I have often mentioned a local group from Philly back in the 60's. They were quite original for their time-labeled baroque/psychedelic. I knew the lead singer/bass player Randy Monaco. He's no longer with us. They were the 'house band' at a local coffee house called 'The 2nd Fret' in the hip part of town...Sansom Street. I used to frequently go to their gigs there because I liked them so much. They were very popular in Philly, selling something like 150,000 copies of their 1st ST LP, but never really gained fame outside of Philly. They opened for The Doors in 1968 at a venue called The Arena at 46th and Market Street...the same place where American Bandstand with Dick Clark was shown live daily for years back in the R&R days. I thought that opening for the then fledgling Doors would have been their moment to 'shine', but it didn't happen. Anyway...here's a few tracks of The Mandrake Memorial
The Mandrake Memorial
Posted - 01/05/2010 : 18:01:14
