Ronald Jones joined the Flaming Lips as lead guitarist and occasional backing vocalist in 1991. His wild guitar noises came from a wide array of effects pedals plus unusual playing techniques like using a guitar slide 95% of the time and using a coin instead of a guitar pick (likely inspired by Paul Reynolds of A Flock of Seagulls, one of Jones’s all-time favourite bands).
He fell out with drummer Steven Drozd and quitting the Flaming Lips in 1996.
After playing on singer-songwriter Richard Davies' 1997 album Telegraph, Jones largely withdrew from both the music industry and public life in general. This, combined with his increase in paranoia that bandmates recalled in the lead-up to his departure from the Lips, has led some people to believe that he was dealing with schizophrenia or another major mental illness. However, with very little being known about Jones’s personal life even before his withdrawal, this can only be speculation.
