Getting Down With Ween

From techtv, written by ???. 

Equal parts fantasy rock, prog, metal, country, and bass-heavy space funk jams, Ween brings its wild, energetic concerts to life with a jet-powered smoke machine, megaphone, and Peter Frampton talk-box effects. Formed in 1984, the New Hope, Pennsylvania band - which has released seven studio albums and one live album filled with brilliantly satirical and sometimes controversial lyrics - receives minimal radio airplay. Still, Ween is revered by fans, many of whom keep up with the band via the Web.

AudioFile had the pleasure of talking to two of the most enigmatic and absurd talents in rock 'n' roll, Ween's Dean (Mickey Melchiondo) and Gene Ween (Aaron Freeman), about serious issues -- the group's super website and making music in the Digital Age.

TechTV: What is the highlight of the official Ween site?

Dean Ween: Ween Radio. It's hosted by a kid in Boston named Jeremy Carr. It's a Shoutcast radio station, which means it's streaming Ween MP3s seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Ian Rogers, who developed Shoutcast (and Winamp), is a big Ween fan, and he worked with us. I think Jeremy has 1,400 tunes programmed. [Ween Radio] has a request system and a search function.

A second radio station was added that broadcasts entire concerts, uninterrupted. We let our fans tape, so it has an upload area. It's got an IRC chat server too for the listeners. They can go in and set up trades. Taping is a big thing with the Ween fans. When we go on tour our shows will be available online the next day. Ween Radio just got named the third best digital music site of 2000 by Rolling Stone. We lost only to Napster and Gnutella.

TechTV: What's your philosophy on the Napster argument?

Gene Ween: If everyone had a dialup connection, I think it would be fine. But now that the cable modem is in, you really can download records in about 10 minutes, and burn them onto your CD. So it's getting a little strange at this point.

TechTV: Do you use Pro Tools?

Dean Ween: Ween is all about cheap gear. We don't own Pro Tools, but we use it for certain things. We're doing the music for a TV show now on Fox called "Grounded for Life," which is Wednesday nights at 8:30. It's great for that, because there's a lot of editing involved. Our records haven't been mixed with Pro Tools, but the last few have all been edited with Pro Tools.

TechTV: In the studio, do you overdub?

Dean Ween: Ween is all about overdubbing. It's just the two of us. We play the drums, bass, guitars, and vocals. For the last record we used our touring band a little bit more. Our recording experience is completely different than the live concert experience. We're never thinking, "Oh we have to be able to pull this exact arrangement off on stage." I think when you make a record, anything goes. Whatever it takes to make it sound good.

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