Hurray for The Riff Raff

1/3/2018

Hurray for the Riff Raff is an American folk-blues and Americana band from New Orleans, Louisiana. Alynda Lee Segarra is Hurray for the Riff Raff's creative force, as she writes and sings all of the band's songs. hurrayfortheriffraff.com

Alynda Segarra was raised by her aunt Nereida in the Bronx where she developed an early appreciation for doo-wop and Motown. She is of Puerto Rican descent. Her mother is former New York City Deputy Mayor Ninfa Segarra.

Alynda ran away from her home in the Bronx, aged 17 and then spent time crossing North America, hopping freight trains. During this time, she became a part of The Dead Man Street Orchestra, who were documented in a photo essay by Time Magazine in 2007. Segarra became a regular attendee of hardcore punk shows at ABC No Rio when she was young.

After two self-released albums (2008s It Don't Mean I Don't Love You and 2010s Young Blood Blues), the band released a self-titled CD composed of Alynda's favorite songs from those records on Loose Music in Europe on March 21, 2011. Tracks from the band's debut release have received airplay on BBC Radio 2 and BBC 6 Music.

In February 2011, the band were featured in an article in The Times, based around the HBO TV series, Treme, with their track "Daniella" being listed in their selection of New Orleans' essential songs.

“When you sing about killing women,” she (Segarra) says and, as in her songs, her measured tone only increases the power of her words, “I’m thinking about you killing me, and I’m thinking about you killing my friends. And I’m thinking about you killing the girl that I knew who is dead now. Y’know?” Read more at: UncutUK