Happy Birthday, Mickey Melchiondo! Better known by Dean Ween, one of the masterminds behind Ween, and one of the only people in the world to be blessed by the Boognish, you're probably used to seeing Melchiondo's sweltering shredding on the stage - but we bet you haven't seen him shredding waves in his boat along the Jersey Shore.

When Deaner's home, he likes the little things in life, from cruising in his boat, to listening to his favorite Prince album on repeat. No matter where he’s been or where he’s going, Melchiondo always makes the effort to spice up every moment of his life. In celebration of his birthday, we’ve dug up a collection of facts that will give you a glimpse into Dean Ween’s life and work.

1. He's Grounded For Life

Ween’s music has been featured in movies such as Road Trip and Dude Where’s My Car? - but you may not know that Ween also composed the theme song for the television show Grounded For Life. Check it out below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzRY2PZMAcY

2. Dean the Fisherman

As an avid fisherman, Melchiondo has taken several stabs at merging his passions on the water with his passion for the stage. During downtime from Ween, Melchiondo earned his Coast Guard captain's license and purchased a 23-foot charter boat, The Archangel. He then launched Mickey's Guide Service and documented several trips with a 12-episode web series called Brownie Troop Fishing. As if one fishing show wasn't enough, Melchiondo almost had a fishing comedy show with Les Claypool of Primus that would have been produced by South Park's Matt Stone and Trey Parker. Although it never came to fruition, we can only image the type of wet and salty shenanigans that would have transpired.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3AXMb8S1tI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKVn7lrs2jI

3. This is what it sounds like when Deaner cries...

Ween is known for melding genres and forever blurring the lines between funk, soul, country, metal, punk, and more, and as a die-hard Prince fanatic, Melchiondo attributes Prince as one of his greatest inspirations. Melchiondo said in an interview with Rolling Stone, "As young kids in Ween, it was attainable to imitate Prince." He said, "When we got better, we could actually make ourselves sound like Prince a little bit." In the same article, Deaner says, “I saw Prince over 50 times. I saw him all over the world, in Belgium, Holland, Philly, L.A., San Francisco and got to see many of the after-shows. I'm the biggest Prince fan in the world [laughs].” "He just seemed like one of those dudes that if you actually got close enough to hang with him, I'm sure he was the greatest guy in the world." Check out this Rolling Stone interview for a tell all with Dean Ween about his love for the Purple One.

4. The Moistboyz

If you thought Ween was delightfully distorted, wait until you hear what comes out of Moistboyz, an awesomely bat-shit crazy band formed by Guy Heller and Mickey Melchiondo. Just like in Ween, both Melchiondo and Heller assume aliases - Mickey Moist and Dickie Moist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTzWbR48EJI

5. He's humble as Chocolate and Cheese pie

When asked in a 2008 interview what still encourages him to creating music, Melchiondo responded with a beautiful story. He said, “You know, the other night I got home from tour and I didn’t want to touch my guitar. I met this guy at a bar who rents a house on my street and we got to talking. He told me he drums, and since we were neighbors we decided to jam. So I took this stranger, for no money, back to this shack that I rent behind an auto body shop where I’ve got a couple chairs and some amps, and we jammed this one song out for like four hours, no structure, just jamming, and that shit gets me off every bit as much as standing in front of a crowd that paid 20 dollars to be there. That’s what keeps me going ... you can’t ever forget that simple joy. I enjoy sitting in that shack on any given night, just sitting with a friend or two and playing guitar. It’s the most enjoyable thing in the world. If the business part of it and all that drama shit gets you down, then you stop. You have to constantly keep it in check, and I think that’s why Ween has had longevity. When shit gets fucked up, and it’s not fun, that’s when something is wrong, and it’s time to rethink you’re strategy, and get back to the essence of it.”

Read the full interview HERE

Okay, so you do know that Ween is playing The Cap over Thanksgiving weekend, right?

Tickets on sale HERE!