Happy Mondays Member Joins Mafia, Looking For DJ Gigs

With Manchester, England's Happy Mondays back on the road and half of a new record in the can, it would seem like everything was full steam ahead for the group's trio of original members: vocalist Shaun Ryder, drummer Gary "Gaz" Whelan and dancer and percussionist Bez.

But Whelan, who now lives in Burlington, Ont., says that couldn't be further from the truth, explaining that "the Mondays is kind of a day job now."

"It pays the money," he says, "but we enjoy it."

The Hippy Mafia, a new band Whelan's started with a fellow ex-Mancunian in Hamilton, is what's occupying most of his energy these days.

"It's like the Beatles with hip-hop," he says, citing one review back in England that described them as "if the Beatles were black."

He also uses American genre-bender Saul Williams as a point of reference.

As if two bands weren't already occupying enough of his time, Whelan is also looking to start DJ-ing around Toronto, and will be hosting the official after-party at The Drake Hotel when the Mondays play the Kool Haus with the Psychedelic Furs later this month.

"It's going to be free. I'm not getting paid, I just want to do it cause I'm here," he says. "It's an official after-show obviously.

"I'm going straight from the gig and then DJ 'til... well it's a Wednesday night so I don't think I'll be going on too late."

Here are the Happy Mondays' upcoming tour dates:

Oct. 6 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
Oct. 7 Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero
Oct. 9 New York, NY @ Roseland Ballroom
Oct. 10 Boston, MA @ House Of Blues
Oct. 12 Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
Oct. 13 Detroit, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre
Oct. 14 Toronto, ON @ Kool Haus
Oct. 14 Toronto, ON @ The Drake Hotel (aftershow DJ set)
Oct. 15 Montreal, QC @ L'Olympia De Montreal
Oct. 15 Montreal, QC @ Blue Dog (aftershow DJ set)