Tuesday, April 28, 2009

great weekend...

had so much fun this weekend. landed in Virginia on friday morning, and met Suzanne who is one of my really good friends now. Vince Lacsamana got me out for this show (check him out on youtube!) Jeremy (aka Passion) landed like 30 mins after me and we went to the house we stayed at. there were 4 mattresses set up for JR Aquino, me, Gabe Bondoc, and Jeremy. it was awesome. we had FIVE GUYS burger and fries which was freakin BOMB with JR after we picked him up from the bus station. we met plenty of people that night, jammed out till late in the morning with disney songs and old school R&B and boy band songs, and Gabe and Christina Luna arrived late at night, and we CONTINUED our jam session.

saturday was the conference and we had all woken up very early to attend. the first workshop was the asian american music industry workshop led by Christina Luna. she is the head of LunaCo and is an amazing business person and manages the likes of Gabe, Leejay, Legaci, and more. the conference was awesome because we all got to speak (the artists) on our views about the industry, our internet marketing, and music in general. i believe it was a successful workshop with all the students who attended learning something new. we went to georgetown later that night and ate at chipotle, and walked around and took pictures at these very nice fountains.

the show on sunday was definitely one of the most awesome experiences out-of-state i've ever had. ill literacy was there, a hip hop spoken word group, rick cordero was also there, a director and founder of 3/21 media, who has directed the likes of snoop dogg, nas, the roots, and many more. there were many great performances that day, and the show lasted 5 and a half hours!!! sounds long, but every act was good. i know you've probably been to those shows that were that long, waiting for your friend to go up or your favorite artist but inbetween were some really long and lame performances, just being honest. hahah. anyway this show was full of awesome talent and entertainment. jr went on and killed it, and later on gabe went on (whose guitar skills amaze me even more each time i see him perform, then jeremy (passion) went on and called me jr and gabe up to the stage to sing "something special" by usher with him. epic moment, def something i'll never forget. i went on last and played showstopper, starlit nights with turn your lights down low in place of the bridge, a disney medley, my soldier, she was mine ft jr aquino on the chorus hahah, and i just want you. i asked everyone to come to the front to come sing along right before the bridge, and it was so awesome. i didnt realize how many fans i had in this area they call the DMV. i was humbled.

pictures, signings, and cd sellings went great and lasted for an hour or more, then we all ate at honey pig (this bomb korean bbq place, SO BOMB) and said our goodbyes, went back to the house, said more goodbyes, slept very late in the morning, and was dropped off by timi, alan, and suzanne, and said my last goodbyes, while everyone was still sleeping at the house (jr, gabe and jeremy). i was pretty sad on the plane ride back to boston, but everyone's gotta go back to reality sometime.

i came home to a very stressful day to be honest, but that can come later.

heres a video i did with gabe at vince lacsamana's house.


love yall so much
AJ


ps "I JUST WANT YOU" the techno version is up for download for FREE on my myspace. read profile for details

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just got back from a holiday. Lol 1st thing i did when i went on the internet was chek the latest from you. I hope one day,I really do that I get to see you. I'm from the UK. And probably one of your biggest fans here. Haha. Anyway details in the fabric was GREAT! You and Gabe rock. Great to know evrythings good where you are.
Much love!

Anonymous said...

and whatever that stressful thing was I hope it gets better.
Much love once agen =]

Unknown said...

Thanks for coming down to the DMV area, AJ! I've actually never heard of the term DMV until I went up there to APAHM Fest. Must be a NoVA (Northern VA) thing.

But anyways, great performance and I'm grateful that all of you guys stuck around for a meet and greet, especially after a 5 hour long show! Can't wait till you guys come back!

Love the new video, btw.
Thanks again!

-Cesley

deleted. said...

wow you had a busy weekend & it deffinately sounded fun(: I hope you guys can come to Seattle soon :]

take care Aj I love your music

Unknown said...

Sounds like a weekend of epic proportions :D That show must've been super-duper-awesome! Loved the new videos especially the vlog because you sang "Happy Birthday" near my birthday (April 24) haha :D

Anyways, hope to see you soon. Take care!
<3 Cheryl

peacelove n ally said...

aj rafael, you amaze me

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a long weekend.
Sorry that it got stressful when you got back.
Ha, I get so excited whenever you pop up in my subscription box on Youtube. Haha..I'm lame.
Love you AJ

Anonymous said...

Hey AJ!!
Lol i get so excited when i see an update from you ..yea yea me ezz stoopid.
Im from india and i have a feeling im the only one who knows you out here....your brilliant love ur music, btw ur my inspirations for one of my songs, please check it out on my blog.
anywho i wont bother u too much xxx

chelsea =D

charlene said...

damnit arthur why couldnt you sing that while i was there?! i'm hurt. but you are missed anyway.

Loris S. said...

you. are awesome.
that is all. :)
<3

cantaffordanikon said...

im soooooo glad you got a good taste of the DMV! your performance was awesome, and i hope you come down again!!! ill try to get you a "WE RUN DMV" tshirt next time! lol

Pietra Nascimento said...

sou brasileira e aqui voce é o maior sucesso..quero manter contato com vc..um bjo!..=]

Anonymous said...

I have your original "I want you" on my mp3. I have become a fan. I will check out the techno version. Just keep on keeping on!
Ichi

Anonymous said...

I have your original "I want you" on my mp3. I have become a fan. I will check out the techno version. Just keep on keeping on!
Ichi

sophianerarie said...

sounded like an awsome weekend!! and a very good show! aw.. I wanted to be there! maybe once I'll see one of you're great shows!
you are awsome!!!
I love you and your music more than anything!

AmmyBabyx3 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
AmmyBabyx3 said...

Sounds like you had a lot of fun(: I love your work aj.

My favorite song is "I Just Want you" especially the techno version! I'm friends with fork&spoon, the ones who entered your Youtube contest. =)

tasha faye said...

hey! (:
i found out about you from Alyssa Bernal. (: i love love love your music and your voice so much. (: you are awesome! hahahah.
best of luck to you! (:
xx from Malaysia. <3

Stella said...

Hello! =)
I'm Estelle, from France & i'm a big fan of you're voice & you're musics...
You're singing like John Legend, and i like it!
(Sorry for my bad english... =S)
Xoxo

Linda Pochinda said...

i absoluty love the cover duet you made, jason mraz is amazing, it's really good choice you guys made :) keep it up!