JOSIE COTTON – Strange Yet Not So Strange
JOSIE COTTON joins JOHN WATERS for his “Birthday Bash” on March 28th.
âYou could call it a macabre musical comedy of the absurdâ laughs infamous New Wave icon JOSIE COTTON about her upcoming performance JOHN WATERS’ BIRTHDAY BASH honoring the transgressive filmmaker at THEE STORK CLUB (2330 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94612) on Thursday, March 28, 2024.
âIâll be performing songs from various records Iâve made that few people have ever heard. That makes it slightly dangerous, which makes it exciting. Plus, itâs his birthday celebration so itâs a huge honor.â
Not-so-strange bedfellows but both strange nonetheless (âThis will be the third event Iâve done with John Waters!â), Josie and John have a long and twisted parallel history that extends decades and varying grades of camp, though hovering in the âhigh campâ level more often than not. âFor me it began when he decided to include âJohnny Are You Queer?â on his 2007 album A Date With John Waters⊔Disturbing love songs of the ages,â she explains, referencing her own 1981 controversial breakthrough single. âThe press release for it had accidentally credited The Go-Gos as the artist which resulted in my manager reaching out to his people. I was shocked when John contacted me personally about it. Such a class act.â
Coincidentally Josie had just recorded ââFemale Troubleâ [the theme song to his 1974 cult classic] for her LP of obscure B-movie theme songs, Invasion of the B-Girls. With this synchronicity brewing, John decided to write the liner notes. âHis immense knowledge of these movies was amazing to me as I had spent a year researching it. But his commentary and insights were even more hilarious than the actual movies themselves. For me it was life affirming to the extreme.â
Featuring John Waters doing Stand-Up and a special Q&A session, Josie will open the birthday festivities on March 28th with a live performance. âThis will be the first time I sing ‘Female Trouble’ for John so Iâm a little nervous. But Iâm always nervous around him so whatâs new?â jokes Cotton. The birthday bash will undoubtedly be filled with ribald comedy, camp, fabulousness, and a very special music performance from Josie tailored especially for the man of the hour.
Having reclaimed her music from the out-of-print archives of multiple record labels and re-releasing them on her own Kitten Robot Records, Josie Cotton has recaptured much of the New Wave-tinted glamor and glitz she epitomized while also rejuvenating her prolific musical artistry. In the last handful of years alone, Josie has released the singles âUkrainian Cowboyâ/ âCold War Spy,â a holiday track “Every Day Like Christmas,” and re-released her albums Everything Is Oh Yeah!, Invasion of the B-Girls, From the Hip, Movie Disaster Music and her breakthrough debut album Convertible Music.
In addition, she released her first album of all-new material, Day of the Gun in 2023, featuring guest appearances by Kevin Preston (Long Shot, Prima Donna), Eddie Spaghetti (Supersuckers), Clem Burke (Blondie), and Lee Rocker (Stray Cats). Day of the Gun was recorded over four years at Kitten Robot Studios and was produced and mixed by Josie and Paul Roessler (TSOL, The Screamers, Nina Hagan).
