The last time Dean Ween played a big venue in Salt Lake City was more than a year ago when he and Gene Ween opened for the Foo Fighters at Saltair.
"I don't quite remember that gig," vocalist Dean Ween (also known as Mickey Melchiono) said during a phone call from Chicago. "That's when it was just the two of us and a tape machine, huh?"Ween has returned to Salt Lake City since then, and will make yet another appearance at Club DV8, 115 S. West Temple, Monday, Sept. 22. Doors open at 7 p.m.
"When we play with the tape machine, we really kick it out," Ween said. "I do admit, we can kick it out 12 times as much with our band, but we still can do some wild things when it's just the two of us."
The Weens met back when they were 13, Dean Ween said. "We were into the same kinds of music. I was freaking out with the Beatles, the Dead Kennedys, the Sex Pistols and the Clash.
"We had a set of drums and a guitar in the basement," Ween said. "And we made some pretty bad basement tapes. But that's our roots. From there we started writing our own songs."
Ironically, the Weens were signed by talent scouts at a party thrown by another band hoping to find a record deal.
"We knew this other band and they wanted us to play warm up," Ween said. "We almost got signed immediately after our set. It was real strange because when we first put our band together, we had no set notion to make a living playing music. All we wanted to do was write songs and play. But during 12th grade, things started to come together and we went for it."
Ween, the band, is a great place for the two artists to be, Ween (the singer) said.
"The band never sets limitations," Ween said. "We can write any type of music and play any style and we'll still put it on an album. We've got great creative freedom."