Some really scary and awful news: Doug Dulgarian, frontman of the hugely important Philadelphia band They Are Gutting A Body Of Water and founder of the equally important indie label Julia's War, has been diagnosed with cancer. Dulgarian, the guy wearing a striped shirt in the above photo, made the announcement in a heartfelt Instagram post this morning, writing that he got his diagnosis on Friday, the same day that TAGABOW released the massive new mixtape KOOL FAITH / LOOSIES II. TAGABOW were scheduled to launch a North American tour on Thursday night in Baltimore, but that won't happen now. In his very candid post, though, Dulgarian says that "the prognosis seems to be pretty good."
Dulgarian does not say what kind of cancer he's battling — merely that he will start treatment "in a couple weeks." He also says that the band will "keep the Philly & nyc dates on the schedule" — that's Dec. 10 at Warsaw and Dec. 18 at Union Transfer — "in hopes I’ll be able to do it." In his post, Dulgarian repeatedly emphasizes that he think he'll be fine, that his diagnosis "ain’t the end of the world." It's worth your time to read what he has written:
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
we’re gonna keep the Philly & nyc dates on the schedule in hopes I’ll be able to do it
lifes so weird man. im a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. most of the time i don’t understand why at the time, but it always makes sense in the end. im sure this situation is no different
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
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. you live one time and I haven’t got time to not mean everything I say, or to leave things unsaid
i love nothing more than making music and seeing my friends & it breaks my heart to cancel a tour
I hope what I can walk away with from this situation is gratitude for another experience. ive been blessed to experience a full spectrum of emotion in my life. very good, very bad, a whole lot in between
im scared and unsure of how this will all go. the prognosis seems to be pretty good. thats cool
love yall
I’ll keep ya posted
-doug
Doug Dulgarian has already been through a lot of trials in his life, and he talked about it in a Stereogum feature last year. He's a real one and an important figure, and we wish him a speedy and comfortable recovery.