Originally hailing from the whaling city of New Bedford, Massachusetts, post-punk outfit The Creature From Dell Pond (@thedellcreature) is now looking to continue writing music with each of its members located in a different part of the country. One member, Gordon Walters, recently moved to Logan Square to continue his music endeavors full-time.
“As a ‘for-hire’ session bass player, there’s a lot more work here then there would be in New England by far,” says Walters about why he moved to the neighborhood in August of 2013.
With a tour on the horizon, a new EP in the works and a show lined up on July 12 at The Burlington (@burlingtonbar, 3425 W. Fullerton Ave.), the group is working tirelessly despite the state lines between them.
The Creature From Dell Pond Beginnings
They formed The Creature From Dell Pond on campus at the University of Massachusetts while in music school. The group started as a joke after Walters was asked to play a show in the area, but his band at the time could not make it. With only one day to piece a band together, Walters made a snap decision.
“I was roommates with Nolan [Sullivan (guitar and vocals)] at the time and I said ‘Hey, my band can’t play this show. Do you want to put together a silly set and play this show for fun?’ He said, ‘Yeah absolutely” Walters brought Noah Lapierre (drums) on board and says, “We practiced the night before and wrote some really, really stupid songs.”
The band needed a name for the show, so Sullivan came up with the idea to take the stage as creatures from a body of water on campus called Dell Pond. The Creature From Dell Pond was formed.
Writing Music Across Country
Today, The Creature From Dell Pond operates with three members in three different areas of the country. The band now relies heavily on communication on the Internet to continue creating new music.
“We were a band for awhile before we all moved, so we know each other pretty well musically at this point,” Walters says. “So I’ll record some ideas and send them to Nolan. Nolan will record some ideas and we just bounce them off of each other.”
So far, the group has been successful in creating new material through this back-and-forth method of writing. When it comes time for a short run of shows or a regional tour, the band gets together to practice their songs the day before.
“The first time we tried that I was pretty nervous about only one day of rehearsals, but it worked out perfectly,” he says. “We just learned what each other wants musically pretty quickly.”
The Burlington On July 12
This summer, The Creature From Dell Pond will spend the second day of their tour here in Logan Square. On July 12, the band is set to play their first ever Chicago show at The Burlington with local acts Lamp, Spooky Action Space Captain and The Burning Ponies.
“We’re playing with my three favorite Chicago bands,” Walters says.
Though the tour will mark a year since the release of the band’s Go Exist EP, The Creature from Dell Pond is looking to showcase their latest music while on the road.
“The new EP is a lot weirder,” Walters says. “[Go Exist] is fairly catchy, standard song lengths. With the newer stuff, there’s going to be a lot more noise elements and I think it’s going to appeal to a different audience.”
Neighbors interested in checking out The Creature From Dell Pond can listen to Go Exist below. The band is also offering vinyl, cassette, and CD formats of the EP on their Bandcamp.
Fans interested in the show July 12th at the Burlington can purchase tickets at the door and find more information online.
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