KSJD’s Lacy McKay recently sat down with singer-songwriter Ely Cartwright, who will be performing at the ZU Gallery on Friday, June 23 at 6 p.m. Eli is a Durango-based musician with a passion for storytelling through his music.
Ely Cartwright
I got my first guitar in seventh grade when I was 13 years old. And, and honestly, I got a guitar because I thought it was cool and got so lucky that I just fell in love with the instrument and have been kind of chasing after that ever since. And that kind of took me down the road of, of writing songs and getting obsessed with that.
LP McKay
Ely's journey into music wasn't what he calls a noble pursuit at first, but rather a path to self discovery. I mean, that to me is pretty noble.
Ely Cartwright
You know, I think you're right, actually. Yeah,
LP McKay
Yeah. It's trying to figure out who you are. And part of it.
Ely Cartwright
Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah, I'd never thought of it that way. But I like that. I'm gonna steal that from you. If that's cool.
LP McKay
Go right ahead. I'm all about affirming things.
Ely Cartwright
I love it.
LP McKay
Ely's music is not just about him and his guitar. It's about connecting with his listeners quality he believes is at the core of his songwriting. He's greatly influenced by artists who tell stories and engage with real human experiences.
Ely Cartwright
Some of my favorite performances I've ever done, have been like for a few friends in their kitchen kind of thing.
LP McKay
That kind of "house show" feel.
Ely Cartwright
Yeah, exactly. Yeah, like sharing it because it's these people who know my story, and I get to share what I'm working on.
LP McKay
Ely describes his connection to Durango in the Four Corners region as a pioneering spirit taking charge of where he wants to be while also respecting the roots of the place he now calls home.
Ely Cartwright
I think for me as an artist, I've spent a lot of my time kind of digging in my own roots, and where I'm would like to go and I think I'm kind of aspiring toward is a little bit more of that like ownership of where I want to be.
LP McKay
At his upcoming show at the ZU Gallery, Ely plans to play a wide range of his work, including some new songs that he's recently recorded. He's eager to share his music and connect with his audience through his storytelling.
Ely Cartwright
I'll be playing a wide variety of my work. I just can't go another year without putting stuff out because I've got all this music I've written.
LP McKay
Finally, Ely sees music is an essential tool in building and maintaining communities, a shared experience that brings people together.
Ely Cartwright
But I think that there's like there are a couple of things like I think there are all kinds of ways that we as human beings connect. And one of the things that I think about with music, is that it could be a song that we all know front to back, we are sharing something collectively.
(Playing "Never Tame") There is wood smoke on the wind. There is bird song in the hedges, and the pup is pulling harder on the lead. There is wolf's blood in her veins and a wildness that remains no matter how hard we tried to hem her in. And no that's just like me never tame.
That was a bit of his song “Never Tame” there at the end of the interview. Once again, you can catch Ely and his brand of thoughtful acoustic melodies at the ZU Gallery here in Cortez at 6 p.m. on Friday, June 23.
