Ween

WEEN TIMELINE
1984 - Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo meet in 8th grade typing class at New Hope-Solebury High School in Pennsylvania.  Both are making home recordings at the time and begin swapping records from their collections. The boys are visited by the demon-god BOOGNISH, prompting them to form WEEN and assume the alter egos Dean and Gene Ween.
1985 -Ween skips all developmental stages of being a rock band and are hopelessly addicted to drugs by age 15. First of two cassettes and an EP released on Bird O' Pray (intentional misspelling, fact-checkers) Records, Trenton, NJ label run by friends of Ween Jeff Rusnak and Andrew Weiss, who goes on to produce much of the band's future output.
1986 - Ween plays first ever club show at Trenton's City Gardens, opening for the Butthole Surfers. Live "outfit" comprised of Dean and Gene on guitar and vocals respectively, and a cassette deck with the drums and bass on tape.
1987- Dean and Gene are forced to attend summer school together after failing a number of classes, most notably Biology. Summer school teacher spends months discussing quantum physics with the boys, which contributes to no visible improvement in the songwriting. Ween wins high school talent show with their rendition of "Foxy Lady".
1989 - Ween plays at a party in Maplewood, NJ, opening for friends Skunk, who are being scouted at the time by Twin-Tone Records of Minneapolis. Both bands are soon signed to Twin-Tone and Ween starts work on debut album God Ween Satan: The Oneness. Dean and Gene are living together in New Hope on a horse farm, working at a gas station and a local Mexican restaurant. Ween is booed off stage opening for Fugazi by a capacity crowd at City Gardens, establishing a pattern that will continue for the next couple of years.
1990 - God Ween Satan: The Oneness is released. Arguably the band's masterwork. The26-song double record is produced by Andrew Weiss (who is by then the bass player in the Rollins Band) in his living room and is released  in 1990. Ween tours Europe heavily in support of the record, but never manages to do any American touring as Twin-Tone Records slowly goes out of business. Downtime is consumed by recording sessions at Chez Ween.
1991 - Ween comes into contact with Shimmy-Disc label boss Kramer, giving him some tapes of the 4-track home recorded material. Both parties agree to release the material as is. The tapes become Ween's second album, and quite possibly the unit's magnum opus, The Pod.
1992 - Planning to release another album's worth of 4-track tapes on an independent label, Ween is approached by Steve Ralbovsky, then of Elektra Records, who agrees to release that record, once again, "as is."
1993 - Pure Guava is released on Elektra in 1993. Though essentially a continuation of The Pod, it is lauded by many as the combo's defining moment. Ween tours as a duo for the remainder of the year, playing in America, Canada, Europe, and Australia (where "Push th' Little Daisies," the first ever Ween "single", actually cracks the top ten).
1994 - Much of the year is spent making the fourth Ween album, for which Gene and Dean switch to a full band format onstage, and also bid fond adieu to the 4 track. Chocolate and Cheese, recorded and produced by Andrew Weiss (who leaves the Rollins Band and joins Ween as full-time bass player) in a rented industrial space in Pennington, NJ, is released in the fall of 1994. It is hailed as an instant classic, perhaps the apex of the Ween ouevre.
(Also recorded during the C&C sessions is the Z-Rock Hawaii album, a collaboration between Ween and Japan's Boredoms.)
Chocolate and Cheese is supported by a year-long world tour and no less than three singles, "I Can't Put my Finger On It", "Voodoo Lady", and "Freedom Of  '76." A video for "Freedom" is directed by Spike Jonze, and is played on MTV, by the band's account, "like once."
1995 - Following a lengthy break, work begins on material for the next Ween album. After a few months of writing, the band realizes that they've compiled a good number of tunes with a country and western flavor. They begin to investigate the possibility of making a record in Nashville, using session musicians from the golden age of country. With the help of friend Ben Vaughn (who had produced records in Nashville before), Ween compiles a list of potential players for the record. The core band is assembled by Charlie McCoy, most famous for his work on Bob Dylan's Nashville period albums, Blonde on Blonde and Nashville Skyline. With the help of Ben and Charlie, Ween rounds up 12 of the best living players in Nashville, four of whom are named "Buddy", and book an eight-day session in November 1995.
1996 - While Ween originally has no intention of releasing the sessions (work continues on a "real" Ween album all the while), it is decided that they are too good to shelve. Hence: The fifth Ween album, 12 Golden Country Greats, released in 1996 and unequivocally perceived as the ensemble's foremost contribution to the C&W canon.
Despite having no plans to tour in support of the record (most of the players have long since forsaken the road), Ween are able to organize a scaled down version of the Nashville band for two shows at Tramps in New York. The band is led by Bobby Ogdin, one of the album's piano players as well as an alumnus of Elvis Presley's 1970s band. Spurred by the success of these shows, everyone in the band commits to a one-month U.S. tour in the fall of 1996.
1996-1997 - Having long discussed the possibility of making music at the virtually deserted beach during the winter months, Ween rents a house on the ocean at Long Beach Island, NJ. As no material is written prior to moving into the beach house, the environment plays a major role in the songwriting process, manifesting itself in a very heavy nautical theme. Days are spent fishing, recording and drinking heavily. Three or four months into this process, the house's pipes freeze and burst, flooding and ruining the beach house studio. While damage to the tapes and equipment is minor, Ween are forced to evacuate the premises and finish the album at home with Andrew Weiss producing and mixing.
1997 - The Mollusk, universally recognized as the sixth Ween album.  
1997-1999 - The release of The Mollusk is followed by the heaviest amount of touring yet. By this point, the Ween live experience has expanded to a five-piece band playing three to four hours per night. Ween's longstanding open taping policy gives rise to an ever-increasing number of shows being traded by fans over the Internet. The band decides to compile a live retrospective double CD to be sold exclusively through their website (www.chocodog.com/ween) but is approached by Elektra, who ultimately releases Paintin' The Town Brown--Ween Live '90-'98 in the summer of 1999.
1999 - Material for the seventh proper Ween album takes place in a rented cottage in Maine, as well as at the once-flooded, now refurbished Mollusk beach house. Recording commences in September at Bearsville Studios in Woodstock, NY. Chris Shaw is chosen to record the material, primarily due to his involvement on Ween's two favorite Public Enemy records. ("You can really feel the 'black rage' that Chris brings to the project," comments the band.)
2000 - A few distinct factors distinguish the resultant White Pepper from the rest of the Ween catalog. Firstly, the entire record is recorded in a "band" format, more parallel to the Ween live experience. Also, there is a notable lack of the word "fuck" anywhere on the record. No one can explain how the fuck this happened. Additionally, the mind enhancing drugs in the Ween diet are replaced with alcohol and pharmaceuticals, giving the band new insight into the psyche of working class America. The record also features strings, horns, and female backup singers... "three very bad signs for the future of Ween," says the band.
2003 - Quebec is the eighth studio album by Ween and the first since 2000’s “White Pepper” (Elektra). Ween have stayed busy since the last record, releasing 2 live albums thru their website (www.ween.com), composing music for WB’s “Grounded for Life sitcom,  touring sporadically, and getting fired by ad agencies who hired them to make music for tv commercials.  Like most of their catalog, this record was produced by Andrew Weiss and was recorded in a combination of living rooms, garages, and rented vacation houses up and down the east coast. “Quebec” is a dark, moody, psychedelic record and clocks in at just under one hour. It is the result of about two years worth of recording, therapy, and misuse of pharmaceutical drugs and alcohol. The record was designed so that if someone were to walk in the room and heard it playing at ANY volume they should ask you “what the hell are you listening to?”—and then walk out.  Ween doesn’t necessarily think that this will be the record that breaks them through at radio. Actually they could care less anymore---instead they plan on raping their core audience of fans who will buy just about anything they release. This includes 4 cd live albums that were recorded on cassettes. If that plan were to fail, Ween instead plan on trying to steal fans from the burgeoning “jam-band” scene, where they are becoming increasingly popular. So far people have been fooled, but no one’s sure how much longer it will last, because historically, Ween have managed to alienate themselves from just about everyone including their most die-hard fans at one time or another. Ween have done on a world tour upon the release of “Quebec”. The band’s 3 and 4 hour live performances and constantly changing setlists have become a huge part of the Ween experience. This, coupled with the fact that Phish have been covering some Ween tunes explains the increased presence of patchouli oil stink at Ween shows the past few years.  This record is truly great nonetheless, maybe one of the best records they’ve made in the last 3 years; it is dark and murky at times, musically intricate and beautiful at other times; and like some of Ween’s best music, it is also cheap and over the top as well.
2005 – SHINOLA VOL. 1
"SHINOLA VOL. 1 (Schnitzel Records) is a collection of odds, ends, and leftovers from around our studio and contains killer new mixes of a lot of songs that have been floating around.  I don't mind telling you that it's a really great record. The record was produced and mixed by Andrew Weiss and Ween and it's an ugly one. You really wanna pick this up, I'm not shitting you.”
Mickey Melchiondo (aka Dean Ween)
“To pin a moniker on Ween is like tackling a greased pig. The band nimbly works its way through disparate topics and styles. From the marine-flavoured prog-rock of their latest, “The Mollusk” to the psycho twangcore country sound of “Twelve Golden Country Greats”, the band continues to feast on every musical style they can get their hooks into.  Ween consumes popular culture at a furious rate, regurgitating demented interpretations to the delight of their fans. Via peculiar guitar and voice effects and crackpot grooves, the band has become known for their takes on standard musical tropes ranging from Irish folk to 70s era stadium rock. Ween reflects what they see like a carnival mirror -- twisted and just a little off."  Brandon Barber (Rolling Stone)
SHINOLA VOL. 1 is packed with bursting beautifully crafted songs that reminds the listener why “Chocolate and Cheese” among other Ween albums was such a fabulous record and why Ween are such a good band altogether…always expect the unpredictable, take the joke and dance to the music.
2006 Live In Toronto (LP Only re-issue)
“Live In Toronto” (Schnitzel Records) is double white vinyl gatefold 180-gram LP only release.  The album will not be available on CD or as a download.
“Live In Toronto” was recorded on the last date of the now legendary tour with Bobby Ogdin, (who also worked with no other than Elvis Presley) and the Shit Creek Boys on October 26, 1996, at the Phoenix Theatre in Toronto, Ontario.
The set list focuses on the “12 Golden Country Greats” tunes and previous fan favourites such as "Push th' Little Daisies" and "Buenas Tardes Amigo" and a cover of Billy Joel’s “Piano Man”.
In November of 1995, we went to Nashville to record our 5th album,
“12 Golden Country Greats,” with an all-star lineup of veteran
Nashville session players. With the help of our producer and
longtime friend Ben Vaughn, we put together a backing band of the
best players from the golden age of country music to record 10
country flavored tunes we had written that year.
This posed a problem upon the release of the record in the summer of the next year. Most of that band had long since retired from touring and we ruled out the possibility of playing shows to support the release of the album. Instead, we planned on playing two shows in one night at Tramp’s on July 17, 1996 in New York City and tried to see if the musicians would make the trip for a long weekend.
The person who seemed the most interested in the project from the
beginning was Bobby Ogdin, who played piano on most of the record. He assured us that he could put together an incredible nashville bandfor the shows, so he became our “musical director” so to speak. I sent him CDs of all of our records and he wrote charts for the band.
We had only two days to rehearse for the gig and I was completely
terrified...I don’t think I slept a minute the night before.
As it turns out, the shows were a great success; the music was
completely over the top and the crowd basically freaked out.
Everyone in the band wanted to do more so we decided on a 3 week American tour starting in october that same year. It turned out to be the most rewarding experience of our musical career. I don’t think we played a bad show the whole tour-the 8 piece band sounded like a 747 landing on your house.
The music on this record was recorded on October 23rd in Toronto at The Phoenix, the last night of a hard run of 5 shows in a row. The thing I remember the most about this night is that the World Series was taking place, and the band was split between Yankee fans (us) and Braves fans (the Nashville guys) and the game was on a TV at the bar in the back of the club, 100 yds. away from the stage. This was thenight that Jim Leyritz hit a late inning home run that turned the series in the yanks favor and doomed the Braves to 5 more years of underachieving and mediocrity.
This concert was recorded on cassette by our longtime soundman
Kirk Miller and pretty much captures the drunken essence of what
this band sounded like on a good night. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we did making it. (Dean Ween)