Mandala's origins can be traced back to The Rogues, the house band at the Club Bluenote in Toronto during the summer of 1964. Keyboard player Josef Chirowski (born March 2, 1947 in Germany), bass player Don Elliot (born December 8, 1944 in Toronto) and drummer Pentti "Whitey" Glan (born July 8, 1946 in Finland) had worked together previously in several outfits, most notably Whitey & The Roulettes, who also contained future Luke & The Apostles and McKenna Mendelson Mainline guitarist, Mike McKenna.