I’M HOME!!! Alive, safe and sound, thank the powers that be for getting me here that way! A big thank you to West Jet for all the flights I’ve taken all over the place the last while. From Vancouver Island to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and especially yesterdays list of flights where I flew from Moncton to Ottawa, then from Ottawa to Toronto where I connected on a flight to Calgary and finally, after a super-quick turnaround, I boarded a flight to Kelowna. Only 7 ½ hours of flying time… no big deal!
I sorry that it’s been so long since my last journal/blog entry but things really have been crazy. Besides an awesome summer of shows all over the country but also trying to keep up with the industry has been time consuming. Nonetheless, it’s something I love to do.
A few things of note that you all should know, is that I did my first official co-producing of a single! It just so happens that I am also one of the performers on the track. It’s a Christmas single that I did with newcomer Lisa Manis from Ontario who is an amazing singer and has a bright future ahead of her! The single is “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” and is the arrangement that Bruce Springsteen came out with years ago. We managed to make it a country song with some swing and you can, hopefully, hear it all over Canadian radio over the coming weeks leading up to Christmas! You can download it on iTunes now so go there and get your copy of what I hope you’ll think is a cool holiday duet!
Last month, I was up in Whitehorse, YK with some of the band to play a show at a place called Foxy’s as a part of the Breakout West music conference and subsequent Western Canadian Music Awards of which I was up for an award. What a beautiful area of our country and super great people!!
In fact, I met a couple transplanted “Newfies” that work in the school system there. One person in particular got my attention when I met him. His name is Brendan Kelly. Mr. Kelly, as he is known in his profession, told me a story of an incident that occurred the evening prior to my show. It was about how 3 boys aged between 15 and 16 were at a bonfire party and one of them threw a jerry can with gasoline in it onto the fire. An explosion went off and saw all three young men severely injured. All three were sent to Vancouver General Hospital, where two remain currently but the third has come back to Whitehorse General Hospital where he is still being treated for his injuries still. As well as an 18 year old male who was involved in a dirt bike accident a couple weeks prior to the bonfire incident. He suffered major injuries and after a week of being on life-support he succumbed to those injuries.
Brendan, that evening at Foxy’s, asked if I could do something for the family such as maybe giving a signed t-shirt or a picture for the families. I was so taken aback by the story of these young people that I didn’t feel right just giving some small donation, I wanted to help out as much as I possibly could. So, after the weekend passed, I called Brendan and proposed I come back up and do an acoustic show. Maybe to 200 or so people and help raise some much needed money to at least cut some of those families expenses. I mentioned that maybe Air North, one of only two major airlines that could get myself and maybe one more up there, could give us a somewhat reduced rate on some flights as well as maybe I could talk to a hotel up there to see if they would be interested in helping the same. Brendan said to leave it with him and so I did. A few days later, I received a call from Mr. Kelly where he said, with sheer excitement, that all I had to do was to choose a date in which I could come do the show because everything was going to be taken care of!
I enquired as to what he meant and he proceeded to tell me about how we were going to use the gym at his highschool for the show, which would be a fantastic venue. Also, all the staging, lighting and sound equipment along with a sound man were going to be donated by a local company, which is very generous. But what’s even more is that Brendan spoke with Air North and they agreed to donate 2 flights for myself and Scott Smith, my guitar player, to fly up at not charge! Beyond that, Brendan also spoke with a hotel in Whitehorse and they donated 2 rooms for us for the three nights!! All these complimentary offerings are so generous and gracious of these folks. I was shocked at that and still am so happy that they stepped up to help out!
I had asked, when I first thought of the idea to have this show, my good friend Christine Lambert, a life-long resident of Whitehorse, if she would be a part of the organizing committee for this and there was no hesitation. She jumped on the chance to help out as well and I am so thankful to have someone who is as keen to help out with such a great cause. Her and Brendan met and ended up having meetings with the group they assembled to have this all come together and within a day I got a call from Christine almost out of breath. She was so excited to let me know the good news! The meeting that herself, Brendan and the committee had was to discuss all the ideas and possibilities for funds being raised as a result of this show. The startling thing was that , even though my original thought was that the amount of people attending the show would be around 200, Brendan had different thoughts. He estimated that they could get upwards of 1000 or MORE tickets sold!!
What this meant was, as Christine pointed out, that if we did get around 1000 or so then the funds raised would go to paying off ALL the expenses incurred by the families of the boys of the bonfire accident, as well as the expenses accumulated as a result of the young man in the dirt bike fatality. Including the life-support and funeral costs. And another thing that also made my day was that the potential to have so much left over that the remaining funds will go towards buying an MRI machine for Whitehorse! I can hardly translate how I felt when I heard all that. I was nearly in tears as I was driving!! This relieved the pressure from those families as well as means that in the future residents of Whitehorse and the surrounding area will not have to go to places like Vancouver to get a simple MRI scan done!! They won’t have to fly all that way, rent a vehicle, rent a hotel, eat out all day every day just for one simple procedure! It filled my heart, no word of a lie and still does when I even write about it.
I don’t write this for the attention, for people to think that I need to feel like a hero. In fact I feel the opposite. My involvement is a small role, I feel. I know what my career has been like and how it’s gone well for the last group of years and if I can take some of the notoriety and turn it into assistance for people who need it, then that is what I will do with it. I know that it will come back to me someday but for now, it gives me great feeling to be able to help people smile, relax a little and give hope in a time of need.
It is going to be a very emotional weekend for me, I believe, as I will be meeting the parents of the kids as well as I think just being a part of a city that has so much heart, I won’t be able to contain myself. This truly is the best way to end the year for me. I wish all of you reading this could be up there with me on Saturday night, December 3rd, to show your love and caring for humanity but you WILL be there with me in spirit, which will help ME get me through it all! Thank you!!
I hope everyone reading this has an amazing weekend and I promise I won’t take so long to get the next blog written!!
Much LOVE!!
Aaron
