Ween Members

Ween is an American rock band from New Hope, Pennsylvania, formed in 1984 by Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo, better known by their respective stage names, Gene and Dean Ween. Generally categorized as an alternative rock band, the band are known for their irreverent, highly eclectic catalog of songs inspired by funk, soul, country, gospel, prog, psychedelia, R&B, heavy metal, and punk rock.

Ween self-released several cassette albums from their formation until 1989. Afterward, they put out three officially-released lo-fi albums: '' GodWeenSatan: The Oneness'' (1990); ''The Pod'' (1991); and ''Pure Guava'' (1992). For ''Pure Guava'', the band signed with major label Elektra Records. The album spawned the single "Push th' Little Daisies", which was a chart hit in Australia and the United States. Under Elektra, the band released four professionally-recorded albums: ''Chocolate and Cheese'' (1994); '' 12 Golden Country Greats'' (1996); ''The Mollusk'' (1997); and ''White Pepper'' (2000). They later returned to independent labels for their albums ''Quebec'' (2003) and ''La Cucaracha'' (2007). After a 28-year run, Freeman quit the band in 2012, citing the need to focus on his alcohol and drug addiction issues. Ween reformed in late 2015 and toured extensively with no stated plans to release new recorded material.

For their first ten years of existence, Ween performed live as a duo backed by a Digital Audio Tape. With the release of ''Chocolate and Cheese'', they expanded to a four-piece act, later adding a fifth member as well. Their live members include Claude Coleman Jr., Dave Dreiwitz, and Glenn McClelland. Ween also collaborated extensively with Andrew Weiss, who joined the band as a bassist in 1989 and also produced five of their nine studio albums. Despite never receiving much mainstream recognition, Ween developed a large, devoted cult following and garnered critical acclaim.

History

Early years (1984–1989)

Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo met in a junior high school typing class in 1984. Freeman recalled, "We didn't like each other. He was a jock, and I was more of a trench-coat guy. But we sat next to each other in typing class and both realized we were into music." The name Ween was a word made up by the duo, a combination of the words wuss and penis. Their earliest home recordings were drug fueled and free-spirited; Melchiondo would later say about this era, "the music was designed to be obnoxious".

From 1984 until 1994, Ween's live lineup consisted of Freeman on lead vocals and occasional rhythm guitar, Melchiondo on lead guitar and backing vocals, and a Digital Audio Tape (DAT) machine providing the pre-recorded backing tracks. They self-released six cassettes in the late eighties: ''Mrs. Slack'' (1985), ''The Crucial Squeegie Lip'' (1986), '' Axis: Bold as Boognish'' (1987), '' Erica Peterson's Flaming Crib Death'' (1987), '' The Live Brain Wedgie/WAD'' (1988), and ''Prime 5'' (1989). In 1987, Freeman also released his own tape, '' Synthetic Socks'', which featured Melchiondo on a few tracks. Ween's public debut was at the New Hope-Solebury High School talent show in 1986, where they performed a cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze" with Chris Williams (a.k.a. Mean Ween) on bass and Karl Weimer on drums. Although this era was mostly just Freeman, Melchiondo and the DAT machine, they did play a few shows in the '80s as "The Ween" backed by the Rollins Band rhythm section, Andrew Weiss and Sim Cain.

By 1988, Ween had become regulars at John and Peter's in New Hope and City Gardens in Trenton, New Jersey, GWAR, Butthole Surfers, and Henry Rollins. Following a February 1990 City Gardens performance where Ween's reception was lukewarm, Rollins got on stage and warned the crowd to "start liking them now", for one day, "you will get down on your filthy knees and crawl to the altar that is Ween".

Lo-fi period (1990–1993)

Dave Ayers, working in A&R for Minneapolis-based record label Twin/Tone, went to see a live performance by alt-rock band Skunk in the late '80s in Maplewood, New Jersey in anticipation of signing them to a record deal. Ween, friends of Skunk, were the opening act that night. Ayers signed Ween to Twin/Tone that night, and would soon become the band's manager. Skunk would break up in 1991 and their drummer, Claude Coleman, Jr., would play a few shows with Ween in 1992 before joining the band full-time in 1994.

Ween's debut album for Twin/Tone, '' GodWeenSatan: The Oneness'', was released on November 16, 1990. It consisted of 26 tracks that were written during their first six years, and can be thought of as a "best of" this era. Some of the songs, such as "You Fucked Up" and "Bumblebee", had already appeared on various Ween cassettes from the late '80s. "You Fucked Up", "Fat Lenny", "Nan", and the retitled Prince cover "L.M.L.Y.P." would become staples of the band's live show for years to come. Ween played their first overseas shows in support of the album, with a series of dates in the Netherlands in December/January 1990–91.

The band released their second full-length album, ''The Pod'', in 1991 on the Shimmy-Disc label. It was 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-shifted guitars/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 Chris "Mean Ween" Williams (who played bass on the ''Pod'' track "Alone") in place of Cohen's. Although the liner notes claim the album was recorded under the influence of scotchgard, Freeman would later say that this was tongue-in-cheek. Following the release of ''The Pod'', Ween embarked on their first extensive U.S. tour, as well as a week-long U.K. tour that included a recording with John Peel in the BBC
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