We sent out an email to all our top ten artists asking if they wanted to appeal to the fans and ask for judging consideration … and a few of these guys definitely get points for creativity … wow.

Do you think it’s bad if I invite ALL of OurStage into my bed for the midnight update?

If you haven’t seen The Casilio Sisters video on the documentary channel then check it out - these women were amazing. And equally amazing were Rick and Tod (the Kaiser and the Director). There was so much great footage from the shoot that it was hard for us to keep it as short as we did - though I’m pretty sure it’s still the longest feature on OurStage to date.

Rick just has this passion for his art (and he creates it in many forms as you can see from his website) that oozes from every pore. Tod is loquacious, hip and super sweet. And the sisters (Kate, Alicia & Sara) are beautiful, smart and have this infectious laugh that just keeps you smiling the whole time. What these people are doing, both together and on their own - is taking art and making it a true statement of identity and I have no doubt that they will find a way to make it work for them. This is one of those things that, as an EJ, was super cool to be a part of. Hope you enjoy the brunch! (PS: check out the Wonder Spice cafe in JP if you’re ever in Boston, their Thai food was INCREDIBLE … not to mention the ever delicious Thai Iced Teas).

Side note: People always say “the camera adds ten pounds” … but I think in my case, because I spend all my time eating … the ten pounds just jump right on - on their own

Note #2: trucks & trucks & trucks & trucks …. yeah I’m special

And JUST INCASE the video didn’t get through to you … here’s how it goes:

1. Judge the way you’ve always judged all month up until MIDNIGHT on July 29th
2. From July 29th - July 31st all the TOP TENS are locked in - and you just KEEP JUDGING the same way you always have (by logging in and comparing artists).
3. From midnight July 31st until midnight on August 1st there is one FINAL 24 hour text message voting period - where the #1 artists in each category battle it out for first place.

WHY do we still have text message voting? Because it’s just taking a little longer than expected to switch the technology over - but rest assured that as of August 2007 - we will be done with the text message voting. So just bear with us here - I know it’s a little funky, but hey … what’s life without a little funk? Hmmm….

I would like to thank Mr. WATSON for the scandalous thumbnail of this Spam episode! It gives OurStage a whole new look and leaves me speechless…

Everything about Bang Camaro makes me laugh. The dueling guitars, the enthusiastic vocals, the excellent use of both redundancy and parentheses in the title Pleasure (Pleasure). With 20 lead singers, it’s like The Darkness meets Polyphonic Spree. And that can only be a good thing.

Speaking of good combinations, how ’bout the music video for Try Telling That to My Baby by The Heavy Blinkers. It’s like Candyland meets Busby Berkeley* meets that Blur milk carton video. Definitely worth watching.

And I guess between this video and my recent blog post for the Urb Magazine, I’ve made it clear that I think Luke Temple is a pretty big deal. Here’s a link to Saturday People.

*ed. note: this was the best example of Busby Berkeley water choreography I could find online, but it’s edited to techno music. Not a big fan. Anyway, it was the closest thing I could find to the Heavy Blinkers vid.