Biography
Formed by vocalist Lisa Matthews and guitarist Mikel Gehl in Baltimore during 1994, Love Riot came to embody the polished, melodic pop that dominated 1990s mix-format airwaves. The pair had already collaborated in multiple groups spanning a decade or more. Persistent television placements and steady live work brought them tantalizingly close to a breakthrough in that style, rendering their decision to enter an open-ended hiatus in 1999 especially disappointing.
Maybe She Will appeared in 1996 via the modest California imprint Squirrel Boy Records. Its deft fusion of airy acoustic textures with unapologetically commercial songcraft earned solid regional notice among more exploratory adult-contemporary audiences.
The following year the band issued the EP Killing Time, timed to leverage their appearances on Providence and the Baltimore-filmed series Homicide: Life on the Street. In one episode they performed the title track as subway musicians, which briefly lifted their profile nationwide. Those royalty checks underwrote the self-financed album Heaven Can Wait, issued at the start of 1999. Later that year Matthews learned she was expecting her first child. After several months of drawing healthy crowds to smoke-free venues, the group disbanded.
Maybe She Will appeared in 1996 via the modest California imprint Squirrel Boy Records. Its deft fusion of airy acoustic textures with unapologetically commercial songcraft earned solid regional notice among more exploratory adult-contemporary audiences.
The following year the band issued the EP Killing Time, timed to leverage their appearances on Providence and the Baltimore-filmed series Homicide: Life on the Street. In one episode they performed the title track as subway musicians, which briefly lifted their profile nationwide. Those royalty checks underwrote the self-financed album Heaven Can Wait, issued at the start of 1999. Later that year Matthews learned she was expecting her first child. After several months of drawing healthy crowds to smoke-free venues, the group disbanded.