It consisted of 26 tracks that were written during their first six years, and can be thought of as a 'best of' this era. Ween's debut album for Twin/Tone, GodWeenSatan: The Oneness, was released on November 16, 1990. 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. Ayers signed Ween to Twin/Tone that night, and would soon become the band's manager. Ween, friends of Skunk, were the opening act that night. Lo-fi period (1990–1993) Ween in 1993ĭave 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.

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'. At City Gardens, they opened for acts such as They Might Be Giants, GWAR, Butthole Surfers, and Henry Rollins. īy 1988, Ween had become regulars at John and Peter's in New Hope and City Gardens in Trenton, New Jersey. 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. Mean Ween) on bass and Karl Weimer on drums. 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. In 1987, Freeman also released his own tape, Synthetic Socks, which featured Melchiondo on a few tracks. 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). They self-released six cassettes in the late eighties: Mrs. įrom 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. Their earliest home recordings were drug fueled and free-spirited Melchiondo would later say about this era, 'the music was designed to be obnoxious'. 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. He was a jock, and I was more of a trench-coat guy. Freeman recalled, 'We didn't like each other. History Early years (1984–1989) Īaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo met in a junior high school typing class in 1984. Despite never receiving much mainstream recognition, Ween developed a large, devoted cult following and garnered critical acclaim. 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. Their live members include Claude Coleman Jr., Dave Dreiwitz, and Glenn McClelland. With the release of Chocolate and Cheese, they expanded to a four-piece act, later adding a fifth member as well. įor their first ten years of existence, Ween performed live as a duo backed by a Digital Audio Tape. Ween reformed in late 2015 and toured extensively with no stated plans to release new recorded material. After a 28-year run, Freeman quit the band in 2012, citing the need to focus on his alcohol and drug addiction issues.

They later returned to independent labels for their albums Quebec (2003) and La Cucaracha (2007). 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). The album spawned the single ' Push th' Little Daisies', which was a chart hit in Australia and the United States. For Pure Guava, the band signed with major label Elektra Records. Afterward, they put out three officially-released lo-fi albums: GodWeenSatan: The Oneness (1990) The Pod (1991) and Pure Guava (1992). Ween self-released several cassette albums from their formation until 1989. 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 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.

All my friends are wasted audio