Mean Gator: Ken & Gator profile picture

Mean Gator: Ken & Gator

About Me

Mean Gator is the team of songwriter, Ken Trella and guitarist, Al Ponalet. As a duo, we write and produce songs for everyone. We're just two average, everday, guys who often feel the pain and joy of life. We're a workin' class band. If you're a hard-working student at school, a Stay-at-home-Mom or Dad (like Al, a.k.a., The Gator, Ponalet), or a 9 to 5 Mom or Dad, you'll certainly relate to MG. Our music reflects life with a sense of humor and perspective. Often times, with WAY too much perspective. Good or bad, Ken is to blame for all the "perspective" you get. Aside from that, we're a duo interested in publishing and/or selling our music to an established group or record label. Enjoy! Ken (Ken-Rod) Trella & Al (The Gator) Ponalet. I edited my profile with Thomas Myspace Editor V4.4 (www.strikefile.com/myspace)For More Mean Gator Videos See Our Video Page!

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 17/02/2007
Band Website: myspace.com/meangatoronline
Band Members: Ken Trella: Lyric Master, Cord Monkey, Al Ponalet: Hack Guitarist, "Jack Of All Production", Computer Monkey!
Influences: I heard some screeching monkeys once during a trip to the zoo. That same trip a bike got lodged under the car’s tire and scraped and wailed its way two miles down the interstate. Or was that the rider? Hm... I guess a bike really wouldn’t yell like that. Well, that certainly explains a lot. Anyway, neither of the former events really influenced us except for the album "Screaming Monkey’s From Under the Car." And even that was a kid’s album. No, our influences stem from whatever songs Gator taught me to play in college. I of course was playing acoustic chick-getting songs but he said, "Wait dude, let’s fill a room with all the unaffiliated musicians in the college and start rocking! That’ll give me plenty of things to mix on the album and we’ll never have a mixing board big enough!" "Okay." I said, never one to argue with or tease the Gator. Anyway, two practices with that ungainly group and we were back to square one. Who would influence us? Every band influenced us for good or bad. "Let’s never play stuff like that!" "That’s pretty good." "Who’s ready?" "Party!"
Sounds Like: Angst- filled caterwauling backed by Beatles harmonies, Stones blues licks and 80’s forgetable 5th cords. But not as good as that sounds. Actually we sound like us. The whole reason to write your own stuff is because you don’t sound like any other band. It’s an acquired taste like that slow charley-horse that you get in the middle of your foot when you point your toes forward and then down. And how you think you can’t take it anymore but it doesn’t quite bother you enough to straighten your foot back out. And when the charley-horse is over you think, "Hey, that wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever felt. I wonder if I can get my foot to charley-horse like that again?" And then you point your toes back again and start it all over again. Our music is kind of like that.
Record Label: Unsigned

My Blog

Mean Gator to Perform After 14 Year Hiatus.

Hi Gang!  It's been awhile since we've written.  We've been busy.  'Gotta a new album coming out and now we're preparing for a benefit show at the Polish Knight's Club in Meriden, CT.  The show is in ...
Posted by on Tue, 14 Apr 2009 19:55:00 GMT

Mean Gator featured tonight on WESU 88.1 FM

Mean Gator music will be featured tonight on WESU, 88.1FM. Homegrown is the show. It starts at 5:05 and goes until 6:00. There's a "Live" webcast at www.wesufm.org  Support local music (and your ...
Posted by on Thu, 02 Oct 2008 18:45:00 GMT

Its a rough life.

Man!  Life is rough.  ...rougher these days... Gas prices, Food prices, Diapers... Wipes... Mortgages... Beer... Fish food... Phone Sex... This economy Blows!  Ken and I feel your ...
Posted by on Tue, 05 Aug 2008 08:13:00 GMT

Certainly can’t post everything twice

Just a nod of the head to Cheeray engineering and mixing live bands at The Space . Glad to see the girl is getting ready to step in whenever Gator falls asleep at our late shows. And where are the new...
Posted by on Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:54:00 GMT

Big Party at Gators!

Sure, who wouldn't want to go to Gator's house for a big holiday picnic. I haven't seen or berated him in quite a while. I'm even bringing the apprentice Cheeray to scope out his new recording room. H...
Posted by on Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:47:00 GMT

15 hours

Yeah, that's right. When the cord monkey tries to create a network of wireless joy in his home it certainly take months of agony and hours of drinking. But when you finally get it all working and you ...
Posted by on Tue, 20 May 2008 18:33:00 GMT

More Rejected Band Names

As I look back on the difficult process of choosing the perfect name for our band I think of the ones we didn't choose. Sure Mean Gator has it's charms and the benefit of having our names already in i...
Posted by on Thu, 15 May 2008 22:13:00 GMT

Heroes Create Themselves- the song didn’t!

Ryan Gordon was a young man who exhibited great altruism and courage in the face of an incurable and ultimately fatal disease. In the face of this undefeatable foe he focused on what he could leave be...
Posted by on Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:38:00 GMT

Squirrels vs Rats

You know, life definitely comes down to attitude. As I'm watching all the squirrels running around the treetops, ripping open trash bags, fornicating in front of school kids, it occurs to me that if t...
Posted by on Thu, 17 Apr 2008 21:42:00 GMT

Were remembering our fallen soldiers in Iraq.

I'm No Hero.  They are!!!
Posted by on Wed, 16 Apr 2008 21:11:00 GMT