Dean Ween
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Dean Ween (born September 25, 1970) is the stage name of Michael "Mickey" Melchiondo, Jr., American guitarist and half of the alternative rock group Ween. Growing up listening to everything from the Beatles to Parliament/Funkadelic, to Leonard Cohen to Prince, to the Ramones to Laurie Anderson, he has a very wide range of musical influences.
Dean later met Aaron Freeman (Gene Ween) in a junior high school typing class in their hometown of New Hope, Pennsylvania, and although the two did not get along at first, they soon found they were soul brothers and thus adapted the common surname. The Ween brothers were soon spending all of their time in Melchiondo's bedroom, Melchiondo banging out songs on guitars tuned to open chords and Freeman wailing out the good word of the Boognish -- a demon god they claim appeared outside their classroom and offered them scepters of wealth and power for their "services" -- into a cheap microphone. Within a few years, the two found themselves opening for the likes of underground favorites such as the Butthole Surfers and Henry Rollins.
In the stew of Ween's new success with Elektra Records after releasing the albums Pure Guava and Chocolate & Cheese, Melchiondo started up a side project with his friend Guy Heller (who had a guest appearance on Pure Guava) called the Moistboyz. This was his introduction to Ipecac Recordings and also the source of his alternative title, "Mickey Moist" (Heller taking the name "Dickie Moist" in typical surname fashion). The Moistboyz' music was, for the most part, a clash of heavy metal and punk rock accompanied by lyrics focused on overtly offensive humor blended with a strange form of social commentary -- nothing that was new to Melchiondo, of course.
After having recorded 12 Golden Country Greats, an album of country tunes Ween had written over the years with the help of Charlie McCoy, Buddy Harmann, and many other big names in Nashville, he married longtime girlfriend Ellen Schmit (whom he met when she pulled up in her pickup truck at his job pumping gas at a Mobil Station). The couple had a baby boy in December of 2000. The family currently resides in New Jersey. Although he is busy with his family and touring with Ween, Melchiondo still keeps in close touch with all the Ween fans online by commandeering the band's official site, posting on the newsgroups, and visiting the Ween chatrooms.
[edit] Side Projects & Appearances
| Year | Title | Label |
| 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 |
| 2002 | Moistboyz - Moistboyz III | Ipecac Recordings |
| 2003 | Desert Sessions - Volumes 9 & 10 | Ipecac Recordings/Rekords Rekords |
| 2005 | Moistboyz - Moistboyz IV | Sanctuary Records |
