Dark magic
Bassist Zach Carr on Desert Child's musical alchemy

Dark magic

Desert Child, from left: Brian Ross, Alec Mayes, Clarke Reid, Ari Newman, Zach Carr. / Courtesy photo

Stephen Sellers - 12/19/2024

Happy New Year, dear readers. Wishing you a warm holiday season with lots of snow and somewhere dry and safe to sleep if you live outside. For this week’s “Between the Beats,” I spoke with the bass player beneath Desert Child’s wings, local ecotherapist Zachary Carr. Setting aside those renegade desert raves you hear chapped lips whisper about, if Durango’s wilderness therapy WhatsApp masses had a musical rallying call, it almost certainly would be played by Zach and his bandmates. Forming out of the ashes of Durango Tire Fire in 2022, Desert Child has quickly grown to be one of the town’s top acts, with countless sold-out shows and a slew of wildly successful pop-up festivals under Carr’s production company, Southwest Fest. I recently sat down with Zach to get the scoop on Desert Child’s New Year’s Eve operation, the tension between public and private gigs, and what’s on the horizon for Durango’s beloved Desert Child. As always, see you on the dance floor!

SS: Desert Child was a local cult favorite well before your first public show in 2022. What dark magic is this?

Zach Carr

ZC: A lot of us were field guides at Open Sky. Open Sky was just such a beautiful community of field guides and friends of field guides, so we kind of had this really supportive community. The most successful and meaningful music is the soundtrack for a time, place and community. The Beatles were in London in the ’60s, right? And there is a Durango scene. There is a vibe here, and it is about connection to place, connection with nature and connection with each other in this new movement of being more vulnerable, more in our hearts and jettisoning some of the destructive or toxic culture we grew up with.

SS: What are the lessons or ideas you all have taken as field guides and therapists into a creative act?

ZC: In any group, there’s always conflict. You just can’t get around that. Our time at Open Sky gave us a lot of communication skills to work with each other. It’s not that we’re free from conflict, but we have an edge.

SS: Tell us about the tension of performing original music as well as booking private events, weddings and playing covers to help make a living.

ZC: It’s a major tension, and I think … tension is good. Tension is where creativity comes from. So much has changed in the music industry, particularly with Spotify and streaming services. It’s changing so fast, day to day. So, there’s a different octave to the art, which is not the art of music but the art of music business. The weddings and the art are almost two separate entities, two rooms in the same house, and they’re being held in tandem. It’s a perpetual balancing act. It’s OK to receive a livelihood from art. If (2000s rapper) Soulja Boy can be a millionaire, then I can own a home in Durango.

SS: Soulja Boy, tell ’em! What’s up for the band on New Year’s Eve?

ZC: We’re hosting the Legends of Rock! Desert Child will cover the Beatles, and Desiderata will cover Fleetwood Mac, all at Stillwater Music’s Lightbox. It’s one of the best spots to experience music in Durango. We’re going to have Esoterra Cider there as well. People can find information for tickets in Desert Child’s Instagram bio.

SS: 2024 saw the departure of beloved bandmate and the centerpiece of Desert Child, Dan Hayden. Amidst the grief, what’s on the horizon?

ZC: There’s some open territory for us to explore. In 2024, we parted with Dan, who contributed so much to our sound and songwriting process. So, now there’s a lot of space that’s opened up. It’s been daunting and intimidating. How are we going to fill the void that this huge powerhouse brought? On the artistic front, there’s a new sound we’re cultivating and exploring. There’s that feeling you get as a musician when you’ve written something and you’re over the moon about it. At a certain point, it doesn’t even really matter what other people think about it. We’re on to something, and we’re having fun.

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