Ween breaks up: Gene and Dean Ween part ways as Aaron Freeman releases solo effort

Indie band Ween began when Aaron Freeman (aka "Gene Ween") and Mickey Melchiondo (or "Dean Ween") met in their eighth grade typing class in 1984. It ended in 2012, when Freeman told Rolling Stone he was done being Gene Ween.

"It's time to move on," he says. "I'm retiring Gene Ween... It's been a long time, 25 years. It was a good run."

He tells the mag that he and Melchiondo are still on speaking terms but won't be reuniting as a band, ever. "For me it's a closed book. In life sometimes, in the universe, you have to close some doors to have others open," he explains. "There's no, 'Goddamn that such and such!' For me, I'd like to think it's a door I can close finally."

Melchiondo was unaware of Freeman's feelings before reading the Rolling Stone article. He wrote on his Facebook profile page, "This is news to me, all I can say for now I guess."

As recently as 2010, the band was rumored to be working on their twelfth record -- but it was never released.