"Unpredictable Ween Embraces More Genres On New Elektra Set"

NEW YORK - With "White Pерper," due May 2 on Elektra, venerable modern rock act Ween continues to explore an eclectic array of musical styles.

The set shows Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo - who also go by the respective stage names Gene and Dean Ween - dabbling in such sounds as aggressive, metallic rock ("Stroker Ace"), pop psychedelia ("Exactly Where I'm At"), and tropical fantasies ("Bananas And Blow").

But for a group whose early albums - such as the independently released "The Pod" -featured lo-fi, often crude pop tunes. recorded on a four-track, Ween indulges in more traditionally structured tunes on "White Pepper."

"When we were choosing the tracks, we took all the 'songs' and not really any of the jams, so to speak," Melchiondo says. "Pretty much all of the songs have verses, choruses, and bridges-as opposed to us going into the studio, letting the tape fly, and writing songs out of jams." "White Pepper" was recorded with producer Chris Shaw over a year and a half at several locations, including the same beach house on the New Jersey Shore that served as vital inspiration for Ween's last studio album, 1997's "The Mollusk." Although "White Pepper" doesn't possess the same unifying nautical themes of its predecessor, Freeman says, the albums do share certain stylistic traits.

Pointing to folk and pop-inflected cuts such as "Stay Together," "She's Your Baby," and the Pink Floyd-ish "Back To Basom," Freeman says, "We're kinda evolving into something, but I don't know what that is exactly. It's always been that way for us just a free-form evolution."

Much of the album was honed during the duo's live performances, captured on last summer's two-CD live set, "Paintin' The Town Brown: Ween Live '90-'98." Some tracks even date back several years. "Stay Forever," which was left off "The Mollusk," was the first song resurrected for "White Pepper," while Melchiondo says that longtime fan favorite "Flutes Of Chi" is "the song we've recorded [for use on an album] more than any other Ween song ever."

But perhaps the biggest surprise on "White Pepper" is first single "Even If You Don't," an uptempo, piano-driven ballad that Freeman likens to XTC. Elektra has high hopes for the track, which wowed unsuspecting radio programmers during a recent industry listening session.

"Nobody knew who the band was until the end, and then they revealed that it was Ween," Freeman says. "Everybody freaked out and said, 'Don't we have some kind of image problem here?' Everybody was really bummed that it was us! But they liked it anyway."

That kind of unpredictability has proven to be essential to the band's appeal. The band's first two albums for Elektra - "Pure Guava" (1992) and "Chocolate And Cheese" (1994) - sold 150,000 and 145,000 copies, respectively, in the U.S., according to SoundScan, while "The Mollusk" moved 70,000 units. Still, marketing Ween to a mass audience is no easy task.

"All of retail knows Ween and knows they have a strong fan base," says Elektra senior director of marketing Zsuzsanna Murphy. "But radio can be more of a challenge simply because each Ween record brings a new surprise. They very rarely do the same thing twice."

Elektra ships the cut "Even If You Don't" to triple-A, NPR, and modern rock on March 21. The full album ships to college radio on the same date.

As usual, touring will be a key piece of the marketing puzzle. In late April or early May, Ween will set out on an extensive world tour that will kick off in the U.S. then continue on to Australia and European festivals in late August. Freeman speculates that the Monterey Peninsula-booked band will be on the road through the rest of the year.

In addition, Elektra is hopeful that Ween's robust Internet presence will help bolster awareness of "White Pepper." Several download promotions with online retailers are being finalized, as are details of concert Webcasts.

Also, aside from the band's official Internet site (ween.com), a host of fan sites feature every thing from band-approved guitar tablature to an online radio station (weenradio.com) that streams nothing but Ween 24 hours a day.

It's this kind of built-in support that makes Melchiondo reflect fondly on his chosen profession and his years of fruitful collaboration with Freeman.

"It's really amazing," he says. "A lot of bands get to make one record, but I've been in Ween for 16 years, and we've put out eight or nine albums, not to mention all the EPs and side-project albums. To be honest, not a day goes by where I'm not thankful and happy that I get to make music and make a living off of it."