Ween Hits The Western Half Of America

Alt-rock duo Ween's U.S. tour will enter its second leg this month. Mickey Melchiondo and Aaron Freeman--a.k.a. Dean and Gene Ween--are touring in support of their latest album "White Pepper," which was released on May 2.

The Ween boys joined forces in 1984 and have spent the last 16 years releasing a series of albums whose music is best described as experimental and whose lyrics are best described as satirical. The pair had a moderately successful radio hit with the song "Push th' Little Dasies" from their 1992 album "Pure Guava." That album was followed by 1994's "Chocolate and Cheese," which featured "Voodoo Lady," another semi-successful song.

In one of Ween's more elaborate experiments, the band hired several of Nashville's top studio musicians--including the Jordanaires, Bobby Ogdin, Charlie McCoy, Bob Wray and Buddy Harman--to play on their 1996 album "12 Golden Country Greats." The album featured traditional-sounding country music arrangements, but the lyrics on tracks like "Help Me Scrape the Mucus Off My Brain" followed the band's usual irreverent lyrical style.

After finishing a summer jaunt through the states, Ween plans to head overseas in August for a European tour.