Green Day, Third Eye Blind Bassists
Brawl at KROQ Show

Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt, whose real name is Michael Pritchard, was taken to the hospital after an altercation with Third Eye Blind bassist Arion Salazar backstage at Los Angeles radio station KROQ's sixth annual Weenie Roast on Saturday (June 20) at Irvine Meadows Amphitheater in Irvine, California.

Dirnt, who was hit on the side of the head with a full beer bottle by an autograph seeking fan of Third Eye Blind's, was taken to Irvine Medical Center following the incident to have emergency room doctors treat him for a skull fracture and a three-inch laceration, according to Sgt. Jim Louder of the Irvine Police. While at the hospital, Dirnt had a hospital clerk call the police so he could file a report; however, no suspect name was given at that time. Louder says that the matter will be turned over to a detective for investigation and if a suspect is found, they could be charged with assault with a deadly weapon.

The incident -- which occurred after Salazar ran onstage during Green Day's set and bear-hugged Dirnt -- escalated when Dirnt got annoyed by Salazar, who tried to grab at him and possibly tried to pull his instrument off. Dirnt then pushed Salazar, prompting Green Day's rather large bodyguards to pin Salazar to the ground as Dirnt came around to kick him, according to a spokesperson at Third Eye Blind's label, Elektra Entertainment.

Salazar went back to his trailer following the onstage altercation. Dirnt, who -- after finishing his set with Green Day as member Tre Cool set his drum kit ablaze -- went backstage after Salazar to yell and push him again, says the spokesperson. Friends broke up the fight, and as Dirnt walked away, he got hit in the head with a bottle.

According to a statement from Third Eye Blind's management firm, Eric Godtland Management, "Early in the day, Arion Salazar visited the members of Green Day in their trailer. Mike Dirnt and Arion know one another thorugh close mutual friends and the visit was courteous. Later that evening during Green Day's set, in the spirit of an inter-band prank, Arion ran onto the stage and bear-hugged Mike Dirnt. Naturally, at this point, Mike had no idea who Arion was and did not expect to anyone to grab him, so he reacted by hitting and kicking Arion. Security grabbed Arion and hustled him off the stage, at which point Mike Dirnt realized it was Arion with whom he had just wrestled."

Godtland goes on to say that it was a fan of Third Eye Blind's who hit Dirnt in the head with the bottle, after the fan thought Dirnt was attacking Salazar backstage after the onstage incident.

Salazar says in the statement, "I am sorry that my attempt at doing something I thought would be funny escalated into Mike getting hurt. That was never my intention. I simply had too much to drunk and made a very bad decision. If I had been in Mike's place, I'm sure I would have acted similarly. My heart goes out to him and I hope he recovers quickly. We have many friends in common and I just hope that they can accept my sincerest apology. "I am sorry Mike."

Green Day's publicity firm, the Mitch Schneider Organization, released this statement: "On the advice of their attorneys, Green Day are unable to comment at this time. Stay tuned."

~Tina Johnson