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New York's power pop chanteuse Josephine Network just shared "Fat Doll" a glammy, campy, and irresistibly catchy pop number that's also a fun body-positive anthem that breaks through capitalistic, patriarchal, Ozempic-era beauty norms with the power of rock 'n' roll. We caught up with Josephine to discuss all things related to the new single, a new album in the works, and what exactly turned her onto rock 'n' roll.
Hey Josephine! How was Sunday Soul Scream at Our Wicked Lady? Those shows always look like a blast!
Josephine Network: It was such a blast! I love to rock surrounded by people I love. My friend Alana Amram opened and her songs are fantastic, and Jonathan is the best DJ! It was impossible not to dance… especially when "Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart" by The Supremes came on…that got me in a frenzy. Lots of frozen margaritas too… it was a fab birthday party!
How exactly did you recruit everyone involved in the Josephine Network live band? What's been the joy of playing these songs live with the band too? To me, it feels like a Brooklyn all-star band with the scene's best rockers and popsters!
In the early incarnation I was sitting down on stage and playing acoustic. It started as a four-piece folk-rock band: Jay, Nat, Dorian and I. I knew Nat from playing in Brower. Then gradually we got Toni on bass, so Dorian moved to guitar, and I got Keith because we were both in a doo-wop cover band called Brooklyn Bluebirds and I loved his style. Then Max and Saara joined as back up singers, and I started playing electric and standing up, and the eight-piece was complete!
Tell our readers a little about your background. Where did you grow up and what records and fanzines did you find yourself clinging towards early on?
I grew up in a small town outside of New York City. My dad was in doo-wop groups in the Bronx in the '50s and '60s so he showed me a lot of stuff. I have a vivid memory of my dad playing me a 45 of "Great Balls of Fire" by Jerry Lee Lewis and it totally freaked me out. I have been a rock n roll victim ever since. Also my older sister had a fab CD collection and I got into a lot of pop / diva music that way.
Before I ask you about your latest music, what are your thoughts looking back on your past catalog with The Jeanies and Velveteen Rabbit? How do you think you've grown musically since?
I am proud of The Jeanies album because I produced that myself on a Tascam cassette portastudio, in 2013 when barely anyone was into power pop in New York. That was the last time I self-produced an album. My writing developed with Velveteen Rabbit and I got into more hi-fi recording with Rabbit bassist and engineer Ryan Howe, who now engineered the upcoming Josephine Network record. There is a thru-line with these projects but I am definitely making the best stuff of my career right now. I have gotten SO much better with age.
What can you tell me about your latest single "Fat Doll" and the inspirations behind it? It's such a good rock 'n' roll tune reminiscent of '70s brit glam and Coney Island Baby-era Lou Reed
Thank you! I mean, you nailed it! Musically it's inspired by T. Rex, the more rocking side of Big Star, and Coney Island Baby. I have been compared to Lou Reed before, and I love Lou but like, he was a guy singing about trans women, whereas I'm actually a trans woman, singing from experience. The lyrics come from a personal place. I'm fat, I'm transfemme, my body has been deemed "wrong" by society on two levels. But I also know from experience, I am desired, and many people secretly find these attributes sexy. Some men don't want to be seen with a fat girl, or a trans girl, but their search history says otherwise, know what I mean?
Back in the springtime, you also released "Static Walls" which I read you recorded alongside The Lemon Twigs. How special was it working with those guys and what was the experience like?
It is a joy and an honor to work with the Twigs, they are so talented and total sweethearts. We got to tour with them last spring and became fast friends. They like my demos and I somehow convinced them to produce a song of mine at their studio. Brian played drums, in bombastic Who-style and Michael engineered, and I played all the guitars and bass. Brian and Michael sang very beautiful backup vocals in the choruses. Watching them sing perfect "ahhs" into the same mic, then effortlessly double them, was such a treat.
Are these tunes, alongside last year's "Valerie" and "With The Girls," leading to a new full-length? If so, what can you tell readers about that?
This past year we have been working on a full-length JN record. The record's all tracked at Ryan's studio, and its currently in mixing stage, and then I'm going to shop it around. All I can say is, it's going to be our most rocking album yet.
Digging deeper into your solo catalog, what was it like stepping on your own with Music is Easy back in 2020? What are your thoughts looking back on that record?
I am so proud of Music Is Easy. It's still my favorite record I ever made. That was Josephine's welcome to the world. 10 songs, 25 minutes. Pop music!
What's the story behind all the Loren Burke paintings associated with the album?
Loren used to live in New York and we would hang out at his studio, listen to music and I would pose for him and he would paint me. Those were incredibly fun and innocent pre-pandemic times that I look back on with much fondness.
I still watch the music video to "Me and My Boys," sometimes daily, definitely weekly as that was how I first discovered you! How did you put that song together?
Thank you! I recorded that with Josh Hahn at his studio in Chelsea, on a classic reel-to-reel. I love the topic of "boys," a subject I can wax poetic on. We obviously went for a Beach Boys feel, in the vein of Sunflower or 20/20. Those post-Smile albums are endlessly fascinating. I did all the vocal parts myself, and guitar and keys. The lead vocal is very dry, I like that. Nat played drums and Josh played the 12-string solo.
I've also always really liked the single "Shipwrecked." Was that intended to be part of a record or just stand-alone single.
That was a song I made with Josh remotely over the pandemic. It was kind of an experiment, to see if we could collaborate remotely, and we did it. The song is overlooked but I don't mind.
What was it like working on No One's Rose compared to the debut?
No One's Rose wouldn't have been possible without Alana Amram and Adam Amram. In the summer of 2021 I showed Alana some demos I made, in a folky more twangy style. She liked them and introduced me to her brother Adam who is a great percussionist and engineer. We ended up tracking "Judge Judy" and "Howdy Girl" to tape in a day at his home studio. Cozy vibes! Howdy Girl had a fully-improvised second verse. Jon Catfish played gorgeous pedal steel which gave the sound more legitimacy. The record started as kind of a goof, but then became more serious over time, as things tend to do.
What else is on the horizon for you and your other associated projects later in the year?
I am dropping a psychedelic rock single in September that I recorded with Olive Faber (Sunflower Bean, Star's Revenge). All I need to make a song is a drummer and an engineer, and luckily Olive is excellent at both. I have a video for it in the works, directed by Dylan Mars Greenberg. She did the "Valerie" video and it was a blast to work with her again and I can't wait to share it soon!
I see you've been giving guitar lessons! What have you enjoyed most from that recently?
Yes! Guitar teaching is my day job and I love it. I really enjoy when my beginner acoustic students have some lessons and then go out and buy electrics, and show up to the next lesson with their new electric. Thrilling! If anyone is interested in lessons they should hit my DMs!
Thank you for taking your time. Any advice or last words you'd like to share with our readers?
The girl loves rock and roll, the girl loves rock and roll, the girl loves rock and roll, the girl loves rock and roll…
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