by James Cassara
The name Aaron Freeman may not be a familiar one, but there’s a good chance you’re more than passing familiar with his former band Ween.
Over the course of his twenty years with cohort Mickey Melchiondo – the pair adopted the names Dean and Gene Ween – Freeman released some fourteen albums (equally divided between live and studio), played thousands of shows, and amassed “an enormous number of home recordings” that have yet to see the light of day. The pair was the ultimate cosmic goof of the alternative rock era, a tremendously talented and deliriously outlandish combo whose work traveled far beyond the constraints of parody and novelty and dove straight into the heart of surrealism.
Despite their mastery of a wide spectrum of musical styles Ween never allowed themselves to play it straight: they were the art house deconstructionists of their day, and played that role with demented glee. Even when their songs ventured into the realm of tasteless and offensive schlock – as they often did – you never knew if they were serious or not. Their output ranged from Parliament type funk to psychedelic folk to insurgent surf rock. And were that not enough, 1996’s 12 Golden Country Greats was recorded in Nashville with the cream of that city’s session players.
Although Freeman and Melchiondo frequently collaborated with artists outside the Ween fraternity it came as a surprise when, in 2012, Freeman announced the two had split. He’d just released his first ever solo project, Marvelous Clouds (Partisan Records), a thirteen song collection of music written by poet/songwriter Rod McKuen, and he clearly felt the need to explore new directions.
Yes, that Rod McKuen. A man who in 1969 Time Magazine dubbed “the King of Kitsch” and who’s best selling poetry has been described by critics as everything from maudlin to “superficial and platitudinous and frequently silly”: in other words the ideal platform for Freeman. Produced by Ben Vaughn, who worked with Ween on the Golden Greats album, Marvelous Clouds is (given its source material) garnering unexpectedly positive reviews.
The Wall Street Journal describes it as “performed with charm and reverence,” while Rolling Stone – in a four star review – called it Freeman’s “most straight-faced and emotional endeavor to date.” It seems Aaron Freeman is again having the last laugh. In support of the record he’s embarking on his first-ever tour under his own name, performing the disc in its entirety along with a host of favorites from the Ween catalog.
Freeman, who hopes the tour will “prompt a reappraisal” of McKuen, who has spent the past three decades in Salinger like seclusion, brings his Marvelous Clouds tour to Asheville on Sunday, July 15. And while he’s been strangely tight lipped about the performances, there’s been no information as to whom he may or may not be sharing a stage with; he has made a single iron clad bold declaration: “A splendid evening is guaranteed!”
Aaron Freeman and his Marvelous Clouds tour at the Grey Eagle on Sunday, July 15 at 9 p.m. Tickets for this limited seating show are priced at $17 advance or $20 day of show and are available online and at our local outlets.