
I Lived Life When Life Was Real
Alberto Kupper is a musician, bass player and vocal coach from São Paulo, Brazil. He arrived in Ireland in September 2005 with a bass in one hand and a suitcase in the other, moved to Kilkenny on Christmas Day, and has built a life in music here for over 20 years. In this episode of Built in Kilkenny, Alberto tells the story of begging his father for a year for his first bass, an amplifier made from a car speaker in a wooden box, teaching himself entirely by ear, and the three years spent driving a top vocal coach to and from the airport — three years that accidentally transformed his voice and his life. We get into what a vocal coach actually does, why he says most of the vocal coaching market is a scam, coaching Stevie Mulrooney (last week's guest), and what a man who's spent 40 years on his craft makes of AI writing songs. He finishes on the bass, obviously. Looking for vocal coaching, or bass or guitar lessons in Kilkenny? Get in touch through the channel and I'll pass you on to Alberto. — Chapters — 0:00 Intro 0:31 Christmas Day 2005: arriving in Kilkenny 1:13 A musician since 1996, never a "proper job" 3:27 Growing up in São Paulo 5:15 Why bass: "the bass picks you" 6:05 The Iron Maiden intro that started everything 7:47 Begging his father for a year 9:47 A car speaker for an amplifier 10:30 Waking up at night to check the bass was there 11:24 Teaching himself entirely by ear 12:55 Ten years to get out of the bedroom 16:18 How the singing started 17:53 The vocal coach of the soap stars 20:10 Three years as the driver 22:49 The technique that changed his voice without him knowing 24:18 The band where nobody could sing 26:28 Antisocial, and fine with it 28:09 Thin Lizzy on illegal cable TV 31:25 A wedding in Belgium and a one-way detour 32:54 Disappointed by Dublin 34:12 Moving to Kilkenny, working immediately 36:21 Building the coaching by word of mouth 37:00 What a vocal coach actually does 39:45 The diaphragm, explained 41:22 The busker and the certificate 43:36 When talent doesn't match ambition 46:13 How often does a kid like Stevie come around? 47:47 Keeping the demons away from Stevie's voice 49:23 What Stevie has to watch out for 51:49 AI and music: "I lived life when life was real" 55:43 Social media, or the lack of it 57:15 One last piece of advice 58:44 Alberto plays us out — Built in Kilkenny — New episodes weekly. Subscribe so you don't miss one. Charlie Cook Live, Kilkenny, Ireland #kilkenny #ireland #music — Follow the journey: charliecooklive.com TikTok: @charliecooklive Instagram: @charliecooklive #BuiltInKilkenny #Kilkenny #IrishBusiness #Podcast







