Dean Ween
The guitarist and co-founder of Ween, whose wild sonic experiments and sludgy riffs helped define a generation of defiantly weird rock music.
Born 1970 (age 56)·American rock musician·Birthday: September 25·Generation X
Biography
As Dean Ween, Mickey Melchiondo formed one half of the foundational weirdo duo Ween with his childhood friend Gene Ween. Starting with a four-track recorder in the late 80s, they embarked on a mission to parody, deconstruct, and ultimately celebrate every genre of music they encountered, from country to prog to funk. Dean's role was the guitarist: a player capable of summoning molten, psychedelic solos and laying down stone-cold funk grooves with equal conviction. His playing provided the gritty, musical backbone that grounded their often absurdist lyrics. Beyond Ween's hiatus and reunion, he has remained musically restless, leading the punk-tinged Moistboyz and the more straightforward rock of The Dean Ween Group. He is, at heart, a dedicated musician whose love for the craft shines through even the most bizarre musical detours.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Dean was born in 1970, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Dean Was Born
The biggest hits of 1970
#1 Movie
Love Story
Best Picture
Patton
#1 TV Show
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Dean's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1970Born
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1975Started school
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1983Became a teenager
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1986Could drive
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1988Could vote
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1991Turned 21
Soviet Union dissolves; World Wide Web goes public
Gas: $1.14/galHome: $82,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" — Bryan AdamsBest Picture: The Silence of the Lambs
2000Turned 30
Y2K passes without incident; contested Bush-Gore election
Gas: $1.51/galHome: $119,600Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Breathe" — Faith HillBest Picture: Gladiator
2010Turned 40
Deepwater Horizon oil spill; iPad launched
Gas: $2.79/galHome: $147,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Tik Tok" — KeshaBest Picture: The King's Speech
2020Turned 50
COVID-19 pandemic shuts down the world
Gas: $2.17/galHome: $248,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Blinding Lights" — The WeekndBest Picture: Nomadland
2026Age 56 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Co-founded the influential alternative rock band Ween, releasing over a dozen studio albums.
- Performed the iconic guitar solo on the Ween song 'Buckingham Green,' a fan favorite.
- Formed and fronts the side project The Dean Ween Group, releasing albums of instrumental and vocal rock.
- Co-created the band Moistboyz, which has released several albums of aggressive, humorous punk rock.
Did You Know?
He is an avid and expert fisherman who has hosted fishing television shows and contributes to fishing magazines.
His stage name was partially inspired by the word 'weenis,' a slang term for elbow skin.
He owns a recording studio in New Hope, Pennsylvania, called 'The Dean Ween World Studio'.
Before music was a full-time career, he worked as a fishing boat captain.
“We recorded that song to sound like a demo tape found in a gutter.”
