Hi this is Bob Davis of Soul-Patrol.
This is a special edition of the Soul-Patrol Newsletter, dealing specifically with the Funkadrill/Mandrill Experience concert (“The Road To Love”) coming up August 18-19. You may have seen it advertised on the Soul-Patrol Newsletter and/or on the Soul-Patrol website. This is not a “fake artist,” or a “tribute show.” IT’S GOING TO BE THE REAL DEAL. It’s at the Bristol Riverside Theatre, a wonderful 300-seat venue, on the banks of the Delaware River. The event promises to be a spectacular, yet intimate evening of GREAT MUSIC!
You are getting this email from me, because I wanted to communicate with you on a more personal level regarding this subject, given the number of questions I have gotten regarding the show.
DATE/TIME: August 18 – 19, 2023 | 8pm
VENUE: Bristol Riverside Theatre, 120 Radcliffe St, Bristol, PA, 19007
TICKETS:
Phone: 215-785-0100
Online/Web: https://tickets.brtstage.org/events?view=list
LOCATION:
The Bristol Riverside Theatre is about a 15-20 min drive from Center City Philadelphia. It's about 1.5 hours from NYC, 2 hours from Baltimore and 3 hours from Washington, DC. Don't have a car? Take SEPTA to the Bristol train station & Uber to the Theatre.
NOTE: If you live outside the area, buy a ticket anyhow. We will give that ticket to a deserving young person.
WHO IS THE ARTIST? (IVE NEVER HEARD OF THEM)
Actually, you have!
The artist is “Funkadrill” – It’s the name of a Funk band headed up by Neftali Santiago, a name that you should be familiar with, from the Mandrill albums over the years. Neftali is a good friend of Soul-Patrol and has been associated with us since the beginning of our website, way back in the mid 1990’s. He has been the on again/off again drummer in Mandrill for almost 50 years and is best known for being the driving force on Mandrill’s biggest hit song during the 1970’s called “Fencewalk.” No doubt if you have seen Mandrill perform live over the past 50 years, you have seen Neftali perform live.
Neftali joined Mandrill in 1972 and is featured on many Mandrill albums and hits. Together Mandrill’s multi genre sound has not been matched by any other band to date. Mandrill headlined the Spectrum many times as well breaking a RFK stadium attendance record of 85,000. More recently in the 1990’s and 2000’s, you have seen Mandrill perform in the Philadelphia area to sold out shows, with huge overflow crowd at venues such as the Robin Hood Dell East. I addition to being on again off again with Mandrill, Neftali has racked up four platinum albums as well as six gold albums collaborating with artists like Snoop Dogg, Public Enemy, Wyclef Jean, Kanye West and many more.
What you may not know is that Neftali is a native of Willingboro, NJ, which is a multi-ethnic suburb of Philadelphia, located just across the Delaware River. Neftali has come to a major crossroad in his life and has decided to retire from live performing and wanted to do a “Final Performance, (called “The Road To Love”) close to where he grew up, so he picked, the Bristol Riverside Theater (more on the venue later.)
The Band. “Funkadrill’s Mandrill Experience” are handpicked musicians to recreate the Mandrill sound, led by Neftali. Neftali called on Joe Keyes and The Late Bloomer Band from Maryland to get that Mandrill horn sound, Tony Camm, Zack #9, and Jacqui Camm from Virginia and North Carolina to handle the vocals. On lead guitar Spacey T and Stanley Davis on bass from Sound Barrier. On second guitar he has brought in Marc Rey from Mandrill. The 70s was a special time for music and Mandrill was at the top of headline acts paving the way for a lot of bands.
“THE ROAD TO LOVE” (WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT TO SEE & HEAR AT THIS CONCERT?)
“The Road To Love” is a musical presentation of his journey from a local hometown drummer from Willingboro, New Jersey to becoming a member of Mandrill. The show will end in present day with F.M.E. performing songs from Funkadrill’s debut album, “Release The Funk” not yet released. Neftali decided to end his Mandrill journey where it all began. He chose the Bristol Riverside Theater for its beauty as well as it being 11 minutes from his 22 Somerset Drive family home. Neftali titled his first solo album “22 Somerset Drive”, the place where he started his music career.
· The Night will feature “Joe Keyes and The Late Bloomer Band” opening, followed by a Mandrill set performing many of your favorite Mandrill hits. The night will end with new music from Funkadrill’s unreleased album, “Release The Funk”. VIP (premium ticket) holders will receive this collector’s CD with their ticket purchase. Only 300 copies were made up for this event, a real treasure indeed.
· In addition, you will get a chance to be a part of history. Funkadrill will be taking this opportunity to film both nights for the upcoming Netflix documentary film of the same name, “The Road To Love”.
· On a personal level, the most exciting part of all of this for me is going to be the once in a lifetime set list for this show. As you all know, I have been going to see Mandrill shows since I was a teenager in NYC in the 1970’s. I have seen Mandrill perform live and done reviews at venues from Brooklyn, Philadelphia and Washington DC. I have seen the set list for this show, and not only will you hear all of Mandrill’s biggest songs, you will also hear Mandrill’s most popular songs (the ones they haven’t played in concert since the 1970’s,) And you will hear new music from Funkadrill as well. I’ve heard these new songs. If you are a FUNK MUSIC FAN, you are going to be quite pleased! Full studio versions of some of the songs that you will hear are posted on the Soul-Patrol website, at the following link for your listening pleasure at the following link: http://soul-patrol.com/funkadrills-mandrill-experience-8-18-8-19-bristol-pa-riverside-theatre/ But keep in mind, that is just the “tip of the iceberg.”
This promises to be a once in a lifetime, musical experience, filled with both nostalgia and discovery!
MEDIA (HOW COME I HAVEN’T HEARD ABOUT THIS SHOW YET?)
So far, it’s only been advertised via selected outlets online. That is about to change.
Philly Radio – WJYN (98.5 FM) Starting this week, you will be hearing the voice of Neftali Santiago, talking about both his career and the show itself throughout its broadcast day, via both short “drops,” and long form interviews. Tune in and check them out
Other Philly Media (Radio/TV/Print) – Is in the works, I will let you know as soon as I am able to announce those dates.
NY/NJ Media – Stay tuned, TBA
DC/Baltimore Media – Stay tuned, TBA
National Media - Stay tuned, TBA
Well, that’s all I have for the moment.
Feel free to email me or call me (below) with any questions, thoughts, or ideas that you may have.
Finally, keep in mind as an “Indie Artist,” Neftali is promoting this event/concert all on his own. He doesn’t have a big record label or marketing company behind him. It’s really just himself and us (his fans.) and speaking of US, I want to take this moment to strongly encourage you to share this information. Forward to your email list, post to your social media pages. If you are a journalist, get in touch with me and I will help you to arrange an interview with Neftali.
Here is a link that you can use on your Social Network pages:
http://soul-patrol.com/funkadrill-mandrill-experience-personal-note/
Thanks in advance…
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Bob Davis
609-351-0154
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