WEEN

'Ween' is an alternative rock group formed in 1984 in New Hope, Pennsylvania when Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo met in an eighth grade typing class. The pair became known as Gene and Dean Ween, respectively. Thousands of home recordings later, Ween collected a large underground fanbase despite being generally unknown in pop music.

Contents

Early years

Major releases

Miscellaneous works

Members

Current members

Past members

Organization

Discography

Early independent releases (1986–1989)

Studio albums (1990–present)

Live albums

EPs and singles

Appearances

External links

Early years

Their earliest home recordings were anarchic and free-spirited, drawing on influences as far-reaching as Syd Barrett, The Beatles, Queen, Prince, Butthole Surfers, The Residents and the lo-fi punk movement. They self-released 5 cassettes in the late eighties; ''The Crucial Squeegie Lip'', '', ''Erica Peterson's Flaming Crib Death'', ''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 was often compared in their early years to other offbeat artists such as Frank Zappa and Primus though they would always eschew such comparisons. Ween's public debut was a ''Purple Haze'' cover closing a 1987 talent show; the piece featured a solo, stand-up, acoustic bass and Chrissy Serino on drums.

Major releases

Ween was signed to Twin/Tone Records in 1989 and released their first album '' in the following year, 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 this was later refuted 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 used to send Marijuana directly to the brain by use of nitrous oxide, which was said to leave the user intoxicated for days, but nauseated. The cover of ''The Pod'' resembles the cover of the 1975 Leonard Cohen album, ''The Best of Leonard Cohen'', but with Mean Ween (friend Howie Weinberg) wearing the aforementioned gas mask bong in place of 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 and 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. At this time, Ween began to expand their 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 DAT tapes 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. There are two theories regarding the title of the album. The first claim is that it refers to the dozen veteran Nashville studio musicians who played on the album. The second claim refers to the fact that the band did indeed record twelve songs during the demo sessions for the album. When it came time to record the actual album, the band chose not to use two of the songs but also decided not to change the album title. The two removed songs were titled "I Got No Darkside" and "So Long, Jerry." "So Long, Jerry" did wind up as a B-Side on the "Piss Up A Rope" single.
The nautically-themed ''The Mollusk'' followed in 1997, 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 '' 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 the creators of ''South Park'', 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. 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). The limited-pressing CD, available exclusively through the band website, became an instant collector's item. Subsequent Chocodog releases (''Live at Stubb's'' and ''All Request Live'') were produced in higher volumes to meet demand. In 2005, the label released the first installment of a rarity compilation series entitled ''Shinola'', and announced plans to re-release the 1987 cassette tape by Gene, ''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 a compilation of three energetic live performances for which the group is known.
In 2005 they released Shinola, Vol. 1 a collection of outtakes which received some positive press, especially in Europe, which was followed up by two singles taken from the album, Monique The Freak and Gabrielle (2006).
In February of 2006, they rented an old farmhouse and converted it into a working studio. After writing over 50 songs and recording rough versions through 2006, they picked through them, and, with Andrew Weiss as producer, re-recorded album versions. As of March 2007, they are recording final versions of what they have said to be about 20 songs. On May 22, 2007 they announced they will be releasing an EP entitled "The Friends EP" on June 8th. Dean Ween said the EP will be "The ultimate party record, filled with good beats and good times. Perfect for your barbecue or doing bong hits or whatever it is that you guys do." And also they announced the new album--entitled "La Cucaracha"-- will be released October 23, 2007 on Rounder Records, placing them on the same label as fellow Alternative Rock duo They Might Be Giants.

Miscellaneous works

Ween has participated in various outside collaborations over the years. The band joined members of Japanese group Boredoms to form noise rock group Z-Rock Hawaii, and Dean is also a member of heavy metal band Moistboyz. Ween's songs are used in several film soundtracks, including '', ''Beautiful Girls'', ''Mallrats'', ''Dude, Where's My Car?'' and ''Road Trip'', and on television they have contributed to ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' ('Ocean Man' and a song about tying shoes "Loop de Loop") and ''Grounded for Life'' (the theme song). The team recorded ''The Shot Heard 'Round the World'' for a 1996 tribute album of classic ''School House Rock'' ditties with the likes of Better than Ezra, Blind Melon, and Moby.
The band has also made several on-screen appearances, including performing on ''Letterman'', in puppet form on ''Crank Yankers'', as part of ''Chef Aid'' in ''South Park'', and on film as themselves in ''It's Pat''.
Dean made significant contributions to two projects by his friend Josh Homme: The Desert Sessions and Queens of the Stone Age. On the critically successful 2002 Homme album ''Songs for the Deaf'', Dean played guitar on "Mosquito Song", "Gonna Leave You", and "Six Shooter".
In 2002, the advertising agency for Pizza Hut approached the duo to record a promotional jingle, which resulted in a 30-second recording of "Where'd the Cheese Go?". It epitomized Ween-style irreverence but did not appeal to the agency, and Pizza Hut rejected several versions of the song outright. True to form (and somewhat indignant), Ween rerecorded the same song with new lyrics as "Where'd the Motherfuckin' Cheese Go At?". Both versions are available here.
In 2003, "Ocean Man" from ''The Mollusk'' reappeared on television when Honda used the song in an advertisement for its 2004 Civic Coupe.
In 2005, "Oh My Dear (Falling in Love)", from ''The Pod'', appeared in the film ''The Motel'' as the title song. It also became the DVD Menu song for the film once it was released on DVD.
In 2007, "It's Gonna Be A Long Night" from ''Quebec'' was featured as the theme song for the launch of internet TV channel RawVegas.tv. "It's Gonna Be A Long Night" was also featured in season 3, episode 14 of the FX television show ''The Shield''.
In 2007 "You Fucked Up" from "" was featured as the last song in the first episode of the third season of Weeds (TV series)

Members

Current members

★ Dean Ween, pseudonym for Mickey Melchiondo – lead guitar, vocals, etc.

★ Gene Ween, pseudonym for Aaron Freeman – lead vocal, guitar, etc.

★ Dave Dreiwitz – bass

★ Claude Coleman Jr. – drums

★ Glenn McClelland – keyboards

Past members

★ Andrew Weiss – producer, bass, etc.

★ Mark Kramer – bass

★ Jason Fuller – keyboards in touring band 2001

★ Mean Ween – bass on "Alone" (''The Pod''), second vocals on "Little Birdy" (''Pure Guava''), bass (''The Mollusk''), live

★ Scott Lowe – second vocal and whistling solo on "Don't Get Too Close" (''Pure Guava''), various backing vocals (''Chocolate and Cheese''), second vocal on "Rift" (''Shinola, Vol. 1'')

★ Pat Frey – drums on "Baby Bitch", "Mango Woman" , "I'll Miss You" , "Shot Heard 'Round the World"

★ Guy Heller – vocals on "Flies On My Dick" (''Pure Guava'')

Organization

★ Management – Greg Frey Management

★ Booking – High Road Touring

★ Legal – George Regis

★ Business Manager – RZO, LLC

Discography

Early independent releases (1986–1989)

Year	Title
1986	''The Crucial Squeegie Lip''
1987	''
1987	''Erica Peterson's Flaming Crib Death''
1988	''The Live Brain Wedgie/WAD''
1989	''Prime 5''

Studio albums (1990–present)

Year	Title	Label
1990	''	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
2007	''La Cucaracha''	Rounder Records

Live albums

Year	Title	Label
1999	''	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

EPs and singles

Year	Title	Label
1992	I'm Fat	Vital Music
1992	Push th' Little Daisies	Elektra Records
1992	Sky Cruiser	Sub Pop
1992	Sky Cruiser EP	White Records
1993	Push th' Little Daisies	Elektra Records
1994	I Can't Put My Finger On It EP	Elektra Records
1994	Freedom of '76 EP	Flying Nun Records
1994	Voodoo Lady EP	Flying Nun Records
1996	Piss Up a Rope/You Were the Fool EP	Flying Nun Records
1996	Piss Up A Rope	Diesel Only Records
1997	Mutilated Lips	Elektra Records
1997	Ocean Man	Elektra Records
2000	Even If You Don't	Mushroom Records
2000	Stay Forever Promo EP	Mushroom Records
2000	Stay Forever Red Vinyl EP	Mushroom Records
2005	Monique The Freak limited edition one sided etched 12"	Chocodog / Schnitzel Records
2005	Gabrielle limited edition one sided brown 7"	Chocodog / Schnitzel Records
2007	The Friends EP CD and limited edition picture disc 12"	Chocodog / Schnitzel Records

Appearances

Year	Title	Label
1993	En Esch - Cheesy	TVT Records
1994	Frente - Lonley (EP)	Mushroom Records
1995	Kostars - Klassics With a K	Grand Royal
1995	Used & Recorded by 3RRR Vol.2	Radio Release
1996	Ben Vaughn - Instrumental Stylings	Bar None Records
1996	Yoko Ono-Rising Mixes	Capitol Records
1998	Hub - Hub	SLASH RECORDS
1999	Ben - Wool	Ben Chatrer

External links

★ Official website

★

★ Ween.net - fansite

★ Cult of Boognish - fansite

★ Browntracker - Live Ween BitTorrents

★ WeenRadio and WeenRadio forums

★ Liveween.com

★ Ween collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive

★ Ween album reviews

★ New Hope-Solebury School District

★ "Half Joke, All Genius: The Legendary Irreverence of Ween, a CBC Radio 3 live concert session

★ Ween at Rolling Stone