Dean Ween | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Michael Melchiondo Jr. |
Also known as | Mickey Melchiondo |
Born | Trenton, New Jersey, U.S. [1] | September 25, 1970
Genres | Alternative rock, experimental rock, neo-psychedelia, hard rock, lo-fi |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Guitar, vocals |
Michael Melchiondo Jr. (born September 25, 1970), [2] better known by his stage name Dean Ween, is an American guitarist, singer and a founding member of the alternative rock group Ween. He is currently active in the groups Ween, Moistboyz and The Dean Ween Group.
In 1984, Melchiondo met Aaron Freeman in a junior high school typing class, in their hometown of New Hope, Pennsylvania. The two adopted the fictitious surname Ween after the demon-god Boognish appeared to them, with Melchiondo taking up the name Dean Ween and Freeman the name Gene Ween. [3]
In 1991, Melchiondo formed the punk rock duo Moistboyz with Guy Heller. [4] Moistboyz have released five eponymous studio recordings. [5]
Melchiondo made contributions to two projects by his friend Josh Homme: The Desert Sessions and Queens of the Stone Age. On the 2002 Queens of the Stone Age album Songs for the Deaf , Melchiondo played guitar on "Mosquito Song", "Gonna Leave You", and "Six Shooter".
In 2009 Melchiondo received his captain's license and regularly leads fishing trips off the Jersey Shore as Mickey's Guide Service. [6] [7] [8]
In 2012, in the wake of Ween's breakup, Melchiondo formed The Dean Ween Group. [9] In August 2016 the Dean Ween Group's debut album, The Deaner Album, was announced with the release of the first track entitled "Mercedes Benz". [10] On October 7, 2016 Melchiondo's first-ever solo music video was released for the song "Exercise Man", [11] the music video was directed by Monica Hampton. [12] [13] "The Deaner Album" was subsequently released on October 21, 2016 through ATO Records. [14] Melchiondo's second solo album under The Dean Ween Group moniker, rock2, was released on March 16, 2018. [15] [16]
with Ween
Year | Title | Label |
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1993 | En Esch – Cheesy | TVT Records |
1994 | Moistboyz – Moistboyz I | Grand Royal |
1994 | Moistboyz – O.G. Simpson | X-Ploit Records |
1995 | Moistboyz – Second Hand Smoker | Arson Records |
1995 | Kostars – Klassics With a 'K | Grand Royal |
1996 | Moistboyz – Moistboyz II | Grand Royal |
1996 | Yoko Ono – Rising Mixes | Capitol Records |
1996 | Ben Vaughn – Instrumental Stylings | Bar None Records |
1997 | Z-Rock – Hawaii | Nipp Guitar |
1998 | Hub – Hub | Slash Records |
1999 | Ben – Wool | Ben Chatrer |
2001 | Pigface – Preaching to the Perverted | Invisible Records |
2002 | Moistboyz – Moistboyz III | Ipecac Recordings |
2002 | Ben – I Am a Monster | Ben Chatrer |
2002 | Rollins Band – Rise Above: 24 Black Flag Songs to Benefit the West Memphis Three | Sanctuary Records |
2002 | Queens of the Stone Age – Songs for the Deaf | Interscope Records |
2003 | Desert Sessions – Volumes 9 & 10 | Ipecac Recordings/Rekords Rekords |
2005 | Moistboyz – Moistboyz IV | Sanctuary Records |
2005 | Chris Harford – Looking Out For Number 6 | Chocodog Records |
2011 | Ben – Bath | Ben Chatrer |
2013 | Moistboyz – Moistboyz V | Neverman Records |
2014 | Nick Oliveri's Uncontrollable – Leave Me Alone | Schnitzel Records |
2016 | The Dean Ween Group – The Deaner Album | ATO Records |
2018 | The Dean Ween Group – rock2 | Schnitzel Records |
2019 | Solid Bronze- "The Fruit Basket" | Schnitzel Records [17] |
2020 | Ben Chatrer - What Have I Done!/ I Am A Monster | Captured Tracks |
Maggot Brain is the third studio album by the American funk rock band Funkadelic, released by Westbound Records in July 1971. It was produced by bandleader George Clinton and recorded at United Sound Systems in Detroit during late 1970 and early 1971. The album was the final LP recorded by the original Funkadelic lineup; after its release, founding members Tawl Ross (guitar), Billy Nelson (bass), and Tiki Fulwood (drums) left the band for various reasons.
Quebec is the eighth studio album by the American rock band Ween, released on August 5, 2003, on Sanctuary Records. It was the first album released after the band's contract with Elektra expired, and marked its return to independent labels.
Aaron Freeman, better known by his stage name Gene Ween, is an American singer, guitarist and a founding member of the experimental alternative rock group Ween. Freeman, along with childhood friend Mickey Melchiondo, started the group in the mid-1980s. Ween would expand to five members and perform together until May 2012 when Freeman abruptly quit the band due to his want to move forward with a solo career, as well as his desire to remain sober. Over the next few years, Freeman would briefly abandon the Gene Ween name and lead a new five-piece band called Freeman. Shortly after reviving the Gene Ween name for a series of Billy Joel tribute performances, Ween reunited in February 2016 for three concerts in Broomfield, Colorado. The band has continued to perform and tour since.
Nick Steven Oliveri is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter. He is best known as a former bassist of Kyuss and later Queens of the Stone Age from 1998 to 2004. Oliveri is also a solo artist and frequent contributor to his friends' albums and tours, including Winnebago Deal, Masters of Reality, Turbonegro, Moistboyz, Svetlanas and Big Scenic Nowhere among many others. He is currently the frontman of his project, Mondo Generator, a punk and metal hybrid that he formed in 1997, and the co-founder of the stoner rock power trio, Stöner. He has also worked periodically with the Dwarves since 1993.
GodWeenSatan: The Oneness is the debut studio album by American rock band Ween, released on November 16, 1990, by Twin/Tone Records. The album introduces several key themes for the group, including their eclecticism, gonzo sense of humor, and their demon god/mascot, the Boognish.
The Pod is the second studio album by American rock band Ween. It was released on September 20, 1991, by Shimmy-Disc.
Chocolate and Cheese is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Ween, originally released by Elektra Records in 1994. It was the first Ween album to be recorded in a professional studio, in contrast to the four-track home recordings of The Pod and Pure Guava. However, most of the instruments were still played by Dean and Gene Ween, including their drum machine.
12 Golden Country Greats is the fifth studio album by the American rock band Ween, and their third on Elektra Records. It is the only album on which the group limited themselves to a specific genre of music.
The Mollusk is the sixth studio album by American rock band Ween, released by Elektra Records on June 24, 1997. It is a multi-genre concept album with a dark nautical theme, with most songs incorporating elements from psychedelia and/or sea shanties, while also featuring a heavy progressive rock influence. Dean Ween described the album as "the only record that I ever felt really confident about" and "my favorite record we've ever done". Gene Ween has echoed this sentiment, saying: "The Mollusk is probably my favorite, at the end of the day".
White Pepper is the seventh studio album by the American rock band Ween, and the last album they would release on Elektra Records. It was released on May 2, 2000.
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.
Shinola, Vol. 1 is a compilation album by the American rock band Ween. Released by Chocodog on July 19, 2005, Shinola is a collection of odds and ends that the band put together over the years.
Moistboyz is an American hard rock band formed in New Hope, Pennsylvania in 1991 by Guy Heller and Mickey Melchiondo. Moistboyz music is typically fast-paced punk/metal, combining stream-of-consciousness lyrics with aggressive rock guitar riffs.
Z-Rock Hawaii is the name of the debut self-titled album by Z-Rock Hawaii, released in 1996. The supergroup features Gene Ween, Dean Ween and Claude Coleman Jr. of Ween collaborating with Yamantaka Eye, Seiichi Yamamoto, Yoshimi P-We, and Yoshikawa Toyohito of Boredoms.
Freedom of '76 is an EP by Ween released in 1994 by Flying Nun Records. The title song was originally featured on Ween's album Chocolate and Cheese. A music video for the track was directed by Spike Jonze. It depicts Ween attempting to steal the Liberty Bell only to be caught, arrested, and sentenced by the authorities. A real event occurred at Independence Hall, where the video crew filmed the night before. A prop hand grenade was left from the shoot only to be discovered by a young tourist the next day. The music video was filmed circa March 1995.
"Ocean Man" is a song by the American alternative rock band Ween, the thirteenth track on their sixth studio album, The Mollusk (1997). It was released as a promotional CD single through Elektra Records in 1997. It was also released as the B-side to the earlier single "Mutilated Lips" on June 24, 1997. It is one of Ween's best-known songs, and has appeared on various film soundtracks and commercials since its release, most notably with The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie in 2004. The song has been performed live at various occasions, most notably Live in Chicago and Live at Stubb's.
"Even If You Don't" is a song by the American rock band Ween. It was released in 2000 as the lead single from the album White Pepper. It was described as "a flamboyant rocker".
At the Cat's Cradle, 1992 is the sixth live album by the American rock band Ween. It was released on November 25, 2008 on Chocodog Records.
Monica Hampton is a New York-based narrative and documentary filmmaker. Her documentary film credits include Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, Heavy Metal in Baghdad, the 2008 documentary on Iraqi heavy metal band Acrassicauda and the 2008 documentary Slacker Uprising, a film about Michael Moore's 2004 tour across the United States. In 2005 she joined VICE (magazine) as Head of Production and Post Production of a new division of Vice Media created to make videos and documentaries, at the time the network would be called VBS.tv and would launch online in 2007. In 2000 she produced Kevin Smith's View Askew Productions' Vulgar, a narrative film directed by Bryan Johnson. She began her film career as an assistant director and production manager on low budget indie films in New York including Palookaville, Wishful Thinking and Chasing Amy. She appears in front of the camera uncredited in Chasing Amy, Dogma and Vulgar. She produced Barnaby Clay's documentary Shot! The Psycho-Spiritual Mantra of Rock (2016) about rock photographer Mick Rock and a documentary entitled Tickling Giants on Egypt's Bassem Youssef. Both films premiered at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival and both films were released theatrically in 2017.
The following is the discography of Ween, a Pennsylvania-based experimental alternative band formed by childhood friends Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo, better known by their respective stage names, Gene Ween and Dean Ween. Starting out with a few locally released demo tapes, including The Crucial Squeegie Lip, AXIS: Bold as Boognish, and The Live Brain Wedgie / WAD Excerpts, the band was picked up by independent label Twin/Tone Records in 1990 and released their debut GodWeenSatan: The Oneness. In 1991 they signed with another independent label, Shimmy-Disc, and released The Pod. Later, Ween signed with Elektra Records and released their major label debut Pure Guava in 1992. It features their highest-charting single to date, "Push th' Little Daisies". While touring for this album, they played at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, which would later be released as a CD/DVD live album in 2008 titled At the Cat's Cradle, 1992.