Lawrence A. Mandley

Lawrence Mandley was born in Springfield, Illinois and grew up in Chicago. His first stage appearance was a school talent show when he was in 2nd grade. The song was "Tequila" and Lawrence sat on the floor, center stage with a wide brimmed straw hat covering his face as two 8th grade girls in calypso garb danced around him. At the key point in the song, Lawrence lifted his head and mouthed the word Tequila then, lower his head again. Every time this was done, it elicited a laugh that triggered a fuse in him that hasn't gone out yet and he is still pursuing. In his late teens and very early twenties, he sang with various vocal groups around Chicago and met with minimal success. Eventually, he decided to re-shift his focus and move to Los Angeles. Back in those early L.A. days when Lawrence was doing messenger work, he happened onto an elevator in a building on Sunset Blvd. While looking down at his packages to figure out his first stop, a voice asked him: "What floor?" He looked up and