The guitarist for the pop-punk band Hawthorne Heights passed away before the group’s show at the 9:30 Club over the weekend. Casey Calvert, 25, was found dead on the band’s tour bus at around 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, parked outside the venue in Northwest D.C.

A cause of death has yet to be determined, but Calvert’s bandmates have been quick to defend against speculation that drugs were involved. They posted the following message to their website:

Today is probably the worst day ever. Its with our deepest regrets that we have to write this. Casey Calvert passed away in his sleep last night. We found out this afternoon before sound-check. We’ve spent the entire day trying to come to grips with this and figure out as much as possible. At this time we’re not sure what exactly happened. Just last night he was joking around with everyone before he went to bed. We can say with absolute certainty that he was not doing anything illegal. Please, out of respect to Casey and his family, don’t contribute or succumb to any gossip you may hear. We don’t want his memory to be tainted in the least. Casey was our best friend. He was quirky and awesome and there will truly be no others like him! His loss is unexplainable. As soon as we know more we will let you know.

The band had gained popularity on commercial radio since 2006 and performed on the Nintendo Fusion Tour. Fans have been posting messages of support on the band’s MySpace page since the news broke of Calvert’s death over the weekend. There is some speculation on Wikipedia right now that Calvert may have suffered from asthma, but so far we haven’t been able to confirm that.

Photo from the band’s website