They Are Gutting a Body of Water founder Doug Dulgarian has been diagnosed with cancer. He shared the news on Instagram, and confirmed that the Philadelphia shoegaze band has canceled their forthcoming North American tour as a result, save for three December shows: two in Brooklyn on December 9 and 10, and a hometown show on December 18. A GoFundMe to support Dulgarian and the band while he undergoes treatment was also launched today.
According to Dulgarian, he received his diagnosis on October 16, the same day the band put out their new mixtape Kool Faith / Loosies II, which featured a cadre of collaborators including Spirit of the Beehive, Hotline TNT, RXK Nephew, Horse Jumper of Love, and Greg Mendez. The band’s tour was set to kick off on October 29 in Baltimore.
“The fact that i got the diagnosis the same day we put out a massive compilation featuring as many friends as i could muster, well that symbolism that is not lost on me,” Dulgarian wrote. “I know I can be real corny sometimes but music and community has given me a purpose in my life that I didn’t have before I found it.”
Read Dulgarian’s full statement below.
damn. super bummed to have to talk about this. and super bummed to do this
I was diagnosed with cancer last Friday, same day we put out Kool Faith. crazy day, every possible emotion lmao
we obviously can’t do the tour, as I need to get this figured out. i have treatment in a couple weeks
I have a feeling it will all work out. been thru a lot of things in my crazy and (atp) relatively long existence and im no stranger to putting my best foot forward and facing some difficult shit
I wanna make this clear. im not seeking pity. i do not want to sway your emotions to feel bad for me. I just want to inform you. I genuinely believe this will work out just fine. there are many people with much worse problems and my life has been so infinitely blessed and privileged & I never lose sight of that
also I don’t think that kind of mindset is beneficial. if I start to believe that i deserve pity from others, I would feel bad for myself, & that’s the beginning of giving up
this ain’t the end of the world
