Love Riot

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore-based Love Riot was formed in 1994 by singer Lisa Matthews and guitarist Mikel Gehl, It was a popular original alt-rock band in the 90's. The group won a worldwide contest sponsored by Yamaha, traveling to Japan and winning grand prize in 1994. They took the prize money and recorded a cassette-only release called Muscle, produced by Eric Ambel. The group went on to sign with the indie label Squirrel Boy Records, and released two critically acclaimed recordings: Maybe She Will (1996) and a 4-song EP Killing Time (1997). The group left the label and released the CD Heaven Can Wait (1998). Love Riot songs appeared in TV shows and soaps and a couple movies, and they appeared as themselves busking in "The Subway" episode of NBC's Homicide - Life On the Street. In 2000, Lisa Mathews had a baby and decided to put Love Riot on the shelf, wanting to create music for the little one taking all her attention Mikel Gehl and his wife had a son a year after, and the two founded Milkshake, a rock band for kids. Millkshake went on to release 5 award-winning albums for kids. 2010's Great Day received a Gramy nomination for "Best Musical Recording For Children". Now that Lisa and Mikel's kids are older, it seems fitting to re-start Love Riot and make music for adults again. We’ll see.