Monday, November 23, 2009

91st post...

it has been a while. i apologize. there's a lot that's been going on and i haven't had a break in so long. i mean there was footloose, recording with my band, music speaks weekend, shows every weekend inbetween all this, trying to raise money for the walk for autism, trying to raise awareness for the typhoon that came unexpectedly, the walk for autism, and having a family troubles at home. this is my first weekend since summer without a show... im exhausted.

as of right now, i'm on a plane owned by Virgin America. they've teamed up with this company GoGo to put WiFi on planes (apparently it's not that new of a concept) and they are making it free on their planes for the holidays. so here i am in the window seat, watching 500 days of summer on the screen mounted on the seat in front of me, sitting with no one next to me in the middle seat and the smell of chex mix coming from a bigger dude sitting in the aisle seat. life is good right now in this moment. no distractions, just me spending time with myself, allowing my thoughts to finally settle and just relax.

next week i'll be in Arizona for ASU's MUSIC SPEAKS:ARIZONA on 12/4 (they decided to take on the name since they booked me to perform and half the proceeds are now going to Autism Speaks) and then UCBerkeley on 12/5 for a mission medical benefit concert. the week after that i'll be in Canada once again for a concert in Calgary on the 12th with Gabe Bondoc and Edmonton on the 13th for a solo show.

other than being busy with music, things are good. i met some amazing people these past 6 months through youtube, at shows, and out of state. God has blessed me with amazing friends and they've helped me so much on my journey towards my goal. and what is my goal you might ask? to share my music with the world, like the whole world. not even exaggerating.

if you'd like to help with my goal, i have this song MidKnight i just posted on YouTube and it'd be awesome if you could help me spread it around! word of mouth is still the best tool of promotion in the entertainment industry. =) also i have a big announcement...

"I JUST WANT YOU" the aj rafael band version [which is up on my myspace] is going to be on iTunes on November 27th (this friday, black friday). so please please tell everyone you know and especially people who don't know my music!

shoutouts to Tito Nonito "Pops" from the PnoyApparel Company up chillin with the big guy up above now. i just played piano for his funeral this morning and memorial service last night and it was touching to see how loved he was and the legacy he left on this earth.



love yall, and here are 3 new videos for you guys.

a special thank you to all who attended the Walk for Autism for TEAM MUSIC SPEAKS. my nephew nathan was very happy to be there and it was a lot of fun. thank you so much!

AJ



Two Is Better Than One - BLG ft Taylor Swift with my good friend Kina Grannis



IYAZ - Replay w JR Aquino & Andrew Garcia



MidKnight by AJ Rafael

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Take the vacation time to RELAX. I feel you on the taking time for yourself to chill and sit with ur thoughts. Have fun in NY! Can't wait for the WHOLE world to listen to your music. Definitely looking forward to that day. :) Peace. Love.

Kane

djAngee said...

You've done amaaazing AJ. Chillax, you deff need a break. btw, do you have a show anywhere in the LA region between Dec 19 to Dec 31st? I'm visiting and I wanna see one of your shows!

ohboy_herewegoagain said...

I realized I haven't left you a blog post comment in a long time... I used to leave them every time you wrote one. So here's one like ol' times.

I'm proud of everything you've accomplished thus far and even more excited for all the things yet to come. You're inspiring and I'm so honored to call you a friend. You're pretty much amazing. Thanks for being so awesome, truly.

Love you! <3

Anonymous said...

Oh, my bad... "ohboy_herewegoagain" is me, goshNICOLE haha. Oh fail lol.

Miss Khalid said...

Wow, I wish Malaysia Airlines have wifi. Great covers. Definitely recommending you to friends. Even have one of your covers as my ringtone. Haha

jDong said...

AJ, I loved that cover of Replay you did with Andrew and JRA, I'm subbed to both of them now =))

Thanks so much and keep up the great work! I'm so looking forward to your collab with Wongfu! I've been wondering how long it would be before you guys worked together ^_^

menik said...

hi aj, menik here from Indonesia. I just randomly bumped into one of your videos on youtube and literally was (still am) very mesmerized by your voice and music! just amazing :) just wondering whether i could use some of your music at my wedding next month? maybe you have a cd? let me know, would mean so much! thanks!

infNT said...

Hey!I liked your blog!Congratulations! xD

vechivo said...

I've been listening to some of your videos on youtube, and all I want to say is: WOW! You're god damn good! Wanna teach me play piano/ keyboard sometimes? Just too bad I live in Norway, and you may not understand Norwegian, haha. But, I hope to listen more of you! Keep up the good work, all of you guys.

Siw- Veronica, Norway
( You find me with this name in facebook if you have)