Q&A: The Red Pears Gear Up for Coachella and Reflect on Their Journey with New Album 'Better Late Than Never"
LOS ANGELES ROCKERS THE RED PEARS are celebrating a big moment. Their new album Better Late Than Never drops this Friday and they're returning to Coachella this weekend. The band is excited to share their matured sound, a result of their songwriting evolution and their new home studio. Fans can expect a special Coachella setlist with surprises and possibly different songs for each weekend.
We got to chat with the band and dive into the inspiration behind Better Late Than Never's themes of aging, life lessons, and relationships. The Red Pears' collaborative process is based on honesty, reflection, and vulnerability. They see the album as a celebration of their journey, expressing gratitude for their families, immigrant roots, and dedicated fans.
Looking ahead, The Red Pears are excited for Coachella, their upcoming show with Chicano Batman, and all the possibilities that lie ahead. Growth and exploration are their driving forces as they move forward with their music. Read below to learn more about the album, what to expect from their Coachella performance and more.
LUNA: Congrats on your upcoming performance at Coachella this year! How does it feel to be playing such a massive festival again, especially with your new album coming out right before the first weekend?
CORONA: Thank you! It’s very exciting to have the opportunity to be a part of something so grand again, and for it to coincidentally also line up with the upcoming release. We’re just really fortunate for all of these things that we’ve been able to be a part of. And for all of the things that are coming in the future.
JUAREZ: Thank you! We're definitely very grateful to be able to play at Coachella again. I think this time around we're a lot more confident. We've definitely progressed as a band since our first Coachella performance and it's really exciting to be releasing an album right before.
VARGAS: Excited! It’s the first time we release an album near a performance let alone playing some songs from the new album and I feel this time around we come with more experience and overall we are tighter than than the first time we played here. Tour definitely helped with that
LUNA: Do you have any special Coachella setlist surprises planned, or can fans expect to hear a lot of tracks from Better Late Than Never?
CORONA: It’s going to be our first show post-album release, so it feels a bit nerve-wracking you know? In a good way. We definitely want to play some of the new stuff, but we also want to have two different sets for the two weekends. That’s the aim. It’s fun to not do things over and over. Or do things unexpectedly. Surprises are cool.
JUAREZ: Don't wanna give too much away but I think the fans are in for a treat. Especially those catching our set both weekends.
VARGAS: I’d say there will definitely be a better production compared to what we had the first year. Fans can definitely expect to hear a few tracks from Better Late Than Never.
LUNA: Listeners can expect a shift in your sound towards a "matured direction." Can you elaborate on what kind of musical evolution you've experienced as a band since your early days?
CORONA: I think a lot of it has been a natural process. And not a forced one. Which is good. We’ve also come to learn that writing a song and recording a song are two very different things. Two completely different crafts. And I don’t think we knew the drastic importance. Because we never recorded in a “nice” studio or anything. You know? We rehearsed and wrote songs and talked about things and shared ideas, but we couldn't go and record that song in a proficient environment. Nor did we know anything about studio jargon and microphones and all of those things. We either didn’t know where to go, we couldn’t find the place or people to properly translate our songs and record them to our liking, or we couldn’t afford it. And now that we’ve been able to afford those things and have experience in those settings through time and get to know that world better, we have a better understanding on how to capture these songs we’ve been writing the way that we want to. And there’s still a ways to go. It also feels like these sounds have always kinda been there, but they are now reaching the surface, if that makes sense. So they might sound a bit different or there might be a change, but they’re still coming from that same place that they all have come from.
VARGAS: Well the band has definitely gone through changes as well as its members. So that helped a lot in the process of maturing. When we first started it was just two of us and we recorded everything as it was, no adding extra instruments whatsoever then slowly we began implementing different instruments into the music that we felt necessary for the songs during the recording process and that allowed us to expand and get friends that helped shaped what we’ve become.
LUNA: Building your own home studio sounds like a game-changer! How has having that creative space impacted the songwriting and recording process for Better Late Than Never?
CORONA: It’s been really great. And challenging. A big thank you to my parents who were nice enough to let us turn our garage into a studio essentially. And a big thank you to our producer Kelwin for giving us the blueprint on how to go about it. It’s been an investment. Financially and time-wise. And there is a learning curve in learning the room and learning about recording, that we’re still getting through. But It’s nice to have that luxury of just going in to record whatever and whenever. Not many musicians can say they can do that. It’s nice to not worry about a five-day limit or a budget or this and that. Like this timer that you have to record and make sure everything is how you want it. It gives us more room and freedom to experiment. And it just gives us time. Which is a very precious thing. We create and record on our own time.
VARGAS: The luxury of time is always something that we appreciate. To be able to create at our own pace instead of rushing it is something we really enjoy and having a friend like Kelwin who is knowledgeable in recording definitely made things easier on us.
LUNA: Looking back at your entire discography, are there any songs from your earlier releases that you're particularly excited to revisit and reimagine live now?
CORONA: I think so. Some songs. It’s also been great having our friend Albert help us pull things off live. So we can match what we do in the recordings.
VARGAS: Yeah there are definitely some songs that Jose and I talk about revisiting.
LUNA: "Didn't Realize" has been getting a lot of buzz. What's the story behind that song, and how did it come to be the lead single?
CORONA: I feel like that one just has a lot of energy to it. It’s actually a song that Henry and I had played with an older band in High School. And it just felt like the right time to bring it back, and apply these new things we’ve learned throughout the years. Just refining it and cleaning it up. But also allowing it to keep the essence of the time in which it was written. I think it was able to keep that energy and that spirit it’s always had. I’d say it’s definitely a better version than the one years before.
VARGAS: Couldn’t have said it better than Jose :)
LUNA: New music touches on themes of aging, life lessons, and navigating relationships. Can you share a bit about your collaborative songwriting process and how these themes emerged on the album?
CORONA: I feel like things just come from a place of honesty. And reflection and thought. Life as we know it. I don’t think we claim to be something we’re not or say some things that we don’t mean or don’t feel. There’s a lot of honest and blunt intention. And vulnerability. Which can be scary. But I don’t think we really know how else to create.
VARGAS: We try to wear our hearts on our sleeves when it comes to the lyrics. I feel like this is why Jose and I work well together since the beginning we’ve been having the same goals for the music and creating something that is timeless not just with sound but with the meaning.
LUNA: "Better Late Than Never" feels like a celebration of your journey as a band. Are there any specific moments or milestones from the past decade that you feel particularly grateful for?
CORONA: A lot. I’d say everything. From playing house shows and backyards and bars and parties to venues and festivals and theaters. It’s honestly crazy to look at how things started and then see how they are now. It’s a feeling I can’t really explain. Saying that I feel grateful and thankful isn’t enough. It’s so much more than that. To come from immigrant parents, to have the support of our families in this thing that no one is really quite sure how it works, to have the support of people that this honestly wouldn’t be possible without. And that’s something that doesn’t get said enough. People don’t owe us their time and their energy, but yet they’re there for us. Supporting us. That’s something that we’ll always be grateful for. And we just want to do our best for those people, for our families, and just give back ten fold of what’s been given to us. There’s still so much more to do.
LUNA: What intentions do you have for this spring season?
CORONA: Just keep going forward. It’s awesome to be able to be a part of Coachella again, and we also have a show at The Kia Forum in June that Chicano Batman was gracious enough to have us be a part of. We’re just very thankful for these opportunities. And we’re very excited about the things that are to come this Spring and beyond.
VARGAS: Yeah honestly to keep growing and moving forward. Excited to see what doors may open for us after ‘Better Late Than Never,’ Coachella, & The Kia Forum.
