Dressed as Elvis, Chad Rosser, left, sits outside with his friends Catherine Infanger and Christie Cambron on Market Street. Rosser is a stand-up comedian and promotes the Vaudeville Cafe by dressing as the King.Many sights catch the eye on Market Street on a Friday evening: the sharp peaks of the Tennessee Aquarium, pedestrians strolling between the blue railings of the Walnut Street Bridge, boaters out for a ride on the Tennessee River, Elvis Presley enjoying a casual dinner with two pretty ladies.
Elvis Presley enjoying a casual dinner with two pretty ladies?
Perched outside under a red umbrella, dressed in a replica of the king’s famous diamond-studded jumpsuit, sits 27-year-old Chad Rosser, a student at Dalton State College by day, a stand-up comedian by night.
“I’m kind of broke,” says Rosser. “I don’t really have a real job besides stand-up comedy, and that doesn’t really pay much. I needed some extra money.”
He contacted Vaudeville Cafe, a comedy club where he frequently performs, and inquired about ways to make some extra cash. The operator handed him an Elvis costume and a stack of tickets to hand out for the comedy show that night.
Rosser admits that he was extremely nervous and even scared about dressing up as the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll” on one of the busiest streets in Chattanooga.
“That’s the whole thing with comedy,” says Rosser. “As long asyou can turn something into something to laugh at and make fun of it, then it’s fine, nothing to be upset about. I kind of just swallowed it down and just went for it.”
The public responded well, swarming him for photos, coming up to talk to him and screaming his name.
“It ended up being awesome,” says Rosser, as a smile spreads across his face.
Although Rosser says he’s always been funny, comedy hasn’t always been his full-time gig. He previously worked at FedEx and recently quit his job at AT&T, where he received great pay and benefits, to pursue his dream.
“You’ve got to do whatever makes you happy … it’s all about adjusting your life. I was making a ton of money working for those two companies, and I was buying a bunch of [stuff] I didn’t need and wasn’t happy,” says Rosser. “Now, I barely make anything and I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my entire life.”
MOMENT is a weekly column by the Times Free Press photo staff that explores the seldom-told stories of our region. To hear this story in their own words, go to www.timesfreepress.com/moment.