Debi's Review of Aaron's Santa Rosa appearance, originally published in "The Carter Factor," followed by
my remarks:
Ice Skating with Aaron……
Santa Rosa, CA
June 24, 2005
Well, not me personally lol but I was there! Here’s
what happened…
We heard Aaron was going to do a “private birthday party” for one of the dj’s in
Santa Rosa. We weren’t sure if we would see Aaron or if we could even get in to the arena, but we headed out to Santa
Rosa to try. You’ll never know if you don’t try, right?
Diana and I arrived at the Snoopy Ice Arena around 7, after much traffic and much stress getting there!
I was outside waiting for Aaron to pull up, but Diana went inside. She came running out telling me to come inside….
To my dismay Aaron was riding on the Zamboni!! We made our way over to the railing around the ice and Aaron spotted
us! He got a big smile on his face and yelled “what’s up?” Of course, we couldn’t yell
back because he was moving so fast! lol After a few rounds around the arena the Zamboni came to a stop on the
other side of the arena. Diana and I made our way over there of course! There was a barricade set up and they
were allowing anyone who had a camera to take pictures with Aaron! Well, I had my camera!
Diana approached Aaron first. She told him she liked his goatee and that he had more than his brother.
Then she told him that his hair was starting to look like Jesse’s and that he needed a haircut. He said “oh
well I do a Mohawk”. She then told him “you need to go and fix it”, but he said “I can’t,
they lost my bags”. Then I took their picture.
Next it was my turn, he greeted me with a hug and kiss…. Awwwwwwwwww…. I told him we didn’t
win tickets to the party, but thought we would head out there to see if we could say hi. He said, “Awww, well
I’m glad you are here”. :D I told him it was good to see him and that I had been worried about him.
I had been reading a bunch of stuff on the internet about him and it worried me. He assured me he was “great”.
I put my hand on his face and asked him if he was sure, he smiled and said “yea, I’m great”. I’m
not convinced. I’ve been around Aaron enough to know the sparkle in his eye wasn’t there. We took
our picture, and he turned to me and asked me what I heard about him. I told him that I had heard he was canceling shows
and that he and Brittany broke up. At this point Diana joined us, as Aaron responded that he had been “sick”.
Diana said “that’s why you were with your brother?” He said “I got a cab and paid $700 to drive
five hours to see him”. Diana said, “you shouldn’t crash your car and you wouldn’t have this
problem”. We all laughed. I then told him he needed to make his hair spiky again; he said “I do”.
Then Aaron gave us both a big hug and kiss and we went back behind the barricade.
Aaron continued taking pictures with other people and of course I was snapping off pictures like crazy!
He made his way to the barricade line in between taking pics. As he was going down the line, he saw us and came back
to us!! We started with the questions again… I guess the kid is glutton for punishment lol I asked him “why
are you doing stuff like this….ice arenas, pizza parlors”. He said, “I need to build my fan base”.
I told him he wasn’t going to do it like this, then he responded by shrugging his shoulders and saying “radio
promotion”. God I hope I didn’t hurt his feelings! I just think that he’s WAY above this sort
of thing. He used to fill up 15,000 seat arenas! Then I asked about a new cd, he said “I have to wait patiently”,
I responded by saying “I’m not waiting so patiently”, then he smiled and said that we would love the new
tour. I think you could have knocked Diana and I over with a feather…. Did we hear “NEW TOUR”??????
Diana asked him when it started and he said tomorrow. I asked if he had new tour dates and was coming around here.
Diana said “Jesse’s coming here” and Aaron said “good”. WARNING… do not bring up
Jesse’s name to Aaron!!!!! Then he started taking pictures again. So we didn’t get an answer…
dammit! lol
After he was finally all done with the pictures, he went down the line of people signing stuff. He
was about 2 or 3 people from us and Diana asked “when does the tour start”. He said “tomorrow in Birmingham
and I choreographed it all by myself. Kenny and Carey will be with me”. Well knowing Aaron the way we do,
we weren’t sure if we should believe him lol I pulled out my photo album of pics with him and various people and
started looking for a picture he hasn’t already signed lol I finally had him sign the picture that Angela and
I call “ewww face” *muah Angela for that picture* Aaron started looking at my pictures and there was
one from the first time Angela and I met him in Vegas. I pointed to her and told him “Angela said hi, she’s
in Florida looking for you right now”. Then I laughed, and said “just playing”. He signed not
only the ewwww face picture but the sleeve of my Tinkerbell sweatshirt! lol Diana told Aaron that we saw Lindsay
Lohan on Leno and she was mentioning seeing him in Miami. He said “what did she say?” Diana explained
that she said they were “friends”. Aaron made a “whatever” facial expression and said “okkkkk”.
Then I said AGAIN, “Aaron you really need to have your hair spiky, you wouldn’t believe the reaction you got on
the internet when you did”. He said “what did you hear?” And rather than go into detail about
how everyone thought he was hot and embarrass myself, I simply replied, “Aaron just wear it spiky”, he said he
would.
Then Aaron was escorted to the control booth and was controlling the music! He put on the Millennium
cd!!!!! Don’t Want You Back started playing! He was hanging out the window and being a ham.
Diana told him to play his own cd’s, and he said he wanted to hear the Backstreet Boys. Then he came downstairs
and put on ice skates, next thing we knew he was on the ice!!!!!!! He came off the ice right by us and tightened up
the laces and I said “not bad for a Florida boy”, and he cracked up and said “I can ski!” lol
Ok Aaron, but ice skating and skiing are two different sports lol The guy driving the Zamboni was with Aaron on the
ice and was showing Aaron how to stop with the hockey skates and Aaron fell on his butt!!!!! I happened to be taping
it when it happened! He skated a while then had to go up to the party, which we didn’t have access to, nor did
we need or want it!
Fifteen minutes later Marc showed up and went upstairs with the guitarist. They were up
there about 45 minutes total. Aaron came back down and put skates back on and went on the ice. Marc saw us and
greeted us with hugs. He seemed preoccupied, but did confirm that Aaron’s new show starts tomorrow, BUT it’s
only three shows in three days!!! They might go to the northeast, but he mentioned Baton Rouge, Birmingham and Biloxi….
I THINK! Aaron was still skating at this point. We watched him a while then we backed away from the railing.
It was so freaking cold in there; we just needed a way from the ice!!! Aaron came by totally looking for us!!!
When he spotted us, he smiled and waved and kept skating. He was probably wondering if the psycho lady and her friend
left yet lol
Finally skating was over and Aaron headed upstairs. We took off outside knowing that place had hidden
tunnels and exits. We stayed outside between the front door and the parking lot. Marc came out and said goodbye
and thank us for coming out. A little while later Aaron came from the other side of the building—never using the
lobby—saw us and walked over and gave us hugs and kisses goodbye. He thanked us for coming out to see him and
said “I’ll try to come out west for a show”. As he was walking away, I had to get my last comment
in, “Aaron…. Spiky…… don’t forget!” Aaron said, “I wear a mohawk, you need
to see it”. He said bye to the radio people and got in the car with Marc and drove away. *sigh*
Now I’m back in “Nick who?” mode lol Something is very special about Aaron….
there always will be.
Paparazzo Comments:
I had to publish this review because Debi put it all in a nut when she said that the sparkle had disappeared
from AC's eyes. Aaron's been in showbiz since he was a tyke, and he knows how to put up a convincing front, but the camera
doesn't lie. I shot hundreds of photos of Aaron right after Debi finished with him, and I didn't realize what I had until
I started editing the pics. These photographs are difficult to even look at, since the pain is pouring out of AC's eyes in
almost every shot, and these pics were taken when Aaron was on stage, doing what he loves. God knows what I'd be looking at
if I had shot some candids of AC alone, deep in thought. Aaron has always been able to bounce back from anything, remaining
the sweetest kid in showbiz even when he was being kicked hard and repeatedly by more people than I can count. It seems obvious
that Brittany had been protecting AC emotionally for the past turbulent year, and now life has suddenly begun weighing heavily
on the Prince of Pop. Some may say that it's all part of growing up, but it still makes me sad beyond words. This is definitely
not the same AC I photographed six months ago. It's as though the life has been knocked out of Aaron, and he's going through
the motions of a high energy show because work is good therapy. Don't get me wrong; the show is great, a supercharged, fuel
injected, high octane version of what Aaron has been doing for years, and he's always been an energetic performer, to say
the least. Aaron has all the right moves, the endearing vocal inflections, the huge, comical facial expressions and gestures;
you have to study a batch of still photos to see what's really going on beneath the theatrics. The photos are poignant and
artistic, partly because they depict the heartbreak of a 17-year-old kid, and Aaron, true to form, went above and beyond the
call of duty by allowing me to take them. I'm grateful and humbled by this abnormally generous teenager, and I don't think
I'll be able to repay him or even come up with anything to significantly help him through this difficult time. I'll create
the best website I can, fill it with as much hope and good wishes as possible, and maybe AC's fans will rally around him when
he needs them the most. To end this message on a brighter note, I just have to recall Aaron's appearance in Biloxi, the middle
show of the three I attended. I hung around the stage area after the performance, anticipating a meet & greet, not realizing
that it was already taking place in the parking lot. I heard the screams of teenage girls and got outside just as things were
wrapping up. I only caught a brief glimpse of the scene, but it was one of those magic moments that make you glad to be alive.
I wasn't fast enough to get a photo, but I'll try to paint the scene with words. It was a beachfront venue, late in the afternoon
on a cloudless summer day. Aaron, clad only in jeans and sneakers, stood on the roof of his limosine surrounded
by kids who loved him, basking in the glow of their affection. The sight sent me on a wave of nostalgia back to the fondest
memories of my high school years. Now, in
retrospect, I'm especially grateful for that warm reception in Biloxi, because that's just the
kind of TLC that Aaron needs right now.
