Casey Calvert, guitarist for indie emo outfit Hawthorne Heights [ tickets ], was found dead on the band's tour bus Saturday night (11/24), hours before the group was to play a show in Washington, DC.

The guitarist, 26, had gone to sleep Friday night without incident, according to a statement issued by the Ohio-based band. "At this time we're not sure what exactly happened. Just last night he was joking around with everyone before he went to bed," reads the statement, which is posted at the band's website.

"We can say with absolute certainty that he was not doing anything illegal," the remaining group members--Eron Bucciarelli, Micah Carli, Matt Ridenour and JT Woodruff--continued in their statement, requesting that fans resist the impulse to speculate on possible causes of Calvert's death at this time. District of Columbia police are awaiting results of an autopsy, according to a police spokesman.

"We don't want his memory to be tainted in the least," the band went on. "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 group, which was immersed in a grueling, two-month tour that began in October and was scheduled to run through late December, had taken a day off for Thanksgiving with family back home in Ohio, according to the Washington Post, before resuming its tour Friday night (11/23) in Detroit. The band was scheduled to play a show at Washington's 9:30 Club on the evening Calvert's body was discovered.

Formed in Dayton, OH, in 2001 and originally named A Day in the Life, the fast-rising band had drawn considerable attention for both its 2004 debut, "The Silence in Black and White," and 2006's gold-selling follow-up, "If Only You Were Lonely." The group had been working recently on a third studio album with producer Howard Benson (Daughtry, My Chemical Romance).

Casey Calvert is survived by his wife, two stepsisters and his mother and father, according to his stepmother, Tammy Calvert, who was contacted by the Post.