Alynda Segarra, aka Hurray For the Riff Raff, dropped out of high school at age 17 and left their home in the Bronx on a freight train. They spent years as a runaway who saw the brightest and darkest corners of the country. Eventually, Segarra settled in New Orleans and focused on music, putting out critically acclaimed albums. The newest one is The Past is Still Alive, an autobiographical reflection on their life spent traveling. Hurray for The Riff Raff is also playing at the Belasco Theater on April 5.
Segarra describes the album as a look back on the places, people, and moments they’ve experienced: “Just trying to figure out what I take with me and what I leave behind, and just how to honor it all.”
Living in the Bronx, Segarra was drawn to beat poets, American folk music from artists like Woody Guthrie, and the punk scene. They had a fascination with visiting the smallest town in the country and its wide open spaces.
“I also had this understanding that I wasn't built to live that type of hustling New York City life that I was born into. I was doing really terrible in school. I knew I had something to offer, but I didn't know what it was.”
Through the punk scene, Segarra says they met lots of kids who were traveling and living on the road. That type of life felt like their destiny. “There was something that just called to me about it. And I was also really searching for community because I felt very much like I didn't belong, so that's where I found like-minded people and created my own family.”
The song “Alibi” was written for people struggling with addiction, including those who’ve died from it, Segarra says.
“[I was] just trying to write a song that could be a soothing balm, but also that still recognizes the complexities of being the person on the outside of the struggle who wants to help and doesn't know how,” they add.
The song “Snake Plant (The Past Is Still Alive)” serves as a memoir, Segarra says. It’s the first song they wrote on the album.
“I was called to write these lyrics because I suddenly realized that I hadn't heard anything talking about this issue: a lot of different substances … and people are battling with addiction. And we're losing people in huge numbers. And we have this life-saving medicine that I think should be free and available everywhere, which is Narcan. It reverses overdose. So in the spirit of the folk music that I first fell in love with, I wanted to write these lyrics because this is what's actually happening.”
They add, “This is the reality. And the beauty of song is you can spread information, you can make people feel not alone. And you can also create a time capsule for people in the future to know what we’re dealing with now.”
Today, Segarra’s raising awareness around substance use and putting their lyrics into action in another way. Narcan is available for free at all their shows.
The song was inspired by Segarra moving to New Orleans, where they learned from residents and community leaders who were discussing addiction, especially after the COVID shutdowns.
“[For] so many people that are struggling with addiction, lockdown was such a hard time for them. So I really believe in just being grownups and being like, ‘Yeah, this is what's happening.’ We could try to pretend that people don't have issues with drug use, but the reality is, some really incredible people do and I want to see them alive.”
Segarra started playing music when they arrived in New Orleans, picking up odd jobs and asking for money on the street to make ends meet. Eventually, they formed a street band, through which they found lots of support from other artists.
“I think it was really important for me to start this band in New Orleans because in that city, music is used for when you're grieving. It's useful when you're celebrating. It's such a public act. It's not just about making a career, it's about a community act.”
The song “Ogallala,” which is the name of a town in Nebraska, is about embracing life in the present.
“The more we are faced with really big challenges as a country and big challenges as a planet, the more I feel really grounded. … Whether I'm happy or not, I am here. So I want to use this time intentionally. And instead of thinking about and romanticizing these past periods that were also incredibly difficult for their own reasons, I want to be present in the moment. And I want to also appreciate all the incredible artists that are coming out right now.”