 Chris Titchner CubeSlacker had a chance to sit down with North Carolina’s very own Chris Titchner, the creator of the song Dead End Job which is off the new album Moving Day – which can be heard on over a hundred radio stations. We talked about music, work, following your dreams, and crappy jobs!
CubeSlacker: Hey Chris. Let’s get down to business. How’s the music business treating you?
Chris: Well, I guess it really depends on whether you have a glass half-full or a glass half-empty mentality; I just released my fourth independent release on my own record label (Bridgefolk Records), The album, Moving Day, is currently being played on about 100 stations along the east coast, I’m playing four to six gigs a month, and for the last 5 years, my music has pretty much supported itself. On the other hand, I still have a day job to pay the bills, and I’m obviously not famous yet.
CubeSlacker: Is being a professional – full time musician a dream of yours? How have you tried to follow your dreams?
Chris: That’s a tough question… I’d love to be a full-time musician, but I want to be playing my music. I have no interest in playing bar gigs where I’m required to play 70% covers, and unfortunately, that’s really where the money is these days. I’ve chosen to play lower paying gigs where I’m allowed to play my music, but that means I have to have a day job. As for following my dreams, I grew up in Burlington, Vermont, and although it’s a great place to live, it’s too small. Very quickly you realize that in order to get your name out you have to spend your time driving to Boston or NYC, and it’s very difficult to get your foot in the door in either of those places if you’re from out of town. I moved down to North Carolina in 2000 because I wanted to find a scene that was larger than Burlington, but no too big. I had some learning to do, and I thought that I might get lost in the shuffle in Boston or New York. I’m not looking for a big label deal, but I wouldn’t mind getting distribution and some sort of management support.
CubeSlacker: Ever had any bad jobs? Jobs you’ve hated?
Chris: Like everyone, I’ve had my share of awful jobs. I had the typical dishwashing type of thing, and I’ve worked for some pretty terrible bosses. Unfortunately, I think that most people aren’t happy in their jobs. It can be difficult to find a job that is exciting and interesting, and one that won’t become boring or repetitive. I hated those food service jobs, but I’m not sure I could really work a 9-5 office job either. I find sitting at a desk all day to be dreadful…It probably sounds like I just don’t like to work, but that’s not really true. I think I’m like most people; I need variety in my everyday existence.
CubeSlacker: Let’s talk about the song Dead End Job. Is that about anyone in particular?
Chris: Well, the inspiration for that song actually came about several ways. I wrote the song all out of order, and it was initially about someone who worked in a coffee shop, but before I’d gotten too far, I realized the coffee shop setting seemed a little tired. I had been watching the BBC version of The Office, which I love, and Tim’s character was someone who I thought most people could really relate to. I also have several friends who work office jobs that make them pretty miserable.
CubeSlacker: What made you write Dead End Job? What does it mean to you? Chris: So many of my friends work for the paycheck, and because that’s what you’re expected to do. I think that there is a real problem in this country because it’s become okay, almost expected, to be miserable in your job. It’s like a right of passage or something. You graduate from college or wherever and someone comes up and says: “Well son, you’re all grown up now…So here’s your crappy job.” I like money, but there must be another way. The problem is that when you’re unhappy and stressed out for 40 hours a week, it seeps into the rest of your life. You leave work on Friday and by Saturday morning –hell, by Friday night- you’re already dreading Monday. I had a bad job a few years ago and it completely invaded the rest of my life. I became hard to be around. The song itself is a celebration of the horrible dead end job. The lyrics tell it like it is, I really tried to capture the awfulness of it, but the brass come in and make it seem more upbeat. Casey Rea, of Seven Days, called Dead End Job a true “fanfare for the common man”, and with no disrespect to Aaron Copeland, I like that description. CubeSlacker: A lot of CubeSlacker readers can really identify with the Dead End Job story. Any advice for our readers who are trying to follow their dreams and get out of that crappy job? Chris: No job should make you miserable. I know that we live in a society that is obsessed with consumption and consumerism, but in the end it’s just money. Many people find their happiness in the things they buy, but perhaps that’s because they’re unhappy in other aspects of their life. Don’t get me wrong, I like stuff and probably spend too much on it, but I’ve just decided that I can be happy with less stuff if it means that I don’t have to have my soul sucked out of my body and my spirit crushed every Monday thru Friday…Getting down off the soapbox; I’ve always been told to do what you love and money will follow and although I’m not sure that’s actually true, I think that if you don’t at least try to follow your dreams, then you’re going to regret it. It’s really as simple as that. Visit www.christitchner.com for more info.
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