They Are Gutting a Body of Water Cancel Tour as Doug Dulgarian Announces Cancer Diagnosis

By Daniel Okafor

Doug Dulgarian, founder of the Philadelphia hardcore band They Are Gutting a Body of Water, has been diagnosed with cancer. He shared the news on Instagram and confirmed the band has canceled its forthcoming North American tour, with three exceptions: two Brooklyn shows on December 9 and 10 and a hometown Philadelphia date on December 18.

A GoFundMe to support Dulgarian and the band during his treatment launched the same day as his announcement.

Dulgarian received his diagnosis on October 16 — the same day the band released its new mixtape, Kool Faith / Loosies II. The compilation features a long list of collaborators, including Spirit of the Beehive, Hotline TNT, RXK Nephew, Horse Jumper of Love, and Greg Mendez. The canceled tour had been set to open on October 29 in Baltimore.

What did Dulgarian say?

His statement is blunt, funny in places and completely free of self-pity. "I was diagnosed with cancer last Friday, same day we put out Kool Faith," he wrote. "crazy day, every possible emotion lmao."

On the cancellation itself: "we obviously can't do the tour, as I need to get this figured out. i have treatment in a couple weeks."

He was direct about what he doesn't want from fans. "im not seeking pity," he wrote. "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."

He explained his reasoning: "if I start to believe that i deserve pity from others, I would feel bad for myself, & that's the beginning of giving up."

The prognosis, he noted, "seems to be pretty good. thats cool."

Why the timing matters

Dulgarian didn't miss the coincidence of the diagnosis and the release. "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," he wrote.

He continued: "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."

The mixtape, built around exactly that community of friends, arrived on the hardest day of his life so far. That's not symbolism a publicist would invent.

The three surviving dates — Brooklyn on December 9 and 10, Philadelphia on December 18 — stay on the schedule "in hopes I'll be able to do it," according to Dulgarian's statement. Treatment begins within a couple of weeks.

He closed with characteristic economy: "love yall. I'll keep ya posted."

Whether the December shows happen depends on treatment. Either way, the GoFundMe and the mixtape give the band's community two concrete ways to respond — which, by Dulgarian's own account, is the thing that gave him purpose in the first place.