Words from Ween

By GINA VIVINETTO

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 14, 2000

From a tour stop in San Francisco, Gene Ween, whose alternative rock band Ween comes to town Saturday, answers 10 pressing questions.

(1) Your album titles: Pure Guava, Chocolate & Cheese, the new one is White Pepper. Why all the food references?
We think food is a good way to express feelings.

(2) What's more crucial: sweet or salty? Or a mixture?
Salty probably. We're not big chocolate heads. We just thought "chocolate" sounded good with "cheese."

(3) Why is that album dedicated to John Candy?
He had just died. We are always saddened when the fat comedians die.

(4) You and Dean Ween live close to New Jersey. Do you feel a special kinship with Bruce Springsteen?

We live in Pennsylvania on the Delaware River which is right across from New Jersey. Absolutely, Ween feels a kinship with the Boss. We love Bruce.

(5) What is Ween's favorite holiday?
Thanksgiving. It's all about the food. We eat the normal stuff. We're not Tofurkey people.

(6) White Pepper: Is the joke that there's no joke? This record sounds so mature.
We've always written mature songs. If you actually listen to our records you'll see 80 percent of our songs are real songs. We have a little humor mixed in, so people who don't know think we are big joke funny guys.

(7) Bananas and Blow is clearly some kind of Jimmy Buffet commentary. He's a Florida boy. What do you think of him?
We're down with Buffett. I have his greatest hits at home, I admit it. I'm not a Parrothead, but I'm down with the concept. The cooler full of rum. Getting totally s--faced. Parrotheads are definitely welcome at Ween shows.

(8) Will we ever see a Ween Behind the Music?
Maybe. We'd have to have something really tragic happen to us. I'd have to become a crack addict and lose my kidney. You always have to have your conflict in those things. We haven't had a big one like that yet.

(9) What one person has contributed the most to mankind?
(pauses) I would go with the artistic thing, somebody like Bach, somebody who the entire world hears every day in some form or another.

(10) Would you like to hear Ween on Muzak?
Every musician would love to hear themselves translated into Muzak.

Ween performs at 8 p.m. Saturday at Jannus Landing in St. Petersburg. Tickets are $17.50 through Ticketmaster or at DaddyKool.com, 671 Central Avenue, St. Petersburg. Call (727) 822-5665.