Mello Cads

• Genres: Rock

Biography

Mello Cads were formed in Los Angeles, CA, by late-night radio-show host, concert promoter, and record-label exec David Ponak. Ponak had long desired to front his own soft rock-lounge group, portraying himself as a jet-setting playboy cad; and soon had done just that, surrounding himself with a talented group featuring local pop musicians including keyboardist Brian Kassan (the Wondermints, Chewy Marble), bassist Scott "the Tycoon of Teen" Halper (the Now People, Maple Mars, Monogroove), drummer Howard Greene, and multi-instrumentalist Probyn Gregory (the Wondermints, Brian Wilson). Ponak was soon organizing Mello Cad shows where he and his group, wearing matching tuxedos and flanked by mini-skirted go-go girls, would perform cover songs by soft rock songwriters like Jimmy Webb, Paul Williams, and Burt Bacharach. As their popularity grew, Mello Cads soon began contributing tracks to various artist compilations. Ponak eventually met Kevin Dotson -- known professionally as Linus of Hollywood -- who was entranced by Ponak's kitschy stage performances and signed Mello Cads to his own Franklin Castle Recordings label. He then began producing their debut album, Soft as a Rock, which was released in May 2002. The concept album featured spoken word interludes, and sublime soft rock support from Ponak's new batch of Cads: Linus of Hollywood on bass, Probyn Gregory on guitar and trumpet, Nelson Bragg (the Negro Problem, the Now People) on drums, and Bob Remstein on keyboards. Soft as a Rock is highlighted by a guest appearance by Paul Williams, whom Ponak had met and become friends with after organizing a tribute concert to the songwriter/actor in 1998. ~ Bryan Thomas, All Music Guide

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