The band formed in 1994 on the Southside of Chicago in the suburb known as Blue Island. Matt, Tony, and Steve decided to start the band, not because of the fact that they were family, but because they shared the same passion for raw, heart-driven punk rock music. Along with longtime friend Nick Gigler, the four started playing shows around Chicago's local club scene(venues like Air Lair, Off The Alley, and Fireside Bowl) and quickly won over a loyal fan base.

In late 1997, Mest parted ways with founding guitarist Steve Lovato due to musical differences. The band played on as a three piece for a while, but felt something was missing. They decided to look for a new guitarist. While Aaron Caputo (aka Fatguy) was considered, the position went to another friend of the band--Jeremiah Rangel. With the addition of Rangel, the band felt complete and developed their sound further. Shortly thereafter, Mest released its first album, Mo' Money Mo' 40'z in early 1998. The guys were longtime fans of Goldfinger and had established friendship with singer John Feldmann after numerous times hanging out after shows. In 1999, Feldmann called Mest to open up for Goldfinger at a show in Green Bay, WI after hearing a demo tape Tony had sent him. This further solidified the relationship between Mest and Feldmann. Soon after, Feldmann got Mest a demo deal with Maverick Records. The label was so impressed that they sent the boys out to L.A. to work on a full-length with Feldmann--who had also produced fellow Chicago band Showoff's debut album for Maverick.The product was 2000's "Wasting Time" which was a solid major label debut
from the Chicago natives, which included fan favorites like "Drawing Board","Hotel Room", and "What's the Dillio." The band toured non-stop throughout 2000, opening up for Goldfinger as well as veteran St. Louis rockers, The Urge.

2001 brought more opportunities to the band as well. They toured non-stop, gaining fans in every city through their high intensity live show. In the Spring, the band jetted out to L.A. once again to record with Feldmann for an anticipated early Summer release to follow up their debut album. They decided on the title "Destination Unknown, which was slightly pushed back to a November release date. This didn't keep the band from touring. During 2001, they stayed hot on the
road with friends Goldfinger, Blink 182, Mxpx, New Found Glory, Good Charlotte, and the Movielife-developing an even stronger fanbase. Mest's second major label album was released on November 13, 2001 and spawned the hit "Cadillac" as well as their anthem "Fuct Up Kid" and a host of other favs like "Opinions" and "Without You". Mest continued touring in 2002 supporting their sophomore release with bands like Unwritten Law, Sugarcult, H2O, BigWig, and Riddlin Kids--making lots of friends along the way.

A highly successfully year on the road scored the band their first headlining tour in the fall of 2002 with Homegrown, Madcap, and Catch 22 opening up. The tour sold out almost all the shows in 1000-1500 capacity clubs, which was a huge step for the band. After the tour, the band took some time off, and began preparations for their third record with Maverick. The band decided to work with longtime friend John Feldmann once again and recorded in the Spring of 2003. Mest decided to make the album self-titled, because they felt it embodied what the band was about more than any of their previous efforts. This is positively their best release to date, and it's obvious their sound has matured. "Mest" was released on June 10, 2003. Constant touring, and consistently putting on kick ass shows won the band a slot on the main stage during this summer's Warped Tour. This brings us to now, with Mest supporting old friends Good Charlotte for a few dates on their world tour.