Tens of thousands of artists save hundreds of hours a year using ArtistData. Learn more | Artist Login

Blog Entries

Pay it Forward Marketing
Posted by on June 22, 2010
Recently, a regional fast food restaurant joined forces with a local Christian radio station and launched what I consider to be one of the smartest marketing campaigns I have ever seen. Now, I’m sure this is not the first time this tactic has been used but I know that down in the Bible Belt, in a town with boatloads of cash, and with a restaurant that closes on Sunday (that’s a big deal around… (read more)
DIG (#6)
Posted by on June 15, 2010
A few weeks ago, I decided to start a new Myspace page. The old one, due to some really odd coincidences, will be lost forever as soon as Chrome forgets my log in info. So, even though I seldom check MS, I decided it is a necessary evil and started anew. Anyhow, while I was perusing my other Myspace page’s friends to see who I wanted to ad, I came across a cat that I didn’t know about. A saxophonist… (read more)
Being a Dad (JE #4)
Posted by on June 8, 2010
The last three years of my life has been kind of crazy. Rewind 30 or so months and I’m living in my dream town (which I still daydream of) and working hard at writing and playing music so I could make a little bread. Of course, I was also climbing up and down six flights of stairs for eight hours a day making sure guitars were properly placed and accounted for. Life was pretty close to exactly how… (read more)
Be a part of my Album: Album Update 2.0
Posted by on June 2, 2010
Ahhhhh, the quest to fund an album! The days of record labels and development deals are gone, as we all know. As The Gunslinger, Roland, would say, the world has moved on. So, I have been searching for a way to raise money for my upcoming album. I really like the Artist Share approach but I don’t have the fan base to be accepted into their program. I, of course, have been mulling over the DIY micro-patronage… (read more)
New Album Vol. 1.5.2
Posted by on May 24, 2010
Working on the music for this album has been a lot of fun. I may even have time to add a tune or two to the six originals that I already have prepared and I know there will be one tune that my trombonist, Martin Sager, wrote. I have been ready to start rehearsal for about a month and a half but my schedule has completely blown up (not that I am complaining). So, for the next month (at least but maybe… (read more)
DIG (#5)
Posted by on May 18, 2010
Ok, things got a little crazy last week so I missed a DIG…but hey, I said it would be “mostly weekly!” Anyhow, for this installment, I am going to cover an album that means a lot to me.  You see, back in 2004, I was a lost man. Living in Atlanta, I had just gotten out of a very unhealthy relationship with a smooth jazz group (who will remain nameless) and was really trying to find myself musically.… (read more)
Why Build a Mobile Site/App?
Posted by on May 11, 2010
Ok, you’ve got a lot going on, right? You’ve got music to make and tours to play and social networks to maintain so, why should you throw anything else into the mix? Well, let’s see…somebody asks someone you know “hey, I need a band to play…” and that somebody hands them your business card. Now, two things can happen from here. One, they put the card in their pocket and go about their… (read more)
DIG (#4)
Posted by on April 30, 2010
Over the last few days, I have been working on a blog for www.dothanjazz.com called, Local Fav. It’s a new concept for the site where I take a local musician and write about what they are doing. This one was about a trumpet player named Jermaine English who just released a single called It’s Alright. So, since I have been listening to that tune a lot here lately (and digging on it), it qualifies… (read more)
DIG (#3)
Posted by on April 23, 2010
This week’s DIG is not only a new release (the first for DIG) but it’s also from a bass player (another first). I was hipped to this cat while reading a great blog by Sarah Crisman called Come play with us, New York. The artist, Yuka Tadano (the YT in YT Little D), is an upright/electric bassist from Ibaraki, Japan who moved to the United States to study jazz at UNT. The album is called Dancer… (read more)
More Than a Gig
Posted by on April 20, 2010
A little more than a week ago, I agreed to do a little gig with a friend of mine. This friend, with whom I have been sharing the stage with at Wiregrass Church for six months or so, is the operator of the flagship location of a local fast food chicken joint called Goldfingers. He wanted to play some jazz at his location and me, being the gig whore that I am, agreed. We agreed that all the tips would… (read more)
DIG (#2)
Posted by on April 15, 2010
It’s already time for another DIG and man do I have a good one for you! It’s an older album by saxophonist, Chris Potter, that I came across while randomly hitting buttons on my Droid. I’ve loved the album since I first heard it a couple years back and now it has, once again, taken over my music player. The album is Lift: Live at the Village Vanguard (released in May of 2004 on the Sunny… (read more)
New Album Vol 1.5
Posted by on April 14, 2010
Back on the last day of February, I posted a blog which chronicled the first step in recording my upcoming debut studio album. So, here’s an update. Towards the end of last week, I finished the sixth tune for the album. As I mentioned, I already had a few done. I have two tunes left to complete. One is an adaptation of a solo bass tune I wrote a long time ago called It’s Always Raining. I am arranging… (read more)
Cooperation, Please!
Posted by on April 12, 2010
A lot of you know that, in an attempt to raise jazz awareness and build a scene in my area, I started a website (www.dothanjazz.com). With this, I have tried to contact all the cats I know or know of and worked on spreading the word so I can add info to the site and dates to the calendar. This has lead to a surprising problem. Image via Wikipedia Most of the cats around here that are playing jazz… (read more)
DIG #1
Posted by on April 8, 2010
For a while now, I have been posting links to things I find and love to various places. My point is to support jazz and show people that it’s everywhere and easy to get. I wanted to expand this so I started posting it to Twitter, too. Now, I want to take it even farther. I am going to start posting a sporadic but mostly weekly “DIG” section on my blog to spread the word about things I have been… (read more)
As old as rhyme, as young as time
Posted by on March 31, 2010
Pretty much the only good thing that came from my years in college and the everlasting mound of student loans is the people I met while serving my time. Don’t get me wrong, I worked hard and learned a lot in college but what continues to pay off day after day is not the A’s in Music Theory or knowing a 5/4 conducting pattern. It’s the awesome friendships that were forged in the process. Almost… (read more)
What I learned from Joshua Redman
Posted by on March 11, 2010
A couple of years ago, I played a gig with my trombonist, Martin Sager, and a new drummer named Eric Ward. This trio gig was originally booked as a quartet (as most of my shows were at the time) but my guitarist couldn’t make it. Instead of finding a sub, I decided to go ahead with this guitarless/pianoless trio. I knew that with a good drummer, a good horn player, and, an O.K. bassist (me) that… (read more)
I Get to Teach Again!
Posted by on March 4, 2010
Today I went to an interview at a local church that hosts a really great music program. This place is huge and has about one hundred and fifty students across several disciplines. I noticed they didn’t have a bass instructor so I emailed them and enquired about the position. I met with the head of the school and, after some sight reading, some improv playing, and a lot of talk, I got the gig. Students… (read more)
You can do that on a PC, you know!
Posted by on March 3, 2010
There is a misguided assumption among hipsters and musicians, these days, that Mac is the Jesus Christ of computers and it is flawless in all ways.  PC’s, in this scenario, are obviously Lucifer. Well, here’s the whole ball of wax… ***I want you to know that I am not saying PC OR Mac is inferior and I am not attempting to endorse either one. I like Mac. I like PC.*** The problem that most people… (read more)
I Think I’m Ready (New Album volume 1)
Posted by on February 28, 2010
A full length album has been hanging over my head for years. It has taken me a long time to be happy with where I am and figure out what I am. Well, I think I have gotten there. Though I have released an EP called Live at Featured Players, I haven’t actually organized my thoughts into a full length, studio album. I got the idea to document the process via weblog from Gary Melvin. I really enjoyed… (read more)
Droid Apps for working musicians
Posted by on February 11, 2010
Recently, I switched from T-Mobile (whom I had been with for about six years) to Verizon. When I changed, I knew I wanted to go with an open platform phone (I had been a loyal BlackBerry user up to this point) but would rather have my finger nails ripped from my fingers than have AT&T (thus the ruling out of the iPhone). So, I went with the Motorola Droid and I haven’t looked back since. Image by… (read more)
Music lessons from Figure skating
Posted by on February 8, 2010
Ok, this is kind of an odd combination, I know. And, just prove how random it actually is, I will tell you this- I got the idea from an Olympics commercial. Anywho, pretty much the main focus of my short blogging career has been the mental side of being a musician, the problems that people don’t think about as being inhibiting to their career, performance, or stage presence. They are also ALL issues… (read more)
The Living Jazz Duo
Posted by on February 2, 2010
Several years ago, I was a pit musician for a couple college theatre department productions. It was one of those situations where you meet new people and, with one or two of them, you just know you will be working together in the future. You know how it is, you really hit it off musically, personally, and they’re easy to work with!  In this case, it was the drummer. He was a graduate assistant… (read more)
The Meaning behind the Music
Posted by on January 26, 2010
Last weekend, the wife and I took a trip to our old stomping grounds, Atlanta, Ga. It’s a little over three hours from our home so, she thought it would be fun if we each made a playlist inspired by our lives as a couple. The way we separately interpreted this task was inspiring to me. My wife (as many women can) has always been able to tell me what who was wearing at any point in history. She can,… (read more)
Jazz Without Leaving The House
Posted by on January 14, 2010
One thing that makes things difficult as a jazz musician in a small town is the limited (if any) chances to see/hear live jazz and it can be hard to “feel” your way through band leadership and stage management/presence without it. So, what I wanted to do was give some resources for musicians and, at the same time, maybe give newbe  listeners some places to explore jazz without having to drop… (read more)
Mind over Music (pt. 3)
Posted by on January 5, 2010
For the final installment of this little miniseries, I want to address something that young musicians (including myself…when I was young) deal with.  I want to talk about stylistic diversity and what it means to making money as an instrumentalist. In the blog, Where’s My Bentley?, I talked about musicians I looked up to as a teen ager and how they can’t make it as a musician outside of their… (read more)
Dear 1999
Posted by on December 30, 2009
Ok, so, the cats at musicianwages.com has asked music bloggers to participate in a group blogging event today (12/30/09). The topic is a question- If you could go back to 1999 and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be? My response is short and sweet but it definitely addresses the single biggest issue of the last decade of my musical life. Play. Every chance you get, just play. Trust… (read more)
A New Year (JE#3)
Posted by on December 28, 2009
I’m sitting here (alone) in my new office dreaming of the year to come. New music to play, write, and discover with new experiences poised to shape me and my family into whatever it thinks we should be. Although the speakers to my left circulate the somber sounds of Other Lives, I can’t help but feel great optimism for what’s to come. It will, hopefully, prove to be a great year but I know there… (read more)
Mind over Music (pt. 2)
Posted by on December 23, 2009
Now that you we’ve beaten the confidence/worthiness monster (Mind over Music pt.1), we have to get over the issue of geography. No matter where you live (save anywhere like NYC, Chicago or Nashville) you can lament over your town’s lack of culture and/or opportunity. That’s all fine and dandy but one issue remains- That’s where you are. So, how do you deal with being in a town seemingly void… (read more)
Band Pamphlet
Posted by on December 17, 2009
So a few months ago, I saw a Sonicbids video featuring a pamphlet a band had made and distributed at one of there shows. The Band Info Pamphlet had some great information in it including merchandise and they’re upcoming shows. I thought this was a great idea and beat myself up a little for not thinking about it myself. So, I knew I wanted to do this at my next show but I also knew that Selkow’s… (read more)
I Guess We’re all Human
Posted by on December 15, 2009
With all the things that seperate people (races, creeds, interests, situations, financial status, etc), it is easy to find ourselves judging each other. People we work with or see in a store or where ever. It’s human nature, I guess, or maybe it’s an aquired trait we adopted as a defense mechanism. A way to help us feel better about ourselves. Whatever the case, it’s stupid. One thing I have… (read more)
Mind over Music (pt.1)
Posted by on December 3, 2009
In the last two years, my life (and attitude towards most everything in it) has shifted dramatically. First, while living in NYC, I realized how important family is and concluded that being close to them is more valuable to me than living in the best city in the world (this revelation even shocked me as I had spent a great portion of my existence trying to get there). This ideal was strengthened by… (read more)
Piracy to the Rescue?
Posted by on November 20, 2009
I’m no economist (though I did make a B in my Macro class in college) but, as we all do, I have my own opinions on many economic topics. The recent recession is, of course, one of them. I have pondered and read about the causes and effects and I have come to realize that a down fall is necessary. It’s the economy’s way of weeding out the superfluous corporations and businesses to balance competition.… (read more)
Where’s my Bentley?
Posted by on November 13, 2009
Since I can remember, I have wanted to be a professional musician. When I was just a yout (how out of the blue is a  My Cousin Vinny reference?), I dreamed of being a Country singer. Then I moved (very briefly) to wanting to be a Rapper. From about thirteen on, I was into Rock. I wanted to be Eddie Vedder so bad! I wanted to climb rafters with the sweat acting like a glue to keep my long, nappy… (read more)
In a Mellow Tone (JE#2)
Posted by on October 15, 2009
Recently, I went back to some old blogs (one of which, I Don't Get It, I reposted to this site) I posted on my Myspace page back in 2007. While reading them, I noticed that I used a good bit more profanity than I have in my recent work. That doesn't really bother me, the words , that is, but I began to notice a pattern. It seemed that my points were getting lost in the vernacular and, as I read them… (read more)
I Don't Get It!
Posted by on October 1, 2009
(Originally posted on Myspace Friday, January 19, 2007) On a recent binge on curiosity, I found myself pondering an unanswerable question&what is it, exactly, that makes the white (male) race better than every single other race on the entire planet? I mean, why is our shit scentless while everybody elses stinks to high heaven? Wait&perhaps this question needs to be answered with a question. That… (read more)
Bring on the Jazz!
Posted by on September 26, 2009
So, I was at a rehearsal the other day and we were going over a Nancy LaMott tune called Talk To Me, Baby. This particular gig (a frequent employer of mine) normally has some country and rock (Christian and secular) but never any real jazz. So, a conversation in sued bringing up the fact that the singer liked standard jazz (Ella, Holiday, etc) but didnt have much experience with it, otherwise.… (read more)
Thieves
Posted by on September 22, 2009
Ok, I'm gonna try to stay calm and not use any profanity with this subject'It's gonna be tough, though. Illegal downloading is a sore subject with me. I have a lot of friends that do it who equate it to getting a book from a friend then giving it back'Yea, not the same thing. Fact is, it's kind of like cloning and paying nothing to the people that worked for endless periods and, in a lot of cases,… (read more)
Drive (JE #1)
Posted by on August 28, 2009
The drive of a musician is hard to explain. Everyone knows what its like to have a song or tune stuck in your head but imagine having it stuck in you soul. I mean deep. Not just a song, either; more like every note ever played and every progression or melody ever composed. It can swell up, too. I sometimes physically ache to play or listen to music. Sometimes, I HAVE to lay in bed, get my best headphones,… (read more)
Online store
Posted by on August 19, 2009
You can buy Chris Hodges Band Shirts directly from the chris hodges website using any credit card via PayPal. There are also ways to pay for CH bookings and  gift certificate options right on the site! All you have to do is click the PayPal button and enter your information. For shirts/music click here. For gifting and payment, click here.   Good Things, Chris (read more)
Thinkers
Posted by on August 6, 2009
Ok, if you know me, you probably think I have some issues&Well, you are right. I have lots of issues and a lot of pet peeves&Well, today, I was reminded of one of those. What is it you ask? Ill tell you&THINKERS&or, rather, the need for some people to tell us that they are, indeed, thinkers. I think (I must be one, too!!) I will just start arbitrarily adding titles&Just off the top of… (read more)
NOMO
Posted by on August 5, 2009
When it comes to listening to music, I am all over the place.  I buy a lot of music every month (between Emusic, ITunes, and stores its between 6-10 albums) and, yes, I buy ALL my music. With all that music, eventhough I like or love it all (or I wouldnt get it), there are only a hand full of albums each year that really get me hooked. Well, a couple weeks ago, I bought one of those albums. The… (read more)
Hello all!
Posted by on July 31, 2009
Hello All!! Ok, so, here is my blog. Im gonna be giving everybody a peek into the world of music as I see it. I will be doing some album reviews, band reviews, and the like. Since my forte is jazz, I will start with that. I am really hoping move into reviews of local  bands, venues, and the music scene as a whole.  You will probably end up with some blogs inspired from some of my gigs or experiences… (read more)