"We write out a set list but it changes very quickly," said Dean Ween (real name Mickey Melchiondo). "It depends on what it feels like. If we play in a small bar, you know packed with drunken people on a Friday night, you keep it kind of rowdy. You just adapt. Performing is give-and-take with the crowd."
With fellow member Gene Ween (Aaron Freeman), the duo will play with their band for about three hours at the Fox.
The group is known for changing their sets every night and playing between 35 to 45 songs that mine a multitude of genres from country to funk.
Now, the band is ready to take off a few months to write a record, which they plan to do in the fall or winter.
Their process consists of "starting off with ideas laying around but it's a momentum thing. When you finally write a song good enough, you get the momentum going. We like to set aside the time to write."
He said as he gets older, "I'm a lot more comfortable being Ween now than 10 or 15 years ago."
He acknowledged the industry has changed since the band released its first album in 1990, "GodWeenSatan: The Oneness." Their last album, "La Cucaracha," was released in 2007.
"We haven't changed much. I don't think we're doing anything different than we were 19 years ago. I feel the same way about it. But I never envisioned us being a live band. Way back, I used to struggle with Ween on stage versus Ween on record. Now, all this time later, people aren't buying records any more. Your record is kind of like this vehicle to tour behind. I think it's really sad."
He said making a complete record is a lost art and he doesn't own an Ipod.
"We still take records as seriously now as we did then. But we're fooling ourselves in thinking it would matter to a group other than like-minded people who want an album."
He doesn't care about respect from anyone other than the fans.
"We've been around for freakin' forever. We have a bunch of records and make a living. I really don't care. It doesn't matter because I made a career out of music and it's a privledge. We've gotten plenty of respect. We have our fans."
The band also finds strength in itself. "I remember, when we made our second record, thinking this it. I'll never get the inspiration ... and then there's the third, the fourth and another one. And it's like this disease that's incurable. You eventually just have to do it. If you love it, and we love being in a band, you just have to do it."
WEEN
Where: Pomona Fox Theater, 301 S. Garey Ave., Pomona
When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday
Cost: $28
Information: www.ticketmaster.com
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