Scheduled for release on May 1 via her label Kitten Robot Records, it was originally released on CD only in 2007. Remastered, the album includes for the very first time the single “Female Trouble” from John Waters' infamous and celebrated 1974 cult classic of the same name. The single will be released to DSPs for purchase and streaming on April 18 in advance of the album's release.
Along with new artwork and packaging, Invasion of the B-Girls finds Josie revisiting the themes from obscure and ofttimes subversive midnight movies (see listing below).
“I was obsessed with science fiction movies since childhood, a lot of which you could call B-movies, but seeing Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! as an adult was a kind of Come-to-Jesus moment for me," explains Josie about her inspiration to cover these forgotten “classics." "The whole world of B-movie culture opened up... the demented humor and in-your-face irreverence toward society all spoke to me. And the best ones all seemed to be from the 1960s and 1970s for some reason."
Produced by Josie Cotton, Geza X (Black Flag, Dead Kennedys), and Bill Rhea, Invasion of the B-Girls includes liner notes written by John Waters. Among the guest performers on the album are David Kendrick, Paul Roessler, Geza X, Kenny Lyon and Tower of Power's horn section which appears on the single “Female Trouble.”
As an artist who experienced a huge surge in popularity with such singles “Johnny Are You Queer?,” "Jimmy Loves Maryanne," and “He Could Be The One”, Josie saw the exciting potential in digging deep into these annals of pop culture cinema and pulling out some fun covers for Invasion... “You kind of have to abandon your idea of what is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ in this genre. The acting and writing and cinematography are horrendous yet wildly entertaining. It’s the same feeling I got watching bad science fiction when I was a little girl... minus the sex and violence. It’s an acquired taste if ever,” she laughs.
From the first track “Get Off the Road” from She Devils on Wheels (1968, dir. Herschel Gordon Lewis) to “Who Killed Teddy Bear?” from the film of the same name (1965, dir. Joseph Cates) and “Shiawaseo Yobo” from Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964, dir. Ishiro Honda), Invasion of the B-Girls is very cinematic.
"I first got the idea one night when I was watching Ghidora the Three-Headed Monster,” she recalls. “I had seen that movie so many times, but there is a moment in that movie when these tiny twin princesses who live in a flower are singing the most heartbreakingly beautiful song to Mothra... pleading with her to save the world. It was strange and beautiful and funny and sad all at the same time.”
From a Godzilla-sized seed grew a sprout that eventually turned into Invasion of the B-Girls.
“It suddenly occurred to me that I could do a whole record of theme songs from B-movies,” she says excitedly. “So I went on a search and watched an insane amount of movies for about a year. That’s the time frame I was indoctrinated into the cult of Russ Meyers. My criteria was it had to be a ‘great’ song from a ‘bad’ movie… ‘bad’ meaning ‘good’ and ‘great’ meaning it was a fantastic 'song'.”
Re-emerging last fall with the release of a new single “Ukrainian Cowboy,” Josie reignited a music scene that had been in the dark for too long. Her previously unreleased album Everything Is Oh Yeah! was well received.
Track Listing:
1. “Get Off The Road”
Film: She Devils On Wheels
Year: 1968
Director: Herschel Gordon Lewis
2. “Girl In Gold Boots”
Film: Girl In Gold Boots
Year: 1968
Director: Ted V Mikels
3. “Who Killed Teddy Bear?”
Film: Who Killed Teddy Bear?
Year: 1965
Director: Joseph Cates
4. “Green Slime”
Film: Green Slime
Year: 1968
Director: Kinji Fukasaku
5. “Black Klansman”
Film: The Black Klansman
Year: 1966
Director: Ted V. Mikels
6. "Female Trouble"
Film: Female Trouble
Year: 1974
Director: John Waters
7. “Run Pussy Cat”
Film: Faster, Pussy Cat! Kill! Kill!
Year: 1965
Director: Russ Meyer
8. “Days Of Now And Then”
Film: Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls
Year: 1970
Director: Russ Meyer
9. “Shiawaseo Yobo”
Film: Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster”
Year: 1964
Director: Ishiro Honda
10. “Goodbye Godzilla”
Film: “Return Of Godzilla”
Year: 1985
Directors: Koji Hashimoto & R.J. Kizer
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