Album explores love, loss and memories of the past
Hurray for the Riff Raff is the brainchild of singer and songwriter Alynda Segarra and on the new album called The Past is Still Alive, love, loss and memories of the past play greatly into the stories Segarra tells in the record’s songs. The album was recorded just a month after the passing of Segara’s father, an event that looms large in the lead single from the album, “Alibi,” which Segara describes as “a plea, a last ditch effort to get through to someone you already know you’re gonna lose.” Segara’s father, as well as characters both real and fictional, are weaved into the stories they tell over the course of this compelling album. It receives the Ear Bliss look-see this week along with the full-length debut album from Chicago-based indie rockers Friko. Formed in 2019, the album Where we’ve been, Where we go from here
is a high energy affair that follows in the grand tradition of forward-thinking indie rock bands from the Windy City. Let’s take a look.
Hurray for the Riff Raff The Past is Still Alive Nonesuch Records Dealing with the loss of a family member, in this case a father, can stir up many emotions and take the mind, not to mention the muse, in many directions. Such was the case for Hurray for the Riff Raff (aka Alynda Segarra, they/ them). Love, loss and memories of the past are dominant in the songs comprising Hurray For the Riff Raff’s new album called The Past is Still Alive. It a collection of songs by Segara that are as much about healing as reflecting on their journey so far. The story of Segarra has been much chronicled There was growing up in the Bronx and developing a love for punk rock and poetry. There was the rebellious teen who left home and set out on a hitchhiking and freight train-hopping cross-country journey that initially took them to California before eventually landing in New Orleans where they learned to first play the washboard and then the banjo and eventually formed Hurray for the Riff Raff, a collective of musicians who got its start busking on the streets of the city. It was a group whose sound drew from various roots music styles to deliver a folky blend with Segarra’s soulful voice and vivid tales driving the songs taking the group from relative unknowns to selling out halls across the country. It has been quite a ride and on the new The Past is Still Alive, Segara takes stock in that journey. Set to a rootsy musical backdrop, Segara’s songs draw inspiration from many sources from their father’s passing (the heartfelt lead single “Alibi”) to the radical poetry, railroad culture, outsider art, and writers that have fueled their muse, to the many characters met along the way.
The Past is Still Alive brings it altogether with the end result a compelling patchwork of sounds and storytelling. Recommended. (Check out songs from at https://hftrr. bandcamp.com/album/thepast-is-still-alive or other streaming platforms.)
Hurray for the Riff Raff performs at The Sinclair in Cambridge on March 6.
Friko
Where we’ve been, Where we go from here ATO Records
Chicago-based band Friko is the twosome of vocalist/ guitarist Niko Kapetan and drummer Bailey Minzenberger. Formed in 2019 as the threesome of Kapetan, Minzenberger, and former band member and founder Luke Stamos who all came together as high schoolers outside of Chicago, the group gained its initial attention in 2022 with the debut EP
Whenever Forever. It made enough waves to help garner a spot at the high-profile and coveted Bonnaroo music festival the following spring and eventually signing with revered indie label ATO Records. It all now leads to the band’s newly released fulllength debut for ATO with the album Where we’ve been,
Where we go from here. The album, in many moments, can come at you like a hurricane with exhilarating blasts of intensity, but then step back to breath it all in. Case in point the song “Crashing Through” as a perfect example of the explosiveness and ferocity of the band when it cranks into gear. Then there’s the leadoff cut to the album, “Where We’ve Been,” which begins quietly and soulful featuring only Kapetan singing and strumming guitar and then gradually builds to a grandiose piece of rock balladry before its simmering close. It is an ebb and flow in sonics, not to mention emotional potency, that Friko works to perfection throughout the nine tracks comprising Where we’ve been,
Where we go from here. It makes for an impressive debut album. (Check out songs from Friko’s debut album at https://friko.bandcamp.com/ album/where-weve-beenwhere-we-go-from-here.)
LIVE SHOTS:
Boy did February fly by! March is upon us and the live music scene is bustling. Here’s our weekly recap of happenings worth checking out. Beginning in South County, The Ocean Mist in Matunuck, it’s the funkified sounds of Guess Method on Saturday night with Lazy Bird opening. Sunday Funday at The Mist features The North County Band starting at 4 pm. Don’t forget that every Thursday at The Mist is house band The Ocean Mistics and friends from 6-9
pm. Courthouse Center for the Arts in West Kingston presents Iron Maiden tribute Number of the Beast on Friday night. Pink Floyd tribute Floydian Trip comes to the Courthouse on Saturday evening. Coming up on March 8 is Rolling Stones tribute Nasty Habits and on March 9 it’ll be tribute band
Foreign Journey playing the music of you know who. The
Greenwich Odeum in East
Greenwich presents Jimmy Kenny and The Pirate Beach Band delivering the ultimate beach party tribute to Jimmy Buffett, Kenny Chesney and The Zac Brown Band on Friday night. The music of Johnny Cash will be in the theatre when the Odeum presents The Man in Black – A Tribute to Johnny Cash on Saturday night.
Singer and songwriter David Nail is at the Odeum on March 8 and Grammy-nominated songwriter and piano sensation Jim Brickman appears March 9. In Jamestown at the Narragansett Café, it’s Brass Force on Friday evening. The Smokin’ Toads are in the house on Saturday night and the Earl Knightwood Band closes the weekend with an afternoon show on Sunday at 4 pm. Pump House Music Works (164 Kingstown Road) in Peace
Dale presents Becky Chace and her band on Saturday night. Joe Parillo and Dan Moretti team up to close the weekend on Sunday evening at 6 pm. Monday nights at the Pump House are the Uke jam and Tuesday evening is the weekly Old-time jam.
Wednesdays are an acoustic lounge and open mic hosted by Matt Fraza. The Wood River Inn in Wyoming features Jake Hunsinger on Friday night. Knickerbocker Music Center in Westerly
(35 Railroad Ave) hosts the Duke Robillard Band on Friday night. Mystic Dead play the music of the Grateful Dead at The Knick on Saturday night. and Kyle Rathburn plays a free show in the tap room on Sunday evening at 7. Lucas Neil plays a free show in the tap room next Thursday night. In the northern reaches of the state, Chan’s Restaurant in Woonsocket presents Neil & The Vipers on Friday evening. Jazz vocalist Shawnn Montiero performs on Saturday night. Next up at the Stadium Theatre in Woonsocket is Michael Jackson tribute Who’s Bad on March 8. In Cumberland, The Blackstone River Theatre presents legendary Irish folk singer Karan Casey with Niamh Dunne and Sean Óg Graham on Sunday afternoon at 3 pm. Music from Scotland with Daimh (pronounced Dive) happens on March 9. Multi award-winning trio Socks in the Frying Pan from County Clare in Ireland brings its traditional sounds to the Blackstone on Sunday evening, March 10, at 7 pm. The Met Café in Pawtucket presents Rolling Stones tribute Nasty Habits on Friday night. Playing Dead is at The Met on March 9. Askew on Chesnutt Street in Providence presents what should be a terrific evening of singer/songwriter fare on Friday night featuring Pieta Brown and Jeffrey Foucault with special guests The Glass Hours. Blues rock band Left Lane Cruiser headlines a Sunday evening show that also includes
Nate Bergman, Adam Faucett, and Hambone Skinny. Every Monday at Askew is
Meatball Mondays & Open Mic with Adam Newell at Askew. Indigo Girls come to Providence on March 23 for a show at PPAC. Coming up at the Columbus Theatre in Providence on March 17 is Haley Heynderickx and The Westerlies with Tim Baker. Silversun Pickups brings its pop-rock sounds to The Strand in Providence on March 10. In the East Bay in Newport, mark those calendars for March 23 when Raul Malo of The Mavericks fame comes to the Jane Pickens Film & Event Center. Finally, Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River presents the Bill Frisell Three featuring Gregory Tardy & Rudy Royston are at the Narrows on Saturday evening. Jim Messina is there on March 8.
Dan Ferguson is a freelance music writer and host of The Boudin Barndance, broadcasting Thursday evenings from 6 – 9 pm on WRIU-FM 90.3 and streaming at WRIU on all major platforms.