Monday, March 30, 2009

crazy long weekend/adventures in FL & NY

so thursday morning my band and i were off to florida. we took northwest airlines and it was hella early in the morning. 6am was our flight, so we had to be there by 5. noah, andrew, and i were at andrew's and shiori (shorty) met us there. the plane ride there was not too bad, we stopped in memphis, and once we got in florida, it was raining cats and dogs. first thing shorty said was, "the weather sucks". we were like damn. we got to the hotel cuz ian and nikki (asian american student union board members) picked us up. again, shorty had the first words when we got to the hotel room. seeing two queen-size beds, she quickly said "so hows this gonna work?" we briefly explained that we (as guys) talked about the bed placement and of course decided she was gonna have her own bed, so thats how it was. jr aquino arrived around the same time so we all went together from the airport to the hotel where we all stayed.

the show was later canceled and rescheduled till friday, the next day, which turned out to be the better choice because we hadn't had gotten a drumset yet. later this night, thursday, we all attended an open mic night called "black on black poetry". it was a mostly african-american based poetry night, but me, noah, and jr had enough guts to get up on stage and sing some tunes. instead of clapping, they gave out shakers and it was the most supportive audience ever. noah played for the first time in front of people, and me and andrew played "little piece of home", while jr aquino sang "oh mama" by justin nozuka. when we got home, me noah andrew and jr played bananagrams, while shorty was deep asleep after a long-ass day. me and jr took the floor, and noah and andrew had the bed for the night.

friday was awesome, we rented drums, and shorty chose the best set available (pearl exports) and it was 100 dollars to rent.. for the whole month! so our new friend Vu rented it for his apartment. the show was after a cooking workshop, and it included an awesome poet/spoken word artist by the name of Asia. he was on def jam poetry hosted by mos def on TV and has had many appearances everywhere. he was really inspiring. after him, my band and i played our first show. and it was freakin dope! everyone loved it, and of course i was feelin it. i could play with this band forever. the vibe is just there. after what, FOUR rehearsals altogether?! mannn i couldnt believe how powerful the connection felt that night.

me and jr played the 4 chord tribute at comedy zone later that night, and jr departed from us after that night so he could get some rest. shouts to jon cardona real fast! so jr played a show the net day at FSU while the band and i were OFF to NEW YORK in the AM!

this day was nuts. long story short- got on the plane to atlanta, a mechanic didn't come through till an hour later, so we had to get off the plane. this meant we missed our connecting flight to NY, so we had to reschedule. it changed airports on us, so our baggage wasn't at the new airport even tho it was supposed to be "re-checked". we waited an hour to see if it would come on the next flight from atlanta, but the baggage office guy (he was filipino) told us it was at JFK airport not Laguardia where we were at. we took a taxi to JFK ($35). got dropped off in the wrong place. had to walk up a long ass hill to the right terminal to get our baggage. took another taxi to the venue ($55) and didn't get to sound check because we arrived right at 6PM. which was when the meet&greet started for the show.


WOW.



the fans and the show made up for all that though. i didn't expect to see more than 10 people who knew who i was, but there we were overwhelmed by the love and support. i felt like i was at home. the show was unbelievable. all this talent. check out Stone Forest Ensemble & Magnetic North & Jay Legaspi by the way!!! shorty was feeling sick so she went back to boston on the Chinatown bus right after we played. me andrew and noah were sad, but we made the most of our time in new york, with angel and kris, and ryan bandong & crew. met a lot of new friends and fans, and now im just glad to be back in Boston.


"I Just Want You" - AJ Rafael Band

ps watch in High Quality (HQ) and listen to that MEAN hi-hat that shiori's playin. DAYUMM.

love yall so much. so tired now. gnite.
AJ

17 comments:

deleted. said...

sounds good(:

I'm happy for how well your band is doing :]

klaudinenicole said...

congrats on your first performance with the band. pretty craaaazy weekend for you guys huh ? but i do hope you guys get to play more in different places, and perhaps canada =D.

it probably sucked balls to mission to one airport to another just to get your luggages, and all that pain you guys went through. haha but as you said, fans and other people made up for it so its all good : ]

anyway, i do hope you're doing fine. and take care :D

ps - hope shiori feels better =]

sparklegreen said...

Wow! The rock version is pretty nice!

It's nice to hear from a fellow musician!

Anonymous said...

my friends and i came all the way from Atlantic City just to see you guys perform. just remember, you got some fans in Atlantic City too!

you should record the songs that you and your band played on myspace =]

genesis gregorio said...

Sounds hella fun dude!


WHOA african poetry! SIIICK!

and you guys sang thar, lol damn dude
you guys have balls,



annnnnd you spent alotta $$.

Unknown said...

Of course you've got fans in NY. You've got fans all over the East Coast!!

I wish I was able to make the show (I'm down in Virginia -- you should come here! >_<;) but I used to live up in NYC and I was just up there like a week before your performance :(

BTW, I really, really like this performance of "I Just Want You". You definitely need to record it with the band.

Tip if you head back to NY/Chinatown -- go eat at Hop Kee on Mott St. You won't be disappointed. :)

ShawnEP said...

you guys were great the NYC show! it was great meeting you all too :)

the whole weekend sounded pretty crazy and fun haha. shiori and andrew are pretty sick on their instruments, i feel jealous. noah is very entertaining to talk to and meeting/seeing you live was the highlight of my month. jfk and laguardia are like a 10 min drive for me going to either :P

hope all is well back in boston!

Maureeeeeeeen (; said...

omgg. I'm sooo mad! : P
I wish I wa s there : ((
musta been a good show!

Unknown said...

hope you like the shirt me and my friend made you :) im glad you felt all the love in ny.. hope you'll be back soon WE LOVE YOU. a lot :D

Unknown said...

Your band sounds sooo dope :D I hope you had a fun time in NY & FL the shows sounded great :D Hope to see you soon!
Love, Cheryl

Anonymous said...

I really wish I could see a video of poetry night with both you and JR. <3 Probably was EPIC.

I'm so hyped for you and everything you've been doing lately. [: Getting closer and closer to your dream! Bring your band to SD, yeah?

Miss and love you AJ!

janet anne said...

raaandom question! but you're jessica luu's friend, oui? bc then we've talked via jess before, haha. :] listening to your "don't forget" cover of demi lovato; DAMN STRAIGHT DON'T HATE ON DISNEY <3 :]

sophianerarie said...

sounded like a very good show!!! please come to holland??? =]
so good to hear your band is doing so well!!! maaaaaaaan your guys have talent!!
love

heartinfire89 said...

hello I'm french and I would like to know if you have a concert in france ?

heartinfire89 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
CarlWEARSPrada said...

that sounds SO good haha
crazy good

christyanne said...

lol.. I have to wonder..

Did you really use that as a band name? Aj Rafael Band?