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The Morning Show - With Jill Riley

Coffee Break: Vocal manipulation

Ween: Gene and Dean Ween (Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo, Jr. ) perform alongside longtime band members Claude Coleman, Jr. (drums), Dave Dreiwitz (bass) and Glenn McClelland (keyboards).
Ween: Gene and Dean Ween (Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo, Jr. ) perform alongside longtime band members Claude Coleman, Jr. (drums), Dave Dreiwitz (bass) and Glenn McClelland (keyboards).Sandlin Gaither

by Jill Riley

September 08, 2023

In honor of Ween being in Minneapolis tonight at Surly Festival Field, let’s celebrate Dean and Gene’s many, many vocal styles. The band is no stranger to adding digital effects or finding other ways to change their vocals, so today is about the canon of musicians not afraid to get a little weird.

Think about all the effects out there. Yes, there’s the vocoder, echo, distortion, and Autotune. But maybe it’s drinking some helium out of a balloon, singing while gargling, or twisting up the vocal cords to embody a different character. Everybody’s welcome during today’s coffee break.

For today’s 9:30 Coffee Break, which songs with creative vocal effects do you want to hear?


Respond with your song ideas in the comments below.

Have an idea for a Coffee Break topic? Submit your idea for a future theme and browse past Coffee Breaks in our archive.

Songs Played
Ween - Roses Are Free
Battles - Atlas
The Dead Weather - I Cut Like A Buffalo
Air - Kelly Watch The Stars
Bon Iver - Woods
The Beatles - Tomorrow Never Knows