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‘Truly believe in what you want to do’: Five minutes with Chane Smith, 22, cashier at Walmart

Andy Bockelman
Chane Smith warms up on the piano in the living room of his home on Exmoor Road. Smith, 22, also plays the clarinet and recently marched in the Fourth of July parade playing the saxophone. He currently works as a cashier at Walmart and will student-teach band classes in Steamboat Springs this fall before graduating from the University of Northern Colorado.
Andy Bockelman

Where is your hometown? “Craig.”

What has kept you in Craig? “Family, mostly, but when I’m not in school, it’s nice to come back to the Western Slope where the air is fresh. I’m graduating in December, and I’ll probably still live here while I’m job-hunting. I’m going to be commuting to Steamboat starting in August to student-teach band for sixth-grade through high school.”

Motto or outlook on life? “‘Speak softly but carry a big stick’ is probably my favorite quote for that. (Laughs)”



Favorite part of your job? “I like interacting with people. There’s a lot of that with my job.”

Favorite meal from a local restaurant? “I like to go get the biscuits and gravy from the Golden Cavvy because it’s so huge. It’s been almost a year since I had that, but it’s always really good.”



Favorite song to play as a musician? “I think my favorite that I get to play a lot is still ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ because of what it means to the country and the fact that when I’m playing it, I’m representing so much whether it’s down on the marching field or onstage or singing it. I marched in the (Fourth of July) parade playing the saxophone, but piano is my primary instrument, and I play clarinet too.”

Dream vacation? “I want to go to England. My mom was born there, so it would be really neat to visit.”

Superpower you’d find most useful? “To be able to reach into my pocket and pull out the exact amount of money I’d need. I don’t need all the money in the world, but if I want a pack of gum that’s $1.65, I’ll reach in my pocket and pull out $1.65. Pockets that transcend dimension.”

Stuck on a desert island with nothing but a portable DVD player, what disc are you watching forever? “‘Zombieland.’ If I’m on a deserted island, it’s got to be deserted for a reason, and the reason might be zombies. So when I come across zombies, that would be a good instructional thing.”

Word or phrase that best describes you personality? “Persistent.”

Pet peeve? “It’s a toss-up between when people chew with their mouths open or when they pick their fingernails. Those just drive me up the wall.”

Proudest accomplishment? “It took two tries to get into the School of Music at (University of Northern Colorado) and doing that, it taught me a lot about work ethic and working toward your goals and above all else, it taught me that if you truly believe in what you want to do, you’ll get there. That’s what I want to pass on to my future students. It’s going to get tough, especially in music and there are some times when you’ll just sound like a mashed cat, but you put in the work your chances are a lot better.”

Most embarrassing moment? “I guess it’s ‘moments’ and there’s no specific one, but looking back on things I’ve done that at the time I felt pretty freaking and now realizing what an idiot I used to be, I definitely get embarrassed about that. Let’s just say there’s a lot of things I’ve done that I’ve learned from.”

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