-to-eye on decisions?
Very much so. We rarely get in each other’s way. There is an occasional sticking point, but unless it’s really important to me, I ordinarily trust Jeff’s judgment.
Edgar Winter sings lead vocals on two tracks. Had you ever had the opportunity to work with Edgar before?
Edgar and I play together in Scott Page’s band, “The Hang Dynasty”, so I had many opportunities to see what an awesome talent Edgar is. We are very grateful that he was able to participate in this project. I became aware of the talent of Lee Sklar who plays bass on all of “Doc Goes Hollywood” from playing with this same group. [Scott Page was the saxophone player for Pink Floyd for many years. – Ed]
Of course, you have a longstanding relationship with Huey Lewis. It's great to hear Huey back working with the Strokeland Superband on this release. Do you still have the opportunity to write music together often?
Huey and I constantly have songs in various stages of completion. Since he has moved to Montana and we’re both on the road so much, it’s difficult to get together, but we stay in touch and write whenever we get the opportunity. Huey is my favorite person in show business.
A longtime Bay Area (and nationwide) favorite, Lydia Pense, from Cold Blood, sings on two tracks on "Bumped Up to First Class". This is a musical pairing that a lot of people have wished for for years. How did it come about for this project?
I’ve wanted to do something with Lydia for a long time. She’s a great singer and is even more popular than she realizes, and has been so for years. Tower of Power and Cold Blood played a show together at the Fillmore Auditorium last year and she was interested in the idea and that’s how it happened. I hope that we get many more opportunities to record together.
John Lee Sanders has such a great voice and folks will get to hear some incredible vocal work from John Lee on your upcoming release, "Doc Goes Hollywood". How did you two start working together?
John Lee and Jeff Tamelier used to play together with Mickey Thomas, so I met John Lee through Jeff. When he sang “Bittersweet with a Ray of Hope” and “Kick It Up a Step” from the CD of the same name on Strokeland Records, I knew we’d be doing lots of work together. An added benefit that I did not know about was his ability to write and sing background parts. He arranged and sang all the background vocals on “Doc Goes Hollywood” and totally blew me away.
Longtime Strokeland favorite Fred Ross sings the funky title track. Did you ever work with Fred before the Strokeland recording projects?
Fred was a protégé of the CEO of Soul, Andy Ebon. Even so, he’s a very fine singer, but I had not worked with him until we did the “Law According to Fred Ross”..
Former Santana lead vocalist Alex Ligertwood makes his Strokeland debut on this project with a soulful rendition of the beautiful ballad, "All of the Above". Had you worked with Alex before this project?
No, Jeff Tamelier and Alex Ligertwood go way back, but I had not worked with him before this project, although I had seen him when he was singing with Santana.
I know you were very close to the late Frank Biner, who passed away unexpectedly in 2001. Was "Public Truth and Private Lie" completed before his death?
“Public Truth and Private Lie” was the last thing that Frank ever recorded. At the time, it was meant to be a dub version of the song, however, with his passing, we chose to change the parts around the vocal and make it a final tribute to his talent. Frank was an extremely talented singer and songwriter and a very good friend. I miss him dearly.
The cast of musicians on this release is first-rate. A number of Tower of Power alumni that fans haven't heard on a Strokeland Superband release before are here, including Ron E Beck and Mick Mestek, along with David Garibaldi, Rocco Prestia, Chester Thompson, Mike Finnigan, Jeff Tamelier, and many more. It must be very gratifying to be able to assemble such a stellar group of players.
It was gratifying to me that both Ron E Beck and Mick Mestek are back in the mix. Both of them played very well with Tower of Power. I like the fact that I can use Tower greats from the past and that they’re willing to work on Strokeland projects. Lenny Pickett is my favorite sax player of all time and I plan to use him on any project for which he is available in the future.
Now that "Bumped Up to First Class" is finally complete and about to be released, what are your thoughts on the project? Did it meet your expectations?
It more than met my expectations. It’s a fabulous R&B record. One of the side benefits of the project was working with Johnny Lee Schell. He’s a fabulous talent and I plan to do as many projects with him as possible. My thoughts concerning this project are that I hope that everybody and anybody that would like this project gets to hear it.
Without corporate support in this day and age, it’s difficult to get the word out, so tell your friends!
"Bumped Up to First Class" is now available for pre-order, shipping on or around August 1. Reserve your copy today!