Jon Wysocki, founding drummer of Staind, dies at 56

Wysocki played on Staind's biggest albums and later played with Soil, Save the World, and Lydia's Castle.

Jon Wysocki, founding drummer of the rock band Staind, died on May 18. He was 56, according to current Lydia's Castle bandmates, Tonya LeeAnne and Cody Denton, who noted that his age has been reported incorrectly elsewhere.

"Jon passed away surrounded by family and friends that loved him dearly," LeeAnne and Denton told Entertainment Weekly. No cause of death was provided. However, on Saturday, friends posted that he was in the ICU due to issues with his liver.

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Wysocki co-founded Staind in 1995 along with singer Aaron Lewis, guitarist Mike Mushok, and bassist Johnny April. Their first studio album, Tormented, arrived in 1997. Two years later, they'd find widespread success with the release of their major label debut, Dysfunction, co-produced by Limp Bizkit singer Fred Durst. The singles "Mudshovel" and "Home," which showcased the band's tendency toward metal as well as ballads, catapulted them to the forefront of the scene. On the back of that album, they would headline the massive 1999 Family Values Tour with Limp Bizkit and Filter, as well as dates with Korn, the Crystal Method, Run-DMC, Primus, Sevendust, and Method Man and Redman.

Staind's third studio album, Break the Cycle, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 on the strength of the single "It's Been Awhile." The album ultimately went five times platinum.

Wysocki continued playing with Staind until 2011 when, after alleged friction with Lewis, he departed the band and was replaced by Sal Giancarelli.

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Lewis acknowledged some of that friction while paying tribute to Wysocki on X (formerly Twitter). "I’m so sad. I lost my friend. A friend I loved like a brother… fought with like a brother," he wrote. "The battles we fought together. The battles we fought against each other. The battles we fought side by side alone with our own demons. The battles we won and the battles we lost. He was my friend. He was our brother. My heart is broken. My world has changed."

Staind's official Instagram account also posted a tribute to the band's former drummer, writing: "We first met Jon through mutual friends in 1994. We came together with Mike, Aaron, and Johnny April in 1995 and founded Staind. The 17 years that followed were some of the best memories of our times together. From practice in Ludlow, Mass to touring around the world, Jon was integral to who we were as a band. Our hearts go out to Jon’s family, and fans around the world who loved him."

After Staind, Wysocki had a short stint with fellow nü-metal stalwarts, Soil. Though, he never recorded an album with the "Halo" band. "Today we lost one of the greats," the band wrote on social media. "Jon Wysocki was not only a great friend, a great drummer, but a great human being. It was an honor to have him in SOiL for the time we did. We had so many laughs, so many good times."

He joined the Nashville group Lydia's Castle in 2021, with which he played until his death. The band also shared a series of photos of Wysocki with the band and fans on their Instagram account.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.