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Biography All Music GuideWikipedia
All Music Guide:
Ween was the ultimate cosmic goof of the alternative rock era, a prodigiously talented and deliriously odd duo whose work traveled far beyond the constraints of parody and novelty into the heart of surrealist ecstasy. Despite a mastery for seemingly every mutation of the musical spectrum, the group refused to play it straight; in essence, Ween was bratty deconstructionists, kicking dirt on the pop world around them with demented glee. Along with the occasional frat-boy lapses into misogyny, racism, and homophobia, the band's razor-sharp satire cut to the inherently silly heart of rock & roll with hilariously acute savagery; fueled by psilocybin mushrooms and an all-consuming craving for hot meals, Ween created their own self-contained universe, a parallel dimension where the only sacred cow was their own demon god, the Boognish.
The duo formed in suburban New Hope, PA, in 1984, when 14-year-olds Mickey Melchiondo and Aaron Freeman adopted their respective fraternal aliases, Dean and Gene Ween, and cut the first of literally thousands of home recordings. At about the same time Freeman -- working under the name Synthetic Socks -- issued an eponymous 1987 solo cassette on the fledgling TeenBeat label, Ween released their own debut tape, The Crucial Squeegie Lip, on their own Bird O' Pray imprint. After a pair of 1988 self-releases, titled Axis: Bold as Boognish and The Live Brain Wedgie/WAD LP, Ween signed to the Minneapolis-based independent label Twin/Tone, which in 1990 issued the double album GodWeenSatan: The Oneness, a sprawling, often brilliant release which careened from the headlong hardcore rush of the opening "You Fucked Up" to the helium pop of "Don't Laugh I Love You" to the Prince-Xeroxed funk of "L.M.L.Y.P."
A move to the Shimmy Disc label followed prior to the release of 1991's The Pod, another masterpiece of dementia recorded on four-track under the influence of inhaled Scotchgard; darker and more deranged than its predecessor, The Pod expanded the Ween palette to include Beatlesque pop (the sublime "Pork Roll Egg and Cheese"), oddball folk ("Oh My Dear [Falling in Love]"), and mystic hard rock ("Captain Fantasy"). Against all odds, the record won the Weens a deal with major label Elektra; against even greater odds, the leap to the big leagues did nothing to alter the duo's mindset. 1992's Pure Guava, their Elektra debut, was their most consistently weird and wonderful outing to date. Highlighted by the disturbingly infectious single "Push th' Little Daisies" (a Top Ten hit in Australia), Pure Guava found the group as snarky as ever on self-explanatory workouts like "Reggaejunkiejew," "Hey Fat Boy (Asshole)," and "Flies on My Dick"; "Springtheme" mocked love songs at their queasiest; while the climactic "Don't Get 2 Close (2 My Fantasy)" distilled the overblown excesses of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" and Queensrÿche's "Silent Lucidity" into an epic art rock portrait of child molestation.
Dedicated to the late comedic actor John Candy, 1994's Chocolate and Cheese -- its title a perfect summation of the duo's blend of R&B and schlock -- upped the ante yet again. Widening the net to ensnare cowboy songs ("Drifter in the Dark"), Philly soul ("Freedom of '76"), Afro-Caribbean funk ("Voodoo Lady"), and Sergio Leone-inspired spaghetti Western epics ("Buenas Tardes Amigo"), Chocolate and Cheese also featured "Spinal Meningitis (Got Me Down)" and "Mister Would You Please Help My Pony," two of the creepiest tales of childhood trauma ever committed to vinyl. Having taken their anything-goes aesthetic to its logical extreme, Ween took a sharp left turn for 1996's 12 Golden Country Greats, a ten-track concept album recorded in Nashville with Music City session luminaries including the Jordanaires, Bobby Ogdin, Russ Hicks, Hargus "Pig" Robbins, and Charlie McCoy. While the song titles alone -- among them "Japanese Cowboy," "Mister Richard Smoker," and "Help Me Scrape the Mucus Off My Brain" -- served notice that the group's lyrical attitude had not altered one whit, the music was remarkably evocative of Nashville's golden era, and performed with skill and affection.
A tour with Ogdin and a backing unit dubbed the Shit Creek Boys (which included steel guitarist Stuart Basore, guitarist Danny Parks, fiddler Hank Singer, and bassist Matt Kohut) followed prior to the release of 1997's The Mollusk, a concise, mock-progressive semi-concept album that proved to be one of Ween's strongest efforts. The follow-up was a double-disc concert compilation, Paintin' the Town Brown: Ween Live '90-'98, issued in 1999. In the spring of 2000, the duo resurfaced with White Pepper, their first new studio effort in three years; it peaked at 121 on the Billboard charts, their highest placing to date.
In 2001, Ween began releasing a series of live albums through their Internet-based independent label, Chocodog. The first of these, Live in Toronto Canada, captured a show with the Shit Creek Boys. Around this time, the band and Elektra parted ways, and Ween was without a record label as they worked on their eighth studio album. After a wait of two years -- during which time they released another live album, the triple-disc Live at Stubb's -- they signed with Sanctuary Records in 2003, releasing Quebec in August of that year. It was the first Ween album to crack the Top 100, peaking at 81.
A few months after the release of Quebec, another independent live album followed (All Request Live), with additional retrospectives arriving in 2004 (Live in Chicago, a combination DVD/CD set) and 2005 (the rarities compilation Shinola, Vol. 1). Ween headed back into the studio to work on their ninth studio album, and the resulting La Cucaracha arrived in October 2007 (prefaced by the Friends EP earlier in the year). Recording activity began again in 2009, but nothing appeared forthcoming from the band. In 2012, Gene released a solo album -- a tribute to the songs of Rod McKuen called Marvelous Clouds -- under his given name of Aaron Freeman. Shortly after its release, he announced to Rolling Stone that the band had ended its run.
Wikipedia:
Ween was an American experimental rock band. They formed in 1984 in New Hope, Pennsylvania when central members Aaron Freeman (Gene Ween) and Mickey Melchiondo (Dean Ween) met in an eighth grade typing class. Ween has a large cult underground fanbase despite being less known in American pop music. The band's style is eclectic, and while they could generally be referred to as rock music, one of their defining tendencies has been experimentation with various styles incorporating a strong element of humor and absurdity and grace. Both Gene and Dean are skilled multi-instrumentalists who overdubbed various instruments on their recordings, though they also record with the regular touring band. Gene is normally the lead vocalist and Dean the lead guitarist. Lead singer Freeman announced to Rolling Stone on May 29, 2012 that he was "retiring Gene Ween", and a few days later, Ween's manager, Greg Frey, told fans on Facebook that Freeman had decided to "end his musical relationship with Ween," in order to "more fully explore and pursue his solo career".
Early years [edit]
The name Ween comes from a made up word Freeman and Melchiondo regularly used which is a combination of the words wuss and penis. Their earliest home recordings were drug fueled and free-spirited, drawing on influences as far-reaching as R. Stevie Moore, Syd Barrett, The Beatles, Queen, Frank Zappa, Prince, Butthole Surfers, The Residents, D-Minus, and the lo-fi punk movement. They self-released six cassettes in the late eighties: Mrs. Slack, The Crucial Squeegie Lip, Axis: Bold as Boognish, 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 were often compared in their early years to other offbeat artists such as Frank Zappa and Tom Waits, though they would eschew such comparisons. Ween's public debut was a "Purple Haze" cover closing a 1987 talent show featuring Lauren "Rainbow" Fihe on drums. Ween gained local recognition by playing bars in New Hope, PA such as John & Peter's on Main Street, and still frequent the establishment to this day.
Major releases [edit]
Ween signed to Twin/Tone Records in 1989 and released their first album GodWeenSatan: The Oneness. Produced by Andrew Weiss, it was made up of an eclectic 26 tracks.
The band released their second full-length album, The Pod, in 1991. Recorded on a four-track cassette recorder from January to October 1990, the album borrows its title from the Solebury Township, Pennsylvania apartment in which it was recorded. The duo's use of drum machines, pitch-tweaked guitars and vocals and drug-laced humor became a trademark part of their sound. The cover of The Pod was a parody of the cover of the 1975 Leonard Cohen album, The Best of Leonard Cohen, but with the head of Mean Ween (bassist Chris Williams) in place of Cohen's.
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 and MTV attention, as the video was a highlighted target on MTV's Beavis and Butt-head reflecting the annoying quality but high popularity of the song.
Chocolate and Cheese followed in 1994, featuring tracks influenced by 70s pop/rock and soul, such as "Freedom of '76" and "Voodoo Lady," the latter of which appeared on the Road Trip and Dude, Where's My Car? soundtracks. 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). Chocolate and Cheese was also produced by Andrew Weiss, who has gone on to produce the majority of Ween's albums and become the duo's primary collaborator in the studio.
Ween turned to Nashville studio musicians for the recording of 12 Golden Country Greats (1996) which only contained ten tracks. There are three theories regarding the title of the album. The first claim is that it refers to the dozen veteran musicians, known as The Shit Creek Boys, 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", a tribute to the then recently deceased Jerry Garcia, was featured as a B-Side on the "Piss Up a Rope" single.
The nautically themed album The Mollusk followed in 1997. Some fans and critics consider the album to be a culmination of Ween's penchant for satire, deconstruction, and their appreciative mastery of genres, including 1960's Brit-pop, sea shanties, Broadway show tunes, and especially progressive rock. In 2007, Melchiondo himself named The Mollusk his favorite among Ween's oeuvre.
The band's 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 titled Paintin' the Town Brown: Ween Live 1990-1998 in 1999.
This was 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 the release of White Pepper Ween started the Internet radio station WeenRadio, which was awarded third best Internet music site by Rolling Stone.
Ween signed to Sanctuary Records in 2003 and released Quebec, their first studio set in three years. In 2004, they released Live in Chicago, a DVD and CD set that compiled tracks from two energetic live performances.
In February 2006, Dean and Gene, along with their band, 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 for what would become The Friends EP and the full-length La Cucaracha which was released October 23, 2007 on Rounder Records.
Ween formed their own label in 2001, Chocodog Records, which oversaw the release of several self-produced live sets. 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 Bobby Ogdin & 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 Shinola, Vol. 1, the first installment of a rarity compilation series, and announced plans to re-release the 1987 cassette tape by Gene, Synthetic Socks.
On September 21, 2008, Dean Ween announced on the official Ween website that they planned to release a CD-DVD combo before Christmas of that year. He stated, "This time we’re going to be going all the way back to the days when we were still a duo with a cassette deck in the early 90’s. It’s probably the brownest CD on the Chocodog label yet." That CD was titled At the Cat's Cradle and was recorded live at the Cat's Cradle in Chapel Hill, North Carolina on December 9, 1992. The duo emulated their early performances, using only a Digital Audio Tape (DAT) player for their backing tracks. The package also included a DVD featuring some video of performances from the same era.
On March 10, 2009, Dean Ween announced on the official Ween website that he and Gene had started to rehearse once again. He added that fans should expect to see a "new look" Ween soon. A potential new album was most likely postponed, as no further news about it surfaced.
On February 3, 2010, Ween released a new song, "DC Won't Do You No Good", that became available through a Target Cancer website.On July 28, 2010, the National Post featured an article with an interview with Dean Ween, in which it was stated that the band is due in the studio this winter to start work on its twelfth album.
On August 11, 2011, Dean quietly released a MP3-only collection of songs called The Caesar Demos, named after the band's original working title for Quebec, to friends on his Facebook page. In his comment, he stated the songs were all recorded between 2001 and 2003 while drummer Claude Coleman, Jr. was recovering from injuries sustained in a car accident, and that many of the tracks featured only himself and Gene. In addition to a handful of recordings that eventually made the album, the demos feature several alternate takes as well as a number of songs that have remained unreleased.
Breakup [edit]
On May 29, 2012, Freeman announced the end of Ween, saying, "It's been a long time, 25 years. It was a good run." Melchiondo appeared to be unaware of this, stating on his Facebook page "This is news to me, all I can say for now I guess." On July 20, Melchiondo addressed the supposed "break-up" and stated "I can only speak for myself, but as far as I’m concerned, as long as Aaron and I are both alive on this planet, Ween is still together. We’ve never broken up. The idea of quitting is just laughable. This isn’t something you can quit. This is a life sentence."
Later, Freeman confirmed his departure from Ween was triggered by his desire to remain sober, saying "All that matters to me is that I’m getting sober. Becoming an out of control drug addict and alcoholic is my own fault and I take responsibility for it. I HAD to leave the Ween organization to stay sober."
Style and influences [edit]
Ween's musical style incorporates elements of genres ranging from country rock, hard rock, punk rock, progressive rock, psychedelic rock, heavy metal, and speed metal, to country pop, country folk, honky tonk, flamenco, funk, pop, psychedelic pop and soul. Their lyrics are usually humorous in tone, and their influences include Prince, Thin Lizzy, Queen, The Spinners, Pink Floyd, Beastie Boys, The Beatles, David Bowie, Butthole Surfers, The Dead Milkmen, Led Zeppelin, Meat Puppets, Motörhead, Steely Dan, Talking Heads, They Might Be Giants, Violent Femmes, Frank Zappa, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Seger, Van Halen, Hank Williams, The Residents, America UFO, and Bruce Springsteen.
Ween joined members of Japanese group Boredoms to form noise rock supergroup Z-Rock Hawaii, and Dean is also a member of Moistboyz which sometimes features Dave Dreiwitz during live performances.
