Ron Welty

Ronald Welty (born February 1, 1971) is an American musician and the former drummer for the American punk rock band The Offspring. Of all the band's drummers, Welty's tenure was the longest (as he was in the band from July 1987 (though Dexter Holland said in an interview that it was 1986) until March 18, 2003), surpassing current drummer Pete Parada, who has been a member of The Offspring for 13 years years. His tenure in the band marks for most fans the classic years of the band's history. He had replaced their second drummer James Lilja, and was only 16 at the time of his joining. However, he left to form his band Steady Ground, in which he played drums and co-produced. His departure was announced on March 18, 2003 on The Offspring's official website. He had played on The Offspring's first six studio albums before departing, which were their self-titled debut album, Ignition, Smash, Ixnay on the Hombre, Americana, and Conspiracy of One. He left the band when they were in the midst of writing and recording Splinter, their seventh studio album released in December 2003. On February 26, 2006, Steady Ground released three demos on Myspace, entitled "Everyone's Emotional", "I Can't Contain Myself", and "You Better Close Your Eyes." In 2007, the band released the studio album Jettison, and in the same year they broke up.

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