Gene Ween

Gene Ween performing with Ween in 2009

Gene Ween (real name: Aaron Freeman) is one of the two main members of Ween.

While Gene is primarily the band's lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist, he has also been credited with bass, mandolin, keyboards, synthesizer, omnichord and drum machine programming, and has played lead guitar on a few songs.

Early Life

Both of Aaron Freeman's parents were born and raised in Philadelphia, with Freeman himself growing up outside of Philadelphia until age 13. He then moved with his parents and sister to New Hope around the same time as Deaner did. His family lived in a stone house that he has said was built in 1740. He has described his father as a "hippie turned conservative". Freeman has also stated that his mother is Jewish, and his father is "Jewtalian" (meaning half-Jewish, half-Italian).

When Freeman was preadolescent, he started recording material at home on a tape deck. These demos featured pre-made beats from a cheap Casio keyboard as a backing track, and would often involve heavy tape speed manipulation. When he was 12, Freeman received his first bass, though he wouldn't learn guitar until a few years later.

Career

Freeman met Mickey Melchiondo, Jr., in their high school typing class, where they found out they shared a love of music (Gener being into new wave, psychedelic and experimental music while Deaner preferred punk and hard rock). From there, they started recording together under the name Ween, with them taking appropriate stage names (Freeman became Gene Ween, Melchiondo became Dean Ween).

In 1987, under the moniker Synthetic Socks, Gener released a cassette compilation of his early home-recorded material through indie label Teen Beat, featuring guest spots from Deaner and their early band The Pine Sheep.

In 2012, Gener released his first solo album (Marvelous Clouds, a collection of Rod McKuen covers) and abruptly left Ween to focus on his own newfound sobriety. Between the years 2012 and 2016 when Ween had split, Gener worked on a variety of solo ventures, including the pop rock album Freeman. In 2015, he joined the Dean Ween Group (consisting of his bandmates from Ween) for a rehearsal, which proved to be the impetus for their 2016 reunion.

Musical equipment

While Gener is better known as a singer than an instrumentalist, when it comes to guitars he commonly plays either a sunburst 1958 Gibson Les Paul Historic or a Martin D-28 acoustic, the latter of which he has stated he wrote "90 percent of [his] songs" on since buying it during the Pure Guava era.

Musical Influences

Gener has stated he was strongly affected by the 70's soft rock he heard on the radio as a child in the car with his mother, singling out the songs "Wildfire" by Michael Martin Murphey and "Baker Street" by Gerry Rafferty. His mother also listened to Earth, Wind & Fire and other R&B groups. Meanwhile, his father had what Gener has called a "great record collection" of music from the late 60's and early 70's. He has also stated that his vocal style was influenced by Randy Newman, while his lyrical approach was influenced by English folk rock bands from the 60's to 70's such as Steeleye Span and Fairport Convention.

Gener has listed Prince and the Beatles as among his biggest musical influences.

Full List of Instrumental Credits

• Rhythm guitar
• Lead guitar ("Fluffy", "I Don't Want It", "Captain", live performances of "Oh My Dear (Falling in Love)", "The Stallion Pt. 3", "Roses Are Free", "The HIV Song", "I Get a Little Taste of You")
• Bass ("On the Beach", "One Love for Boognish", "If I Kissed A Lady", "L.M.L.Y.P." (demo version), "Nicole" (demo version), "Hippy Smell" (demo version), "Gladiola Heartbreaker", "Zoloft", "Captain", "I Don't Want It")
• Mandolin ("Ocean Man")
• Keyboards ("Zoloft", "So Many People in the Neighborhood", "Happy Colored Marbles", "Alcan Road", live performances of "Demon Sweat")
• Piano ("Momma's Gone Crazy Again")
• Synthesizer ("Among His Tribe")
• Drum machine ("So Many People in the Neighborhood")
• Omnichord ("Captain")
• Tambourine (live performances of "Fiesta")
• Harmonica (live performances of "Drifter in the Dark")