How my stepfather prepared me to see my first Ween concert | Music News | Spokane | Pacific Northwest Inlander

I I met my stepfather Ryan when I was 12 years old.

He says we didn’t get along very well at first. I don’t remember my initial reaction, but I assume he slammed my bedroom door and refused to come out when he was at our house.

All my life up to that point, it was just me and my mom doing everything together. Suddenly there was a new character in my life and it was hard to learn how to share my life (and my mother) with someone I considered a stranger.

That is until he pulled out a guitar for the first time.

He flipped through and played some notable licks of classic rock songs like Led Zeppelin’s “The Girl I Love She Got Long Black Wavy Hair” (and many I didn’t recognize but would soon know). I was completely enamored with his love and knowledge of music, so much so that I soon picked up a guitar as well. Our connection started through music and bands.

Suddenly, this guy Ryan wasn’t so bad.

Ryan nurtured my love for music more than anyone in my life, always encouraging me to play and teaching me new things at every opportunity. He let me use the guitar he taught me for a few years before gifting me a stunning acoustic Ibanez as a high school graduation present.

Our texts often consist of Spotify links with long, descriptive paragraphs explaining why this specific 14-minute song is worth listening to, or why Pink Floyd may be overrated. And yet among the best bands of all time.

But there was a common thread in the texts almost every week: Ween.

The band Ween has always been synonymous with my stepfather. His phone speakers are probably wearing out from years of blasting Ween’s album White pepper while working or warming up on the range. Songs from Quebec and mollusc they come up in our messages almost every day and usually don’t come without a long message because to my stepdad Ween needs no explanation. It’s just Ween.

When it was announced that Ween would be playing the Spokane Pavilion on August 4th, Ryan immediately got us tickets. And so began my crash course in the band my stepdad loved half his life.

And now, I pass these teachings on to you, dear readers.

I AGREE STRANGELY

Formed in 1984 by high school friends Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo, better known by their stage names Gene and Dean Ween, Ween is not your average band. They are weird. That strange strange.

“I first heard of them when I saw the video for ‘Push th’ Little Daises.’ Beavis and Butthead on MTV,” says my stepfather Ryan. “I wasn’t even into music at the time, but that song stood out because it was so weird, and the video was just as weird. My 13-year-old brain was completely blown away.”

The video is a series of black and white clips featuring Dean and Gene eating various foods over the intentionally whiny and annoying voice over repeating the phrase “push their little daisies and make them pop”.

It makes no sense, but that’s Ween for you.

I ALREADY KNEW WEEN

I can almost guarantee you’ve heard a Ween song or two if you were born in the 90s or early 2000s.

The band’s 1997 album mollusc directly inspired Stephen Hillenburg’s iconic TV series, Spongebob square pants. The nautical-themed album sparked Hillenburg’s idea to create an underwater cartoon. Hillenburg asked the two to write a song for the episode “Your Shoe’s Untied”. The song “Loop de Loop” is a sub-minute song about how to tie your shoes that I’ve whispered to myself almost every time I’ve tied my shoes for the past 20 years.

GENDER BENDER

Ween is often thought of as “alt-rock”, but putting Ween into any sort of categorical box is ludicrous given the number of genres they’ve covered in their prolific discography.

If Ween It has to be placed in any kind of box, it would be best suited to “experimental”.

For example, Ween has a self-titled album 12 great Golden Lands with 10 country songs. (Yes, there are only 10 songs per named recording 12 great Golden Lands.)

The odd mix of genres is what initially attracted my stepfather to the band’s music.

“They have songs with island calypso beats,” he says. “Then the next song on the album will be an acoustic love song. Then the next song after that is a hard thrash metal song with strong chords. And then the next one is a weird thing with helium vocals. It’s their humor. and the uniqueness and the fact that they don’t take themselves too seriously.”

In a world of pop songs about the same sad love story, Ween is, oddly enough, a breath of fresh air with its songs about spinal meningitis and Zoloft.

BOOGNISH BUSINESS

Ween has a staggering amount of traditions. So many traditions that to the uninitiated, Ween seems a bit like a cult.

And could it be?

From the band’s early days, they claimed to be “spawned from the demon-god Boognish” and featured Boognish in songs such as “Up on th’ Hill” and most prominently in their logo, a circular face with seven horns and 10 teeth.

“I learned Ween’s story over a few beers in college,” says Ryan. “This was before we had the internet in our pockets, so you had to go home and look something up. My friend explained to me that there is this religion that is based around the Boognish Cult. It was strange, but it made sense. for them.”

Boognish’s story lives on inside GodWeenSatan linear notes if you’re interested in the full, ridiculous origin story.

WEEN IT’S NOT THAT SERIOUS

While some discerning music fans may disagree, Ween’s appeal comes in large part from the fact that they aren’t afraid to struggle and take risks with their music, even when it sounds a little silly.

“I’m a firm believer that not everybody has to be a fan of everybody,” Ryan says. “It’s an acquired taste and I wouldn’t expect everyone to be a fan.”

Ween’s live shows often go on much longer than necessary due to over-complicated guitar solos and general on-stage silliness. Ween’s live album He lives in Chicago is cherished among fans due to the variety of songs performed and the inclusion of a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “All My Love”. Surprisingly, Ryan has never seen Ween live, but he listens and watches He lives in Chicago from a religious point of view.

Bbehind the absurd lyrics and silly behavior is a band that can make music fans smile and literally bring people together.

“It’s music that makes me feel like life isn’t so serious,” Ryan says. “I’ve always spread the gospel of Ween whenever I can.”

This week I will be able to attend his first Ween show, my messiah Ween.

And he can see me witnessing mine. ♦

Ween • Sunday, August 4 at 7pm • $50-$55 • All Ages • Spokane Pavilion • 574 N. Howard St. • spokanepavilion.com

RYAN WEEN’S EDITORIAL LIST

“Your Party”
“mollusk”
“Blue Balloon”
“Boys Club”
“The roses are free”
“Spinal Meningitis (Knock Me Down)”
“Mutilated Lips”
“Push Their Little Daisies”
“The Freedom of ’76”
“Egg and Cheese Pork Roll”
“Monique The Freak”
“stay forever”
“Will be fine)”
“Big Jim”
“Bananas and Blow”
“She’s Your Baby”
“Tried and True”
“The Transdermal Feast”