Who in their right mind is going to put live strings on a local record?

That’s the question Chris Fischer asked when producing Funkiphino’s latest album, “Rise Above”. Where does the money come from? What kind of recording studio can handle the influx of strings and band members?

There’s a two-part answer to Fischer’s original query: first of all, he admits “we’re not in our right mind,” and secondly, the band is unconventional.

“We’ve got kind of a different outlook on what it’s all about for us,” Fischer said. “Other bands have this idea of how it needs to be: they have to get a recording contract, they have to get signed so they can do what they want to do.”

Funkiphino’s found a way around all that by generating extra income from nontraditional gigs, allowing them to add significant extras during the album’s production.

“Private events pay the bills,” he said. “And the thing is, we don’t mind it.”

Maybe that’s because Funkiphino had the funds to truck a few members out to Skywalker Studios in Marin, Calif. to record the string section of their acid-jazz/funk release with members of the San Francisco Symphony and Opera. Wedding gigs don’t seem that bad when you have the option to completely scrap the horn section after being unsatisfied with the sound on the final mix.

“The room it was recorded in had a weird reverb in it,” Fischer said. “Nine out of 10 people wouldn’t know the difference, but we were like, ‘no, no, no.’”

Pretty picky — but a focus on Steely Dan-like production perfection is also what makes “Rise Above”, the band’s second release, sing with quality.

Funkiphino pushes the boundaries of live gig-playing, too.

“I think we’re one of the busiest bands in the state,” Fischer said, adding that because of the intense private-gig and traditional show schedule, the band was able to say “We’re going to do this album without any compromises.”

The band’s electrifying passion extended into the attitude Jessica, Fischer’s wife and also a member of Funkiphino’s horn section, took during her pregnancy. She played at all of the band’s shows until she delivered their daughter, Madeline. Now the baby has a good start on a rhythm of her own.

“Madeline is amazing actually,” Fischer said, perhaps leading into a rote proud-father moment in the next breath. But really, she is: “For the last six months she has rhythm already, and if VH1 comes on she starts rocking out and watching,” proud papa Fischer said.

When Madeline is older, “no one will be able to say that white girl doesn’t have rhythm,” Fisher said.

The same goes for Funkiphino, who looked to their inspirations when they made “Rise Above.” Fischer admits that their sound is not what the record companies are generally looking for — it brings listeners into a world of big horns and big bass — but the band’s influences are undeniable.

“We wouldn’t have our horn section be what is was like if it wasn’t for Tower of Power,” Fischer said. “When I did the bass line I was thinking, ‘How would Rocco do it, how would Rocc o do it? And then we said, ‘how cool would it be to get the people who are actually the originals on this thing?’”

After a few phone calls and schedule arrangements, Tower of Power member Francis “Rocco” Prestia played bass on “Rise Above.”

Tower of Power’s Stephen “Doc” Kupka, Hazel Miller and even Neil McIntyre (contributing a rap section) from “Yo Flaco” join in on the album’s tracks.

“It was a really fun record to make,” Fischer said. “We’re not just doing our originals, but doing the covers the way they were supposed to be.”