About

Hello All!

My name is Chris “Shag” Hodges. I am a bass player (electric and upright), composer, bandleader, educator, father, and husband. My life is my family and my music. I maintain a solo jazz group, the Chris Hodges Band (a 4-5 piece group that plays modern jazz and sometimes moonlights as a trio), and a jazz duo, The Living Jazz Duo, which focuses on standards.

At the moment, I have a full time job during the day and I play and write at night and on the weekends. One day, I very much plan to be a full time musician and, I must say, am well on my way to doing just that.

I started this blog because of the unique opportunity it provides to talk about music or anything else and share it with the world. It’s also a great way to share ideas and learn things that would otherwise allude me due to the geography and the cultural limitations of my particular location. Great bloggers like  Jason Parker and David J. Hahn have helped me tremendously and inspired me to share things that have worked for me.

I also feel that, because of my battles with Social Anxiety (which led to an almost debilitating Performance Anxiety and finally a mid-performance panic attack), I can offer some insight that may help people overcome some of the same demons. It took me years (more than a decade) to be comfortable with myself and my playing and I missed valuable opportunities because of it. I have made it a mission to let musicians know that all those feelings are not unique and that so many of us have defeated them and they can, too.

I really hope that my writings help or inspire you in some form or fashion. Please email or comment any questions and be sure to check out my blogger friends to great tips and advice on all things music.