No successful show in the Connecticut DIY music scene is complete without someone working behind the soundboard to make sure each band’s instruments and vocals are balanced. It’s also helpful when the sound guy is a musician themself.
Among those in the Nutmeg state who split their time between rocking on stage and running sound is DeLeon Teague. Teague has performed shows as the bassist of Neanderthal Petting Zoo and currently works as the main sound guy at The Dog P0und, the most happening spot for live music in Storrs.
After starting off with piano lessons and dabbling in guitar as a kid, Teague picked up the bass guitar when he was eight. He was inspired by one of his favorite bands, Queen, and their bass player John Deacon. He credits Deacon’s playing as one of his main influences, noting that “he knew how to lay it down simple or have these very intricate, elaborate basslines.”
Teague’s first experience playing bass live came in Summer 2023 while he attended the University of Connecticut’s CAPS Summer Bridge program as he headed into his freshman year. He and some people he met in the program played a few songs at a CAPS-wide talent show held at the Student Union Theater. Among the songs in the set was Metallica’s “Anesthesia – Pulling Teeth,” a notorious bass workout.
During his first year, he sent a message in the introduction channel of a UConn Class of 2027 Discord server looking for musicians to jam with. After fellow first-year student Andrew O’Farrell responded, the two spent the year in the practice rooms of the music building playing covers to develop musical chemistry and soon started to write songs.
By September 2024, the two formed a full lineup under the name Neanderthal Petting Zoo, also known as NPZ, and the group made its debut performance that month at The Dog P0und. Teague enjoyed the show, but noted how it made him alter his bass technique.
“I was using a normal pick for an extended amount of time and my hand cramped up,” he said. “By the time we’re mid-set, my hand would get tired and I tried switching to finger-style.”
To combat this, Teague started using thumb picks at future shows. This technique allows him to get the heavy sound that comes with using a pick but without any of the major hand cramps.
Over the course of the year, Teague and NPZ were a regular staple of Storrs lineups. Among the highlights of these shows came at a performance at The Dog P0und this past January, which featured great crowd energy and an impromptu rendition of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird.”
“It was so packed in there, people were a few inches away from my face,” he said. “They were super into it too, we had some heavy hitters from that set.”
Though NPZ is now on hiatus, Teague has taken on the role of running sound at The Dog P0und. After previously helping man the soundboard occasionally last year, he worked with Eddie Dahill from Ruby Leftstep to learn more. Teague added that Dahill’s help is “the only reason I know what I know about sound,” and shared more about his approach.
“My biggest mantra for running sound is that if I can’t turn the vocals any higher without causing feedback, turn your amps down,” he said. “That solves so many problems because the mics pick up on bouncing sound waves from amps and the vocals get drowned out.”
As someone who both runs sound and lives at the venue, Teague has become a central figure in the community that The Dog P0und has fostered in Storrs.
“I meet a whole lot of nice people and have had a lot of cool interactions with a lot of people,” he said. “And I’m exposed to a whole lot of good music too because there’s some great musicians out here.”