Richie Mayer

Coming out of the trend-setting 1980 Chicago PowerPop / New Wave scene that included Pezband, Cheap Trick & Shoes, Richie’s group Loose Lips released their EP “Hung Up On Pop” with Grammy award-winning producer Michael Freeman. Loose Lips created its own scene for the next two years with an enthusiastic fan base, memorable shows, frequent radio play, and a number of cable and TV performances that included an AM Chicago Rate-A-Record appearance hosted by Dick Clark. Slipping into another musical skin, in 1986 Mayer formed the Dark Pop group PushPush and soon recorded the album “World On Fire.” A reaction to the music industry’s slide into big hair, loud clothes and tepid songwriting, Mayer plumbed the moodier side of pop while still penning catchy melodies graced with wry observations on the human condition. A new direction again presented itself in the early ’90’s when Mayer became a songwriter and producer for BMG Music Publishing in Toronto, Canada. In collaboration with BMG A&R head David Bendeth, the group Love And Sas won Juno Awards (Canadian Grammys) in 1991 and 1992 for R & B Song of the Year with Mayer and Bendeth’s songs and production. In early 2000 the creative muse beckoned again, this time luring Mayer in a different direction; architecture. Designing and building modern, ecologically sound homes became a passion and Mayer found that composing simple, flowing spaces was much like writing and arranging songs; “If you strip away artifice” Mayer offered, “the truth reveals itself.” A development deal with Epic Records led to a songwriting, production and publishing deal for Mayer with BMG Music in Toronto, Canada. Many songs, recordings and productions now brings us to 2021 and the release of his first solo album, The Inn of Temporary Happiness.