Aaron Vocals

Thought you might like this.

I completed my tax return this weekend and one of the receipts I had submitted caught my attention.  I wonder if you can see why.  Read through the receipt carefully.  If its too small, you may need spectacles.

Answers on a postcard to:...

Christmas and New Year were really strange this year.

I spent Christmas Eve with my friend Andres and his girlfriend at her parents house in Woodford (East London).  We ate some beautiful food, watched films, told jokes, laughed a lot etc.  I stayed at Andres' house as they had asked me to go to church with them on Christmas morning.  Lying in bed, I felt a little ill, not like I was going to throw up, but just ill.  I managed to finally get some sleep but woke in the morning without much appetite and really tired.  We attended the church service which was nice but I was just feeling so weird.  I took a cab from Andres to my house on Christmas morning after church and when I got in I just collapsed on my bed, watched films like the Railway Children etc.  I was all alone, and I had never spent Christmas alone before.  I started to get a little emotional because I missed my family, and because I was feeling under the weather, I really just wanted to go home and get some good old "parent care".

I managed to book a flight that evening for the next day to go up to Newcastle and did!  I was so happy to be going home.  I actually had told mum and dad that I would be coming home on New Year's Day but thought I would surprise them.  I took a cab from Newcastle Airport to their house and they sure did get a surprise.  The next day I felt worse.  Something had gotten into my system and wasn't letting go.  The next five or so days that followed were awful.  I was so ill.  I had no appetite, temperature was fluctuating between cold and hot really rapidly, sweating lots but being freezing cold.  It really was not a nice thing.  Then these little red blemishes started to appear on my skin, they didn't itch, they just were there and it worried me, so I made an appointment with the doc.  She said that I was run down and overtired and that this viral infection had creeped in as my body was at a low point.  She thought the little red blemishes looked like chicken pox but as I'd had them already when I was little, she was doubtful it was that.  To get chicken pox a second time is apparently quite rare.

Well it turns out that the red blemishes got worse before they gradually began to disappear and then the virus started to subside too.  I was due to fly back to London on 30th Dec as I had a gig on 31st, but the doctor had advised me not to fly, let alone work.  So as my sister Nicola was with us and was going back to London in her camper van, I decided to get a lift back with her.  Which drove back on 2nd Jan.

Without a doubt the worst Christmas I have ever experienced.  It was really nice to be at home though and see my parents, brothers, sisters, nieces and nephew, aunts and uncles, cousins etc. and get some nice home-cooked food (even though I didn't want to eat half the time).  This year, I wanna do something really exciting for Christmas, something that involves a different country and perhaps lots of snow, and perhaps also a log cabin and all our family.  We'll see.  I apologise for the length of this post, and the fact I have no pictures to put with it is pretty sad too.  Next post will be a lot more interesting and won't be in 5 years time!

Ok ok, so I haven't posted in a while, and I know that I promised a Gorillaz blog, well that is coming soon.  But in the meantime I thought I would tell you about my next thing!  I'm getting a new Ipod!  My old one is broken (the screen is badly damaged internally and will cost near enough the price of a new one to fix.  So I'm going to get a nice new 60GB Video Ipod in Black - plus Apple will engrave the back for me with my details which is a nice touch.  And I will look after this one really well, like actually getting a cover for it.  Can't wait to be downloading and watching the latest episode of LOST on it!

Oh by the way everyone, as of 3rd December 2005 I'm 29 years old

Yeah I know its been a couple of weeks since my last post but I can tell you that it has been an extremely busy two weeks!  Didn't get any time to sit like this at my computer and post on my blog (as much as I wanted to).

Anyway, let me fill you in on the new news.  I have been hired as a backing vocalist for The Gorillaz for a 5-date stint in Manchester from 1st-5th November.  We have been rehearsing for a few days now, we have two more to go and then we go up to Manchester on Sunday for a week.  We will be performing the whole of the above album "Demon Days" and a few tracks from the first album.  Its great to be working with such amazing musicians.  (For those of you who don't know, Gorillaz was formed by Damon Albarn from Blur and he is fronting this show).

I also have some of my own solo performances coming up next month too in a few churches and this month's Lime Lounge is tomorrow.  Lime Lounge is an event for Gospel artists to showcase their music which we put on monthly.  I am the host and I also perform a few songs.  I'll try and report on this when its happened after tomorrow.

Hello just a quickie!

I seem to be getting so many gigs these days!  Its great fun.  I just got back from doing one up in Stanmore which is in north-west London (actually just outside London in Middlesex).  It was a very easy gig, singing in a bar to backing tracks for two 45min sets with my friend Marlon.  He does it regularly and he asked me to join him on this one.  It was great fun but I'm not used to singing with backing tracks and so I found it quite challenging.  It was so hard not to try and turn around to my "band" and say "Chorus again!" or "Bridge!".  But all in all a good evening and the 8 people in the bar seemed to really enjoy it too.

I have also been asked to be on the backing vocal team for the Gorillaz (Damon Albarn from Blur's cartoony type group).  We are going to be playing Manchester from 1-5 November and then from there they are going to give us more dates.  Should be quite exciting.  I will report more on that when I have some pictures.  Sorry this blog is a bit boring because I don't have any pictures with it.  I normally would.  But I forgot to take some tonight.  Never mind I'm sure you'll live.

I've finished my cup of tea and Hob Nobs so its off to bed for me.  Busy day tomorrow - another gig in the evening, this time singing at an engagement party and then on Saturday I'm singing at a wedding!