If you’ve been reading my blogs, you’ve probably noticed I have no shame when it comes to admitting to listening to the bands I love. We’ve all got skeletons in our closets (and by skeletons, I mean worn-out CD’s from 10 years ago that you’d never admit to listening to now) – and I say we embrace them!
Now, let me tell you a little story about how this Cascade Tickets intern got to where she is in the industry today. Going back over 10 years ago, my friends and I were trying to be rebellious punk rockers in a small town in Central Oregon. We’d sneak off on trips to Portland to come see shows and find other misfits like ourselves to connect with. The first show I came to Portland with my friends to see was a sold-out, doubly-packed skate-punk show at the Meow Meow (those of you who remember it will remember it for being the sweatiest, tiniest venue in town) with Homegrown, Mest, Catch-22 and Madcap.
My friends and I were all there for a pop-punk band from Blue Island, Illinois called Mest. These boys had the skate-punk sound down to perfection with a performance that left 13-year old me in shock (probably from having to witness lead-singer Tony Lovato pee in a water bottle on stage…one of their lesser offensive stage antics).
Formed in 1998, cousins Tony and Matt Lovato picked up friends Jeremiah Rangel and Nick Gigler to form Mest (a play on Milwaukee’s Best beer). The band released Wasting Time in 2000 and Destination Unknown in 2001. Mest played dozens of tours with other wildly successful punk bands including Social Distortion, Rancid, Less Than Jake, Goldfinger and Big D and the Kids Table. The band maintained a close relationship with Good Charlotte and even brought along then new-comers Fall Out Boy on one of their later tours. The band played Warped Tour countless times and were a favorite of the scene for years. Their shows were full of energy and crowds full of fans singing along to every word of “Hotel Room,” “Cadillac,” and “Drawing Board.”
They had several hits that had some radio and MTV play, including this classic:
It’s a little cringe-inducing to look back at something you loved when you were 15, but for me, Mest will always hold a place in my heart for the first show I went to, introducing me to tons of friends, the beginning of my relationship with Mike Thrasher Presents (I was given a MTP handbill at that old Meow Meow show!) and what inevitably brought me to Cascade Tickets!
As the story goes, Mest played their final tour in 2006 and went on indefinite hiatus as the music scene shifted from pop-punk. Lead singer Tony Lovato began writing new songs for Mest a few years ago, and is now touring with a new line-up. My friend and I just saw this newly formed Mest the other night opening for Escape The Fate (I swear I was the oldest person there by about 10 years). As we reminisced with Tony about the past 10 years, it was refreshing to hear those old songs and new material that still has the distinct Mest melodies.
If you’re down for some nostalgia and to re-visit the classic pop-punk scene of the early 00′s, don’t miss Mest May 17th at El Corazon! Come have a beer with me and we’ll pretend we’re all 17 again. Tickets on-sale now through Cascade Tickets.
