Pennsylvania alt-rock band Ween is performing in Honolulu for the first time Monday. Though the band has a huge following, its popularity is fairly localized to the Mainland, specifically the East Coast.

We're willing to wager our own Ween collection that about seven out of 10 Honolulans wouldn't know Ween if the guys performed at baby's first lu'au. That's not to say the duo — known in its circles for its irreverent and anarchistic tendencies (that often take the form of po-mo song parodies and adolescent jokiness) and fan appreciation (they treat their fans like friends) — isn't worth knowing.

Quite the opposite.

The group, which has released 16 albums, as well as a number of pre-label recordings since forming in 1984, is a good old-fashioned jam band that, while shunning music charts and other mainstream measures of success, knows what it takes to make a mean meta-rock record.

Musically tight (most of the time) and lyrically innovative (most of the time), the guys of Ween might deserve to be big, famous rock stars like, say, Nickelback or Daughtry (heaven forbid), but we get the feeling they don't care to be. And we're OK with that.

Because when it comes down to it, Ween fans don't want their guys on the top of the charts. That would ruin everything. What they DO want is for the uninitiated to get schooled on the best band in the world, man.

So this one's for you, Ween neophytes: a guide to becoming a Ween fan. Just in time for the show.

10 THINGS ALL GOOD WEEN FANS KNOW

1. Ween is basically two guys (bolstered by a band) who go by Gene and Dean Ween (or Gener and Deaner, as they're sometimes called). Their real names are Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo, respectively.

2. Freeman and Melchiondo met in eighth-grade typing class in New Hope, Pa.

3. Gene Ween is an avid photographer; Dean Ween is an avid fisherman. Deaner will go fishing with just about anyone who invites him along.

4. Ween's first two major releases, "GodWeenSatan: The Oneness" and "The Pod" were ultra lo-fi projects that were cut on a four-track recorder. The lo-fi sound has become a sort of Ween trademark, even after the band started recording with all the bells and whistles of a recording studio.

5. After forming, the guys invented their own deity and called it the Boognish. The illustrated Boognish (a crudely drawn figure with an unnaturally round head, a big toothy grin and a spikey hairdo) has become the band's insignia. There is a Ween fan club that calls itself The Cult of Boognish.

6. Until recently, the band recorded their albums at Brillmans, a leaky, mildew-infested, 200-year-old farmhouse that had been transformed into a recording studio.

7. Brown is the color used to describe all things good and Ween-related. A good Ween show is referred to as a "brown-out." Dean Ween's blog is called Brownie Troop 666. When Ween's around, they paint the town brown.

8. Ween always dedicates its albums to one person. "Chocolate and Cheese" was dedicated to John Candy.

9. Ween is known for its hours-long sets, and a Ween concert means it's going to be a long night.

10. Ween joined with members of Japanese rock group Boredoms to make noise rock album "Z-Rock Hawaii" in 1997.

You'll like Ween if you like: