Since disbanding the legendary alt-rock duo Ween, Aaron Freeman (aka Gene Ween) is reinventing his career after leaving the band that defined him for almost three decades.
The past few years have been transitional for Freeman, who has been sober since leaving Ween in 2012 after years of drug and alcohol abuse. Since then, he has released two albums: 2012’s Marvelous Clouds, an album of songs written by the late folk songwriter Rod McKuen, and 2014’s FREEMAN, his first release of original material since the disbanding of Ween. Freeman also dropped the moniker “Gene Ween” and chose to go by his given name, only to resume using the nickname for tour dates this year including his upcoming show at the Fox Theatre on June 20.
“The ‘Gene Ween’ thing is my name, and it will always be my name. I earned it over 28 years,” Freeman says.
Ween formed in 1984, when Freeman and co-founder Mickey Melchiondo (aka Dean Ween) met in eighth grade in New Hope, Pennsylvania. They made a name for themselves with experimental alt rock that was at times crude but also endearing. Punk rockers at heart, Ween’s 1990 debut album, GodWeenSatan: The Oneness, established that the group was capable of hard rocking tracks while unafraid to crack a joke and experiment with genre boundaries and expectations with tracks like quasi-mariachi “Camino” and profanity-laden reggae odyssey “Nicole.”
One of the band’s biggest hits, 1992’s “Push th’ Little Daisies,” painted them as a quirky experimental rock outfit, which remained an underlying truth on Ween’s following 10 studio albums. But throughout the band’s tenure, their output was regularly downright strange, featuring anything from Jimmy Buffetesque island drums on “Bananas and Blow” from the 2000 album White Pepper to accompaniment by country rock session musicians straight out of Nashville on the 1996 album 12 Golden Country Greats, all with consistent profane and absurd (and often hilarious) lyrics.
With FREEMAN, there are still hints of the absurdist humor Ween was known for. The album orients itself as fairly straight forward adult rock from the start and never veers far from that path. While it is missing the experimental edge that was ever-present on Ween records, FREEMAN is a worthy launching point for Freeman as an artist independent from his past musical endeavors.
After touring so long as a part of Ween, setting out on tour now as the lone name on top of the bill has established a different feel. With a full backing band behind him, Freeman can concentrate more on his lead singing duties. And as the self-described “boss,” he has the liberty to control his surroundings in order to aid his sobriety.
“If I’m in an uncomfortable situation backstage or on tour with anybody I’m with, they get the boot,” Freeman says. “Which is great you know, that’s what I need to maintain my health and my sobriety.”
Freeman has also begun teaching music to elementary- through high school-aged students at the Paul Green School of Rock in Woodstock, New York, where he lives with his wife and two children. Under his direction they recently did an entire show of Ween songs.
“It’s difficult, and it’s all about dynamics, especially with Ween music,” he says. “It was really gratifying to watch these kids pull it off.”
Closer to home, Freeman’s two children have taken their own interest in music. On his most recent record, he looked to his 10-year-old son as something of a co-producer, playing song recordings for him and requesting feedback.
“I’d play him mixes as we were mixing the record, and I’d say, ‘Are the vocals too loud?’ or ‘What do you think about this guitar?’ and he would offer his 10-year-old opinion, which was honest. And that’s really a valuable thing,” Freeman says.
More in line with his eccentric past, Freeman is coming off a recent string of shows made up entirely of Billy Joel covers. Freeman says learning Joel’s songs well enough to do them justice provided a challenge.
“It’s really fucking tough as a singer, and as players we really have to step up our musicianship,” Freeman says. “Billy Joel is a monster of a singer.”
With his upcoming Colorado dates, Freeman says audiences should expect material ranging from his solo work to pieces from the Ween catalog and even some Billy Joel tunes from “Gene Ween” and his backing band (who Freeman describes as “a little more booty-shaking” than his previous touring ensembles).
In regards to what the future holds, he says he has been writing music regularly and could release a new record sometime in 2016.
“It was really gratifying to do that last record, and I want to do more,” Freeman says. “So I’ve been writing music and putting together stuff, and hopefully maybe by next year I’ll have something to release.”
ON THE BILL: Gene Ween. Doors: 8 p.m. Show: 8:30 p.m. Saturday, June 20, The Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder, 303-447-0095. Tickets: $25-27.50. Ages 15 and up.
