They duplicated everyone from Chicago to Buddy Miles to Jimi Hendrix to Santana to the Cream, mutli genre. In 1969 The Reeves went on a Battle Of The Bands winning streak. The Reeves never lost a contest and even went on Ted Macs Armature Hour. Little did Neftali know how close he was to filling a dream, being the drummer of one of his favorite bands, "Mandrill". It was early 1972 when "Mandrill Is" came out the bands second album. Neftali was in love with Mandrill Is. He was just turning 19 when he was given an opportunity to go back stage at the Spectrum in Philly where Mandrill headlined a show with "War" and "Bobby Womack". Neftali made up his mind he was going to became the last piece that the band needed to be able to flow with all genres of music. Neftali became the legendary drummer of "Mandrill" at the end of 1972. He is featured on the bands biggest hits such as Fencewalk, Mango Meat, Hang Loose, House Of Wood, Two Sisters Of Mystery where he debute his first song to the band and also sang lead vocal on his track. Neftali along with his band mates Mandrill went on to headline at, Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, Lincoln Center, And Central Park, in his home town New York. He has also toured the world three times with various artists.Neftali is very active recording, performing, and producing with 2 platinum and 4 Gold hits for his writing. Neftali has also created the first "All Animal" song ever heard! Neftali will start to release his "Funkadrill Lost Treasure Collection" starting on September 4th 2015.

FUNKADRILL The lost treasures collection released in 2015.

"You Say Keep It Gangsta"

Written by:

Wyclef Jean, Jerry Wonder, Neftali Santiago

featuring:

Butch Cassidy and Sharissa

Pay For P...

Written by:

Snoop Dogg, Big Pimpin, Neftali Santiago

 By The Time I Get To Arizona

written by James Henry Boxley III, Carlton Douglas Ridenhour, Gary J. Rinaldo, Neftali Santiago   

Public Enemy sampled Neftali’s song "Two Sisters Of Mystery" to use on their song “By The Time I Get To Arizona”. The song created a lot of media attention.

The song dealt with Martin Luther Kings' birthday not being celebrated in the state of Arizona. It went on to become a platinum seller and spurred a media field day.  The song sold over one million copies.

Tony Hawk 4

In 2003 Activision released "Tony Hawk 4" video game which features "By The Time I Get To Arizona".

Sound Barrier

1980

Sound Barrier was the first black heavy metal band to be signed to a major label. The label was MCA Records. Neftali produced a four-song demo on the band which landed the deal. The demo was a blend of funk, rock, and new wave; but when they got to MCA the music was turned to heavy metal. The band asked Neftali to use a song he wrote entitled:  Rock On The Wild Side. It was used for their first single and video. The album led to a major tour opening for the rock group Van Halen. Spacey T, the original guitar player for the band, is now with "Fishbone."

The group formally known as "The Ghetto Fighters" performed background vocals on Jimi Hendrix's lps Cry of Love, Rainbow Bridge, and War Heroes. " The twins are now known as the  Aleems: Taharqa and Tunde Ra  Aleem. They were"US", Polydor single, Ostrich and in 1977 they became "Prana People". Neftali performed ontheir intire lp . Al Brown producer.

Marino

1994

Marino, (vocalist/artist) put together an all-star band for his first solo Lp. Neftali Santiago-drums, Angel Figuroa-percussion, PeeWee Hill- bass, Kris Kello-keys, vocals, Conley Abrams-keyboards, Val McCallum-guitar, Charles Green-sax, Karen Briggs-violin, Donna Simon, Valentino, & Kimberly Abrams-vocals.

The Acid Jazz

1993

The Acid Jazz label contracted Neftali to perform on their entire stable of artists. The company folded before releasing four great CD's, sad but true.

In the early 70's young Neftali backed soul acts such as: The Manhattans, Emotions, Intruders, Barbara Mason, The Delfonics, etc. The acts toured what was called the “Chitin circuit.” Neftali would back the acts when they came to Philadelphia where  one band played for all the acts.

The Reeves

Ted Mac Amateur Hour (1969)

Neftali put his first band together. He named it The Reeves after Superman. They were a 7-piece band including 3 horns, a bass, a guitar, drums, and keyboards. The band was managed by Dolores Santiago, Neftali's mom. They rehearsed at the Santiago's in order to prepare for gigs around town, and in nearby teen clubs. Dolores set up an audition with the tv show Ted Mac. For those who don’t recognize Ted Mac, he was the (OG) “Americas Got Talent”. We had to drive from South Jersey to New York City to appear on the show. Our van broke down on the first attempt and we had to re-schedule.

NEFTALI SONGWRITING CREDITS

• 1.
  ARMADILLO
  Work ID: 311265691
  
• 2.
  BY THE TIME I GET TO ARIZONA
  Work ID: 320376732
  
• 3.
  CAL-IPSO
  Work ID: 331531632
  
• 4.
  CAN YOU GET IT (SUZIE CAESAR)
  Work ID: 331531614
  
• 5.
  DIRECT HIT CUES
  Work ID: 348077101
  
• 6.
  DIRECT HIT CUES
  Work ID: 348077058
  
• 7.
  DIRECT HIT CUES
  Work ID: 348077085
  
• 8.
  DIRECT HIT CUES
  Work ID: 348077076
  
• 9.
  EL FUNKO
  Work ID: 350690532
  
• 10.
  FIREPOWER CUES
  Work ID: 368061965
  
• 11.
  FUNKO EL
  Work ID: 360185659
  
• 12.
  LAND OF THE DRUMS
  Work ID: 420243561
  
• 13.
  NEVER DIE
  Work ID: 440753099
  
• 14.
  OUTTA DA BUSH
  Work ID: 450685199
  
• 15.
  PRIVATE WARS CUES
  Work ID: 468054873
  
• 16.
  ROAD TO LOVE
  Work ID: 480105820
  
• 17.
  TO THE BEST CUES
  Work ID: 508080884
  
• 18.
  TWO SISTERS OF MYSTERY
  Work ID: 500765480
  
• 19.
  YOU SAY KEEP IT GANGSTA
  Work ID: 550234405

Sound Barrier ‎– Total Control

Rock On The Wild Side Written-By – Neftali Santiago  

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