Off the Cuff - Jason Hodges

What book is on your nightstand? The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright, which is a look at how 9/11 happened; Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari, which is a complete history of the entire human species; and The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell, a fantasy book that takes place in historic New York City. What movie do you recommend to everyone? Silence of the Lambs is one of my all-time favorite movies just because of how amazing the acting is. Going old school—Charade with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. What’s the first thing you do after work? I change out of my “work armor” clothes and into something I feel is more comfortable, and then I turn on some music. If you couldn’t live in Alaska, where would you live? If I didn’t have to worry about money, New York City, without a doubt. If you could domesticate a wild animal, what animal would it be? A bald eagle—it’s got nothing to do with being patriotic, they’re just beautiful birds and being able to get one to do my bidding would be pretty awesome.

Jason Hodges OFF THE CUFF

Jason Hodges is the Executive Director of the Anchorage Concert Association, a role he’s

been performing for more than eleven years. He

focuses on expanding the reach of the Anchorage Concert Association, giving as many people as possible in the community exposure to the

performing arts. He says his favorite part of the job

is the end of a performance when the audience applauds: “While that applause is not for me—it’s for the artist on the stage—I take a moment to

experience it and take a piece for myself because

we were a small part in helping put the audience together with the artist to create that magic, that moment of community—and it's a great moment.”

Alaska Business: What do you do in your free time? Jason Hodges: For the last couple of years photography has been something I’ve been really passionate about. Cooking is another huge one.

AB: Is there a skill you’re currently developing or have always wanted to learn? Hodges: There was a period of time right after college when I was taking piano lessons, but then the woman who was teaching the class wanted me to do a recital… and I just wanted to learn, so I kind of gave it up then. [Playing] piano is something I wish I’d done or could learn without having to find 10,000 hours to achieve mastery, as Malcolm Gladwell would say.

AB: What is your go-to comfort food? Hodges: Buffalo wings—I’ve had them in so many places all across the world, and there is an amazing little place in Portland [Oregon] called Pok Pok that has amazing Asianstyle wings.

AB: Other than your current career, if you were a child today, what would your dream job be? Hodges: A writer.

after work just to go out and clear my head. I also really enjoy biking.

AB: What are you superstitious about? Hodges: If I see a penny on the ground I always pick it up, but I don’t know if it’s a superstition as much as a compulsion [he laughs].

AB: What’s the most daring thing that you’ve ever done? Hodges: It didn’t feel daring at the time, but looking back on it, it became a moment that changed my life: moving from Fairbanks to Anchorage.

AB: Dead or alive, who would you like most to see perform live in concert? Hodges: If I were to go dead, Prince for sure; for a living artist, Stevie Nicks.

AB: What’s your greatest extravagance? Hodges: Every Christmas we collect any money we’re given as a gift and buy a case of expensive wine, and then we have one really nice bottle of wine each month for the next year.

AB: What is your best attribute and your worst attribute? Hodges: My best attribute lately is asking the question: What’s the problem we’re trying to solve? I think people get focused on solving a problem without necessarily knowing what the problem is. My worst attribute is I think I can be stubborn and once I get a vision in my head it’s hard to pull me back. It’s a combination of getting too focused and too uptight over an idea, not being easygoing.