Former Mest singer Anthony Lovato
Photo: Marsaili McGrath/ Getty Images

Former Mest singer Anthony Lovato was released from a Van Nuys, California, jail on Tuesday, less than 72 hours after his arrest on suspicion of murder in the stabbing death of a man early Sunday morning.

Los Angeles Police Department Detective Richard Wheeler said the district attorney reviewing the facts of the case declined to prosecute Lovato, 26, after he determined that "Mr. Lovato was acting in self-defense in the incident."

Lovato, who was held on $1 million bail after his Sunday arrest near where the crime transpired (see "Former Mest Singer Jailed For Fatal Stabbing"), confessed to the fatal stabbing of Wayne Hughes, 25, who had been involved with an unidentified woman who also had had a romantic relationship with Lovato.

Sandi Gibbons, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles district attorney's office, said the matter was a clear case of self-defense. "We determined that the suspect and victim had dated the same girl back-and-forth for over a year," Gibbons said. "There had been threats, and the victim sent several threatening messages to the suspect. Apparently, there was some mutual combat and Lovato attempted to separate himself from the victim when the victim challenged him to a fight. The victim followed Lovato to an isolated spot in the underground garage and tried to fight him. Lovato defended himself, and there was insufficient evidence to show that it was not a justifiable use of reasonable force in self-defense."

With the specter of a trial now gone, the question still remains of what exactly happened Sunday morning that resulted in Hughes' death. According to police, Hughes and Lovato got into an argument in the parking garage of a Studio City, California, apartment complex. After Lovato was punched by Hughes, Lovato reportedly took out a knife and stabbed Hughes multiple times, after which either he or the woman called 911 to report the crime.

The case garnered immediate reaction from the music community and Mest fans, many of whom rallied to Lovato's defense. On Monday afternoon, Good Charlotte's Benji and Joel Madden — who toured and worked with Mest on numerous occasions before the band split early last year (see "Good Charlotte's Benji Helps Mest Get 'Jaded' ") — expressed their sadness, telling MTV Radio, "We're all praying for him. We're really bummed. We all have faith that it'll all work out for the best."

[This story was originally published at 6:15 p.m. ET on 03.27.2007]

• Mest

Former Mest singer Tony Lovato (file)
Photo: Marsaili McGrath/ Getty Images

Former Mest singer Tony Lovato, 26, was arrested and jailed on suspicion of murder in Los Angeles on Sunday after police said he confessed to the fatal stabbing of a man linked to his ex-girlfriend.

Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson Lieutenant Alan Hamilton would not name the victim, but media reports identified him as 25-year-old Wayne Hughes, who Hamilton said had also been previously involved in a relationship with Lovato's ex.

According to Hamilton, Lovato called 911 and said, "I've been involved in a fight and can you come here," after he got into an altercation with Hughes in the parking garage of a Studio City apartment complex. During the fight Lovato allegedly pulled out a knife and stabbed Hughes in the chest several times, then returned to the apartment to call police. Hamilton could not say what the dispute was over, but said, "it was not two guys fighting over a woman." He also said, "the female was involved" in the deadly altercation, but could not elaborate due to the ongoing investigation. Hughes was transported to Holy Cross Hospital and pronounced dead on arrival.

Lovato was being held on $1 million bail after being treated for unspecified injuries at a local hospital. He told police that he was assaulted earlier in the day by Hughes in the underground parking lot of the apartment complex. Police had been summoned to the apartment the night before, according to Hamilton, in response to a call for help for an incident that involved the woman and Lovato, though officers determined no crime was committed and the parties went their separate ways. Police advised the woman to seek their assistance if she decided to return to the apartment, but Hamilton said she ignored that advice and returned to the apartment with a female friend. Hughes was not involved in that incident.

"They were both involved in a relationship with the common female, but they were not currently involved [with her] and we're still investigating what their links and involvement was in terms of their direct relationship to the woman," Hamilton said. The men did not have a business relationship, according to Hamilton.

Lovato was the lead singer of the Chicago pop-punk band Mest, who formed in the mid-'90s and released four albums on Madonna's Maverick Records imprint. Their final album, Photograph, was released in the fall of 2005 and included the lead single, "Kiss Me, Kill Me," written by guitarist/singer Jeremiah Rangel, which, according to the band's Maverick bio, "follows a tumultuous relationship." The band announced their breakup after a final 2005 tour entitled "So Long and Thanx for the Booze."

Lovato announced on Mest's MySpace page in October that he had formed a new band called A Permanent Holiday. "Quit trying to belong," Lovato wrote to Mest fans, urging them to give his new group a chance. "Don't worry about people accepting you, cuz you have to accept yourself first. In reality that's really all we are all trying for — to be content."

• Mest

The Offspring (file)
Photo: Columbia

Even as much of the Northeast finds itself in the middle of a bone-chilling cold snap, it's never too early to start thinking about those balmy summer months — especially if you're a fan of the Warped Tour. Details for the 2005 version are piling up faster than that snow drift outside your window.

Just-announced acts on this summer's tour include the Offspring, Fall Out Boy, MxPx, the Dropkick Murphys, No Use for a Name, Atreyu, Strung-Out, Mest and Hawthorne Heights. They'll join previously confirmed acts the Transplants, My Chemical Romance and Thrice on the tour's 11th annual jaunt (see "Warped Tour Just Ended, But Next Year's Trek Is Already Taking Shape").

"We always try to pick bands for the tour based on what the kids are telling me. Kids e-mail me all the time with suggestions, and if I get enough of them, I'll get in touch with the band," Warped founder Kevin Lyman said. "Like with the Offspring, who have never played the tour, a kid e-mailed me and was like, 'Why can't you guys work this out?' And I went, 'You know what? You're right.' "

Lyman also said that the tour will kick off on June 18 in Columbus, Ohio, at the Germain Amphitheater, then head to Milwaukee's Marcus Amphitheatre on the 19th and UMB Bank Pavilion near St. Louis on the 21st. More dates will be announced soon.

There are also plans for Warped 2005 to include "at least one" honest-to-goodness wedding. In December, Lyman put out the call for couples looking to get hitched onstage, and the response he got was enough to convince him that he needed to get something started.

"Like most things with Warped, the idea of a wedding started off as a joke. But when I posted on WarpedTour.com, we got such a response that I had to give it a real look," Lyman said. "So now I'm contacting bands to see if they know any ordained ministers. I figure there's got to be some punk-rock ministers out there."

Lyman also is finishing up the Warped Tour 10th Anniversary film, which he's compiled with the help of hundreds of amateur videographers across the country. The film features live performances shot by fans at each of the first 10 editions of Warped, and is due in stores "sometime later this year."

• The Offspring
• My Chemical Romance
• MxPx
• Fall Out Boy
• Dropkick Murphys

Luther Vandross, who suffered a stroke in April, is now out of the hospital and in a rehabilitation facility. According to People magazine, Vandross is beginning to speak and is reportedly aware of the fact that his new album, Dance With My Father, is doing well at the upper reaches of the Billboard albums chart. ...

DMX is going home to Yonkers to shoot the video for "Where the Hood At?," off his upcoming Grand Champ LP. X is still looking for directors for the clip, which his spokesperson says will be shot in the projects on July 11 and 12. ... Thirteen new dates have been tacked on to the Red Hot Chili Peppers' North American Tour, beginning September 6 in Washington, D.C. More shows are expected to be added after the last confirmed date, September 25 in Milwaukee, to take the trek through November. ...

The second annual Snoop Dogg Celebrity Charity Basketball Game is set for Saturday at Long Beach Poly High School. Lance Bass, Nate Dogg and Warren G will join the D-O-Double Gizzle for the event. ... Lance Bass will join country songwriter Hank Cochran and blues legend Willie Dixon in the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame. He will be inducted in Jackson on August 9. Bass was born in Laurel, Mississippi, in 1979. ...

Eve by any other name ... is still Shelly? The upcoming UPN sitcom she will star in has changed names from "The Opposite Sex" to "Eve" to capitalize on her star power, though Eve's character will still be named Shelly. ... Chuck D and Flavor Flav of Public Enemy, Busta Rhymes, MC Lyte, and Phife from A Tribe Called Quest have teamed up under the name the Spitballers to record a sports anthem called "Let's Get Loud (Everybody Get Up)," which will debut as the opening song for the ESPY Awards on July 16. A video will follow. The Spitballers will likely be joined by Aerosmith on the hook, though that has not yet been recorded. ... Da Brat's Limelite, Luv & Niteclubz has been pushed back to a July 15 release date. ...

Joshua Gracin, the fourth runner-up on "American Idol 2," has dropped out of the group's summer tour in order to complete military training. "We're sad that Josh won't be able to participate in the tour, but completely respect and applaud his commitment to the completion of his military duties," 19 Entertainment's Tom Ennis said in a statement. ... Fallen "American Idol" contestant Corey Clark had two misdemeanor assault charges against him dismissed after pleading guilty to obstruction of legal process in court Wednesday. Six months unsupervised probation and the eternal question of whether he could have wiped the floor with Ruben Studdard is the price Clark had to pay for hitting his 15-year-old sister. ...

Wondering why singer Tony Lovato is keeping pretty still on the Warped Tour stage, while the remaining members of his band, Mest, jump around behind him? Lovato's not bored, he's just trying to stay healthy. In fact, after missing Saturday's show in Salt Lake City because of an aggravated back injury, he performed the next day in Denver while sitting on a couch. Two days later in Kansas City, Kansas, he rolled up in a wheelchair. He's able to stand in place now. ...

Garbage are hoping to finish working on their fourth album by October. The follow-up to 2001's Beautiful Garbage is expected to drop early next year. ... Me'Shell Ndgeocello has put the finishing touches on two new albums and is working on a third. The first completed project is a deep soul and reggae album that will be released in the first week of October; the second, a jazz LP called Papillon, to be released in early 2004. On deck is a Charlie Parker remix set. In addition to all that, she's recorded a dance/soul version of "Two Doors Down" for the upcoming Dolly Parton tribute album, which also features Norah Jones, Shania Twain, Melissa Etheridge and Sinead O'Connor. ...

06.26.2003

Linkin Park will play three rescheduled Projekt Revolution Tour shows in between Summer Sanitarium dates. The added shows are July 22 in Rochester, New York, with Mudvayne, Cold and Jurassic 5; July 29 in Council Bluffs, Iowa, with Mudvayne and Cold; and July 30 in Wichita, Kansas, with Mudvayne. ...

While on a break before going to Europe to support By the Way in August, the Red Hot Chili Peppers will write and record two or three songs for an upcoming greatest-hits album. The band completed a North American tour leg, with Snoop Dogg in tow, last weekend. ... Tommy Lee has confirmed the end of his engagement to Prince's ex-wife, Mayte Garcia. In his Web journal at joysmayhem.com, the rocker originally wrote, "I'm a free man by the way. NO more probation/court/drama, etc. ... I'm a single man these days ... uh oh!" The reference to his love life, however, has since been deleted, while the line about his probation status remains. ...

Maybe Moby really is made of stars — he's the music coordinator for the new multimedia show at New York's Hayden Planetarium, which used to host weekly laser-light shows set to the tunes of Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and others. Moby's show, in which he'll mix his own music with that of Radiohead, the Flaming Lips and Massive Attack, should debut in October. ... Pharoahe Monch, KRS-One and Big Daddy Kane will be on hand for the inaugural Hip-Hop Peace & Unity Festival in Boston on July 18 and 19. The festival, organized to celebrate diversity and promote positivity, will include roundtable discussions with hip-hop artists and local government officials in an effort to come to a mutual understanding about the origin and culture of hip-hop. There will also be a fundraiser for Boston youth programs that have been subjected to recent cutbacks. ...

Love crooner Daniel Bedingfield will appear on the CBS soap opera "Guiding Light" on July 9 to perform his ballad "If You're Not the One." The dance mix for the song is already used in the promos for CBS Daytime's "Hot Enough for You" ad campaign. ... Thursday have made a new song called "For the Workforce, Drowning" available through their Web site. The track will appear alongside Thrice's "Under a Killing Moon" on a limited-edition clear vinyl split 7" single set for release July 1. The song was recorded during the sessions for War All the Time, Thursday's first full album since jumping to a major label, which drops September 16. ...

Robbie Williams appears in a three-minute public-service announcement sponsored by UNICEF to help fight child trafficking. "It's short, but it's definitely not sweet," he says in an introduction preceding the film, which is based around a poem by Simon Armitage, describing the sale of children into prostitution as if they were an exotic fruit. The film can be viewed at endchildexploitation.org.uk. ... Williams is also reportedly looking to collaborate with journalist Chris Heath on his autobiography, which he would work on throughout his European tour. This would be Williams' second autobiography; his first, "Somebody Someday," took fans behind the scenes of his 2001 tour. ...

To offset cutbacks the state of California made to its educational system, hometown boys Hoobastank have planned a July 15 benefit at a new Calabasas middle school that now can't afford to open. The money raised will be used to hire teachers. Hoobastank's second album is due September 30. ... Britpop band Starsailor have finished their follow-up to Love Is Here. The new album, Silence Is Easy, is slated for release in September, with the title track set to be the first single. Other song titles include "Music Was Saved," "Fidelity," "Shark Food," "White Dove" and "Four to the Floor." ... Death Cab for Cutie guitarist Christopher Walla, who has worked with Hot Hot Heat, will produce Blue Sky Mile's Initial Records debut. The band will begin tracking at the end of July at Hall of Justice studios in their hometown of Seattle. ...

• Luther Vandross
• DMX
• Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Eve
• Snoop Dogg

Mest
Photo: Maverick

In the clip for "Jaded (These Years)," Mest reminisce about what life was like viewed through innocent eyes. It could have been a cliché that dates beyond Bruce Springsteen's "Glory Days" were it not for the fact that Mest singer Tony Lovato's eyes were never that innocent.

"I didn't grow up like normal kids, who go to high school, turn 18 and leave home to go to college," Lovato said. "I always hung out with older kids. By the time I was 12, I was already going to parties. So when you start out at a younger age, you do all the things that kids do, but then you're like, 'Now what?' I just grew up a lot quicker."

Knowing that, it makes a little more sense that a 22-year-old would write a song about having been there and done that, while most his age are still ensconced in the process of, well, being there and doing that. Partying at 12 was only part of what inspired the backward glance that is the first single off Mest's fourth, eponymous album, due June 10. Adding to the hard-knock life, Lovato was booted from high school at 15 for getting into too many fights and ditching too many classes. With school out of the picture, Lovato was left to skateboard all day and drink with the bigger kids until the sun came up.

"It's about me growing up and missing my friends, back when I was younger and didn't have to do this every day," Lovato said of "Jaded (These Years)." "Back when the band was unsigned and we were just hanging out in the neighborhood every day."

It's no wonder he's left with "the mentality of a 30-year-old."

Lovato's best friend, Good Charlotte's Benji Madden, assisted with the music, sings backup and appears in the video for the track. The two bands have been comrades for the past three years, ever since the brothers Madden became fans of Mest's 2000 major-label debut, Wasting Time, and were subsequently introduced by John Feldmann of fellow pop-punkers Goldfinger. A collaboration between the two bands was much discussed, but schedules haven't permitted it until now.

The video for "Jaded (These Years)" was shot last month by director Steven Murashige (Rage Against the Machine, Incubus), and is expected to surface in mid-June. The clip shows typical house-party scenarios, such as an aluminum can "beer-a-mid," dice games in the kitchen and passed-out partygoers. Like most of the other scenes shown, the one that involves a naked friend was inspired by real-life events.

"We've done this countless times," Lovato explained, "where somebody passes out, completely wasted, and we get them completely nude so they're just hanging out nude at a party. We have the gnarliest pictures of dudes hanging around naked."

Mest will perform on all dates of this year's Vans Warped Tour, which begins June 19 in Nampa, Idaho (see "Warped Tour Dates Announced, 17 More Bands Added").

• Mest
• Good Charlotte

Sugarcult
Photo: Artemis Records

Southern California punk rockers Sugarcult gave new meaning to the saying "bring down the house" in Detroit on Wednesday when their performance at St. Andrew's Hall was cut short because the floor was caving in.

Just after performing "Stuck in America," Sugarcult were ordered to halt their set when a manager in the room below the club noticed the ceiling caving in as concertgoers upstairs jumped up and down.

St. Andrew's Hall, a historic building that has hosted the likes of Nirvana and Nine Inch Nails, was evacuated and the concert was canceled.

Though Mest and headliners Unwritten Law didn't get a chance to take the stage, the music did not end.

To appease the concertgoers filling the street outside the club, Sugarcult singer Tim Pagnotta, Mest singer Tony Lovato and Unwritten Law singer Scott Russo climbed on top of a U-Haul trailer and performed an impromptu acoustic set that included a song from each of the bands.

Wednesday was "definitely a night to remember," Sugarcult guitarist Marko 72 said. "It could have been a total disaster, but it turned out to be something pretty cool. When I was a kid, if something like that happened at a show, there would have been broken glass and people leaving on stretchers. I was a little worried kids would get out of control. We got on the mic and Tim made light of it. He said, 'You guys need to do sit-ups, you're too heavy for this.' "

The bands also helped calm the crowd by handing out stickers and CD samplers during the acoustic performances, which came to an end when police peacefully cleared the assembly.

"People were crowd-surfing out on the street. It was pretty rad, almost like a show," Marko 72 said. "They were singing along, it was really cool. Oddly enough, it was our second-biggest merch [sales] night ever. I guess the secret to success is to get on and off the stage in 15 minutes. Pretty crazy, man. Detroit rock city!"

Management for St. Andrew's Hall was not available for comment. Marko 72 said the bands were talking about returning to Detroit to play a free show next month.

Unwritten Law, Mest and Sugarcult continued their tour Thursday in Chicago and perform at the Rave in Milwaukee on Friday (March 8).

• Sugarcult
• Unwritten Law
• Mest