Mest

For other uses, see MEST.
Mest
Origin Blue Island, Illinois, United States
Genres Pop punk, punk rock, ska punk, alternative rock, melodic hardcore
Years active 1995 - 2006, 2008-present
Labels Maverick
Associated acts Good Charlotte, Prong, The Twilight and the Sound, The Get Go, Kisses for Kings, Room One Eleven, The A-Gang, SEISMATIK
Website http://theofficialmest.com
Members Tony Lovato
Jeremiah Rangel
Matt Lovato
Nick Gigler
Past members Steve Lovato
Richie Gonzales
Mike Longworth
Brandon Stewart

Mest is a pop punk band originally formed by front man, lead vocalist, and guitarist Tony Lovato; guitarist and vocalist Jeremiah Rangel; bassist Matt Lovato; and drummer Nick Gigler. They broke up in 2006 after eleven years, but temporarily reformed in California in 2008 for a "final tour". Later, it was announced that the original lineup of Mest (Tony Lovato, Jeremiah Rangel, Matt Lovato, and Nick Gilger) would be getting back together.

History

Cousins Matt Lovato and Tony Lovato formed the band together in October 1995. The band's last guitarist, Jeremiah Rangel, joined the band in 1998. Their previous guitarist was Steve Lovato, Tony Lovato's brother. Nick Gigler joined the band in 1997.

In 1998, the band self-released Mo' Money, Mo' 40z. Their debut album on Maverick Records, Wasting Time, was released in July 2000 and Destination Unknown in 2001. They toured as an opening band for Goldfinger on July 20, 2002 in Las Vegas and then a few months later, released a DVD called The Show Must Go Off! in January 2003. Later that same year, the band released their self-titled album, which featured the single Jaded (These Years), featuring Benji Madden of Good Charlotte.

In 2005, a tour with Social Distortion was cut short when drummer Nick Gigler required surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome in his wrists which was affecting his drumming. The band's last album, Photographs, was released October 18, 2005.

In 2006, the band announced on their MySpace blog that they had decided to cease performing together.

On March 13, 2008, Tony Lovato posted a bulletin on his MySpace about "Mest's ONE NIGHT STAND," a show that Mest would play at the House of Blues in Anaheim, California, on April 17, 2008. In response, Nick Gigler posted a bulletin through his personal MySpace and confirmed that he would not be taking part, and that he had called Jeremiah Rangel and Matt Lovato, who had confirmed that they would not be appearing with Tony either.

After the one-off "ONE NIGHT STAND" show, Tony decided to rebuild Mest and go on a month long tour, with help from Chris Wilson (Good Charlotte, The Summer Obsession), and his brother and founding member, Steve Lovato (at the time in Room One Eleven). Although Matt showed interest, he and Jeremiah were both reported to be too busy with other commitments to join. Nick and Tony have not been on speaking terms since the band broke up.

Mest went on a European in Spring 2012 with its current members, Mike Longworth and Richie Gonzales, and also toured the US with Escape the Fate and Attack Attack in 2012.

Mest released their album "Not What You Expected" in September, 2013, written and recorded with Richie Gonzales and Mike Longworth, making it available for free to download from their website. [1] Mest played 3 dates on the Warped Tour 2013.

Extortion attempt

On July 14, 2009, Friends Stand United founding member Elgin James was arrested by the FBI in Los Angeles, California and was charged with federal attempted extortion for allegedly sanctioning an attack on a member of a popular pop punk band five years earlier. James is then reported as to have said that the man could avoid further trouble if he made a $5,000 “donation” to FSU. After that incident, the FBI became involved, and after another attack, the victim scheduled a meeting with James to give the $5,000 while the FBI had surveillance on the encounter.[2] Mest were eventually revealed to be the band in question. Speculation has been raised that Tony Lovato's past personal ties to white power groups,[3][4] were the reason why they were targeted,[5] given FSU's anti-racist stance, however the individual Mest member that was targeted has not been revealed. James was sentenced to one year and one day of prison in Chicago on March 8, 2011.[6][7]

Projects

Room One Eleven

Steve Lovato aka "Locust", went on to assemble a music project called Room One Eleven which includes former Mest lighting engineer and merch salesman, Phil Cirullo aka "Swylla" and hip hop prodigy Damien Ringo. They are a group based out of Chicago's Southside. This band's first album "Tears Dry Slow" was released in early March 2008.

Kisses For Kings

Tony Lovato went on to form a band called Kisses For Kings, whose line-up consists of Tony Lovato, Mike Longworth, and Richie Gonzales. They have performed on the 2007 Warped Tour and toured in July 2009 with Hollywood Undead, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and The Sleeping on the "Taking Care of Business Tour" aka TCB Tour. Their first EP was released on May 1, 2010 at the MEST show at the House of Blues, Anaheim.

The Twilight and the Sound

Matt and Jeremiah formed a new band called The Twilight and the Sound, announced publicly via Mest's MySpace page on Monday, October 27, 2008.

The Get Go

Nick Gigler's first project after Mest was Chicago-based The Get Go. The band was formed in January 2007, and also features members such as Allister's Scott Murphy on bass and vocals and Kyle Lewis on guitar and vocals, Showoff's Chris Messer on vocals and Nate Thruman on guitar and vocals.

The A-Gang

The A-Gang is a current project involving Nick Gigler on drums. Based in Detroit, it also features former Suicide Machines bassist Rich Tschirhart.

Members

Current
Former

Discography

Albums

Year Album Peak chart positions[8] Record company
US US Heat
1998 Mo' Money, Mo' 40z — — Self-released
2000 Wasting Time — — Maverick
2001 Destination Unknown — 12 Maverick
2003 Mest 64 — Maverick
2005 Photographs 116 — Maverick
2013 Not What You Expected — — Daiki Sound
2014 Broken Down — — Self-released

Singles

Videography appearances

References

  1. ↑ "Free Mest Record “Not What You Expected” Download Here!!! – Mest". Theofficialmest.com. 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2015-10-20.
  2. ↑ Kreps, Daniel (July 20, 2009). "FSU Gang Founder Arrested For Extortion: Inside Punk Fight Club". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Mest". Punkmusic.about.com. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  4. ↑ Degoratis, Jim (April 5, 2002). "Cosmetic changes work wonders". Jimdero.com. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  5. ↑ Cooper, Ryan (August 7, 2009). "Elgin James FSU Update - James in Chicago for a Pre-trial Appearance and More on Mest". About.com. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  6. ↑ Sweeney, Annie (March 8, 2011). "Ex-gang leader earns accolades at Sundance, then sentenced for extortion". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Elgin Nathan James, Gang Leader Turned Filmmaker, Sentenced For Extortion In Chicago". Huffington Post. March 9, 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Mest Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved May 30, 2014.

External links

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