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Ween Information
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'Ween' is a rock duo formed in 1984 in New Hope, Pennsylvania when Mickey Melchiondo and Aaron Freeman met in a junior high school typing class. They christened themselves with the pseudonyms Dean Ween and Gene Ween respectively. Thousands of home recordings later, Ween collected a large underground fanbase.
The Early Days
Their earliest home recordings were anarchic and free-spirited, drawing on influences as far-reaching as the Beatles, Prince, Butthole Surfers, The Residents and the lo-fi punk movement. They self-released 4 cassettes in the late eighties; The Crucial Squeegie Lip, Axis: Bold As Boognish, The Live Brain Wedgie/WAD, and Prime 5. Around this time, Gene also released his own tape, Synthetic Socks, which featured Dean on a few songs. Ween, often compared in their early years to other offbeat artists such as Frank Zappa and They Might Be Giants, would always eschew such comparisons.
Major Releases
Signing to Twin/Tone Records in 1989, they released "God Ween Satan: The Oneness", a 26-track smorgasbord of genre jumping and wild, silly eclecticism. 1991's "The Pod" became a fast fan favorite, as the duo's use of drum machines, pitch-tweaked guitars & vocals and drug-laced humor became a trademark part of their sound. "The Pod," according to Ween-lore, was written under the influence of Scotchgard, but was later disproven by Gene and Dean themselves as being "the most slime-bag thing we could think of". The contraption on the album cover is not a Scotchgard inhalation device, but a bong-like device use to send Marijuana directly to the the brain by use of nitrous oxide, which was said to leave the user intoxicated for days. The cover of "The Pod" is a spoof of the cover of the 1988 Leonard Cohen album, "The Best of Leonard Cohen".
"Pure Guava", the first of a series of releases on the Elektra label, featured their highest charting single, "Push Th' Little Daisies" (1992) which gained them media & MTV attention, as the video was a highlighted target on MTV's Beavis & Butt-head. "Chocolate & Cheese" followed in 1994, heralding 70s pop/rock & soul sendups such as "Freedom of '76" and "Voodoo Lady". The "Freedom of '76" music video was directed by Spike Jonze. Beginning at this time, Ween expanded its live and studio line-up, providing both a crisper production sound in the studio and an easier live setup (up until this time, Ween had been using drum machines & tape playback to provide backings for their songs.)
Ween turned to Nashville, Tennessee studio musicians for the recording of the authentically-spirited "12 Golden Country Greats" (1996) which only contained ten tracks (the "12 Greats" in the title pays affectionate tribute to the dozen veteran musicians, known as The Shit Creek Boys, who played on the album). In 1997 the nautically-themed "The Mollusk" followed, featuring Ween's simultaneous satirization, deconstruction, and appreciative mastery of genres including 1960's Brit-pop, sea shanties, Broadway show tunes, and most especially, progressive rock. Their desire to pursue alternate forms of media led to the MP3-only release "Craters of the Sac" (1999), presented by Dean for online download and free trade. Elektra Records released a live compilation entitled "Paintin' The Town Brown: Ween Live" in 1999, followed by "White Pepper" (2000), their pop-themed album and final studio set for Elektra. The track "Even If You Don't" was made into a music video directed by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Shortly after "White Pepper" Ween started the internet radiostation WeenRadio, which was awarded 3rd best internet music site by Rolling Stone.
Ween also formed their own label at this time, Chocodog Records, which oversaw the release of several self-produced live sets. The aforementioned "Paintin' the Town Brown", which was compiled and mastered by the band, was meant to be the first Chocodog release. According to Dean Ween, once the album was completed, Elektra realized the sales potential of the CD and denied Ween the right to release it through Chocodog, much to the band's chagrin. Later, Ween released the first official Chocodog album, "Live in Toronto" (a live recording from the 1996 tour, in which Ween performed with The Shit Creek Boys). Short in pressing and available exclusively through the band's website, the CD became an instant collector's item. Subsequent Chocodog releases ("Live in Austin" and "All-Request Live") have been produced in higher volumes to meet demand. In 2005, the label released a rarity compilation series entitled "Shinola" and also plans to re-release Gene's 1987 cassette tape, "Synthetic Socks".
The two signed to Sanctuary Records in 2003 and released "quebec", their first studio set in 3 years. In 2004, Ween released "Live in Chicago," a DVD and CD set that chronicled one of the energetic live performances for which the group is known.
Various outside collaborations have also ensued over the years. Dean is a member of the heavy metal side project Moistboyz, and the noise rock group Z-Rock Hawaii is made up of members of Ween and Boredoms. Ween has composed pieces for The X-Files Soundtrack, Schoolhouse Rock Rocks!, Beautiful Girls Soundtrack, Road Trip Soundtrack, Chef Aid, SpongeBob SquarePants, and the Grounded for Life TV theme. They have also worked with Rob Vaughn and Queens of the Stone Age. They also guest starred as puppets on the Comedy Central show Crank Yankers where they gave audiences a preview of their song "Fancypants".
Dean Ween has been a significant contributer to Queens of the Stone Age and his friend, Joshua Homme's (of QOTSA) side project Desert Sessions. On QOTSA's most critically acclaimed album "Songs for the Deaf", Dean Ween played guitar on Mosquito Song, Do It Again, and Six Shooter.
Television Work
Ween recorded the theme music for the 2001 TV show Grounded for Life. In addition, they have appeared on many cartoons, most notably South Park, Crank Yankers and Spongebob Squarepants.
Group Members
* Dean Ween, real name: Mickey Melchiondo - lead guitar, vocals, etc.
* Gene Ween, real name: Aaron Freeman - lead vocal, guitar, etc.
Various members from 1994-present:
* Claude Coleman Jr. - drums
* Dave Dreiwitz - bass
* Andrew Weiss - producer, bass, etc.
* Glenn McClelland - keyboards
* Gordon Rodnick - Mellotron
Discography
Early demo tapes & self-produced recordings (1986-1989)
| 'Year' | 'Title' | | 1986 | The Crucial Squeegie Lip | | 1987 | Synthetic Socks | | 1987 | Axis: Bold As Boognish | | 1988 | The Live Brain Wedgie/WAD | | 1989 | Prime 5 |
Studio Albums (1990-present)
| 'Year' | 'Title' | 'Label' | | 1990 | GodWeenSatan: The Oneness | Twin/Tone, reissued 2001 Restless | | 1991 | The Pod | Shimmy Disc, reissued 1995 Elektra | | 1992 | Pure Guava | Elektra | | 1994 | Chocolate & Cheese | Elektra | | 1996 | 12 Golden Country Greats | Elektra | | 1997 | The Mollusk | Elektra | | 1999 | Craters of the Sac | online only MP3 release | | 2000 | White Pepper | Elektra | | 2003 | quebec | Sanctuary | | 2005 | Shinola, Vol. 1 | Chocodog | |
Live Albums
| 'Year' | 'Title' | 'Label' | | 1999 | Paintin' The Town Brown: Ween Live 1990-1998 | Elektra | | 2001 | Live In Toronto Canada | Chocodog | | 2002 | Live at Stubb's 7/2000 | Chocodog | | 2003 | All Request Live | Chocodog | | 2004 | Live in Chicago | Sanctuary |
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