Aaron Freeman of Ween discussed his addiction, the breakup of Ween and his future career, revealing that Ween had ended years before the announced breakup. His new solo album contains lyrics that give insight into his frustrations with himself and the band.
The lyrics of the first song on “Covert Discretion” include “Save your judgments for someone else…fuck you all, I got a reason to live.” Freeman, in response Rolling Stone’s allegation that these lyrics are directed at fans expecting him to continue in Ween, Freeman says, “[I]t’s about addiction and people not recognizing that you’re hurting so bad. And yeah, it is clearing the air of the last couple of years, which is why I wanted to put it first. At that point Ween had been over for years and I wanted to put that down in a way.”
Freeman struggled greatly with addiction and he was in the spotlight, expected to perform as usual, and create as usual. His solo album “Covert Discretion” is his expression of what went on during that time as well as where he’s going now.
Anytime there’s a major change in your life, a lot of people don’t embrace that, and it’s something that you have to get through on your own. I had some wonderful supportive people with me during that period who helped me through. But it’s tough, and it takes a while to turn people around, if I’m making any sense.
Ween rocked from 1984 and continued until 2012, officially. Freeman announced in 2012 that he would be retiring as “Gene Ween” and soon after it was announced that he would not be returning to Ween in any way even though Mickey Melchiondo, also known as Dean Ween, claimed he was holding onto the idea of a Ween revival in our interview with him in 2012. Melchiondo tried to reconnect with Freeman in 2012 as well, but a peace treaty was never finalized. Ween really began to fall apart many years earlier. They claimed to be working on a new album in 2010, but the album never came out, though they did release the song, “DC Won’t Do You No Good.” Melchiondo released a collection called The Caesar Demos, featuring songs recorded between 2001 and 2003 with Freeman, or at the time, Gene Ween. That seems to be the last we’ll hear from Ween, but that’s not to say that great music won’t be made. Freeman plans to continue with his music career.
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