Michael Melchiondo Jr. (born September 25, 1970), better known by his stage name Dean Ween, is an American guitarist, singer and a founding member of the
alternative rock
Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
group
Ween. He is currently active in the groups Ween,
Moistboyz and The Dean Ween Group.
Biography
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.
In 1991, Melchiondo formed the punk rock duo
Moistboyz with Guy Heller. Moistboyz have released five eponymous studio recordings.
Melchiondo made contributions to two projects by his friend
Josh Homme:
The Desert Sessions and
Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated as QOTSA or QotSA) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1996. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme shortly before he returned to his native Palm Desert, California. ...
. 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
The Jersey Shore, commonly called the Shore by locals, is the coast, coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The term encompasses about of shore, oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy, New Jersey, Perth Amboy in the n ...
as Mickey's Guide Service.
In 2012, in the wake of Ween's breakup, Melchiondo formed The Dean Ween Group. 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". On October 7, 2016 Melchiondo's first-ever solo music video was released for the song "Exercise Man", the music video was directed by
Monica Hampton. "The Deaner Album" was subsequently released on October 21, 2016 through ATO Records. Melchiondo's second solo album under The Dean Ween Group moniker, ''rock2'', was released on March 16, 2018.
Discography
with
Ween
*
GodWeenSatan: The Oneness (1990)
*
The Pod
''The Pod'' is the second studio album by American rock band Ween. It was released on September 20, 1991, by Shimmy-Disc.
Production
The album was recorded from January to October 1990, at the Pod on Van Sant Road in Solebury Township, Pennsylva ...
(1991)
*
Pure Guava (1992)
*
Chocolate and Cheese
''Chocolate and Cheese'' is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Ween, first released on September 27, 1994, through Elektra Records. It was the first Ween album to be recorded in a professional studio, in contrast to the four-trac ...
(1994)
*
12 Golden Country Greats (1996)
*
The Mollusk (1997)
*
White Pepper (2000)
*
Quebec
Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
(2003)
*
Shinola Vol. 1 (2005)
*
La Cucaracha
La Cucaracha (, "The Cockroach") is a popular folk song about a cockroach who cannot walk. The song's origins are Spanish, but it became popular in the 1910s during the Mexican Revolution. The modern song has been adapted using the Mexican genr ...
(2007)
with
Moistboyz
* Moistboyz (1994)
* Moistboyz II (1996)
*
Moistboyz III (2002)
* Moistboyz IV (2005)
* Moistboyz V (2016)
Projects and appearances outside Ween
References
External links
The Dean Ween Groupofficial website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ween, Dean
American alternative rock musicians
American fishermen
American people of Italian descent
American rock guitarists
Living people
Musicians from Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Pigface members
Ween members
American alternative rock guitarists
American male guitarists
1970 births