Interviews About Albums: RED TEMPLE PRAY - Can It Get Any Worse? (2023)

In this new interview, we sat down with the American Hard Rock/Alternative Rock band RED TEMPLE PRAY to ask questions about their album "Can It Get Any Worse?". 

1. What can you say about this new EP/CD?

This is our debut full-length, which we are proud as hell of with how it turned out. We recorded and dropped an EP just last year and immediately started writing toward a full record. I feel like this is a perfect evolution of where we are going as a band. It doesn’t stray too far from the sound of our debut EP but you can definitely tell we found our footing on this record.

2. What is the meaning of the EP/CD name?

The name of the record is “Can It Get Any Worse?”, which pretty much just is what it is, like, can things really get much worse? It’s kind of a playful title for such a dark time in the world right now. That was definitely intentional.

3. Which one is the composer of the CD/EP?

We all are. We write as a band the old-school way. Sitting in our sweaty or freezing storage unit (depending on the season) and for the most part we hash the songs out as a team. Nicky will have some basic guitar and section ideas that he will demo, and send out to everyone, but we meet up at practice to hammer it out as a full band. The only thing that is more of a one-person job is the lyrics, but other than that we jam and write the songs together. It just has more of an organic feel which I think is super important for a melodic, emotional rock band like us. It just feels more human that way.

4. If you had to pick one song, which one would you pick?

I truly do love every single song on this record and I’m super proud of what we did but if I had to pick one it would probably be "Overview Effect." The lyrics, the vibe, and the emotion in it kind of set the tone where I’d go lyrically on the whole record.

5. Is there a special message in this EP/CD? If there is what it is?

It’s all about the death of nostalgia. The death of youth. Letting go.

6. Are there some lyrics that you'd love to share?

One of my favorite lyrical sections from the record is from the track “Where The Water Sheds”

Which is,

“A pack of dogs bark down where the water sheds, blood flows from a chicken coop, mercy was not fed. Feathers on the floor and scattered bones, I could have broke their roam but I just laid there instead”

I wrote the song about knowing things are going wrong, or like, bad things happening within arms reach but you’re too depressed yourself so you do nothing but just let it happen. It was a feeling I had many times while laying in bed, hungover, and just depressed. Why get up? Why care? Why do anything at all?

7. Which inspirations have been important for this album? Like musically or friends, family, someone you'd love to thank especially?

As cliche as it sounds, my main inspiration for this record was life in general. I’m 37 and the rest of the guys are in their thirties as well(except for Jordan, he’s a baby) and the songs reflect that, both sonically and lyrically. It’s all about leaving things behind, moving on, starting over, the end of something. I feel like I’m standing around watching the world end, watching everything change and end but somehow through everything falling apart I’m still able to love and be in love. It’s a lot easier for me to give love than to accept love so a lot of the self-deprecating feelings shine through on the record. Romanticizing the trauma I suppose haha

8. Something to add?

A lot of heavy emotions and a lot of effort went into making exactly what we thought this specific record needed. Big shoutout to Andy Nelson of Bricktop Recordings in Chicago for taking this on. You brought out the best of us in the studio and it shows. We could not have done it without you.

We poured a lot of ourselves into “Can It Get Any Worse?” we hope you can find a little bit of yourself in it too.