THE MANDRAKE MEMORIAL, formed by Craig Anderton (guitar, sitar, electronics), Michael Kac (keyboards), John Kevin Lally (drums) and Randy Monaco (bass, lead vocals) in 1967, were one of renowned Philadelphia-based rock bands along with THE NAZZ during the late 1960s. They got started performances mainly in The Trauma, produced by Manny Rubin as a new club located in the middle of Samson Street, where they eventually could attract notice of Poppy Records, an affiliated label of MGM. In the fall of 1967 they signed with Poppy Records and released three albums - 'The Mandrake Memorial' (1968), 'Medium' (1969), and 'Puzzle' (1970).
THE MANDRAKE MEMORIAL were a short-lived outfit disbanded by Michael's withdrawal shortly before the last album 'Puzzle' released, but much influenced by 60s psychedelic rock or folk rock, and moreover blended with their unique originality such as Craig's epochmaking electronics or Michael's Rock-Si-Chord, their soundscape was worth calling a pioneer of Psychedelic Progressive Rock and Acid Folk.
