| Josephine Wiggs | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Josephine Miranda Cordelia Susan Wiggs |
| Origin | Letchworth, Hertfordshire, England |
| Genres | Alternative rock |
| Occupations | Musician |
| Instruments | Bass guitar Guitar Drums Cello Vocals |
| Labels | 4AD Fire Records Grand Royal Atlantic Records |
| Associated acts | The Perfect Disaster The Breeders Honey Tongue The Josephine Wiggs Experience Dusty Trails |
Josephine Wiggs (born Josephine Miranda Cordelia Susan Wiggs, 26 February 1965, Letchworth, Hertfordshire, England)[1] is an indie/alternative rock musician, noted for her work with the bands The Perfect Disaster, The Breeders, and Dusty Trails.
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Wiggs studied at University for two degrees, a BSc from London, and an MA in Continental philosophy from the University of Sussex.[2] She studied cello for six years.[2] She joined The Perfect Disaster in 1988 as bass guitarist, playing on the albums Asylum Road (1988) and Up (1989) before leaving to join The Breeders.[3]
In 1988, Wiggs met Kim Deal when Perfect Disaster supported Pixies in London. Deal, Tanya Donelly and Wiggs got together in December 1989 to reform The Breeders (originally a project started by sisters Kim and Kelley Deal), recording their first album, Pod, in 10 days with Steve Albini producing.
Their next release was the Safari EP in 1992, followed by the platinum album Last Splash in 1993, which featured the hit song "Cannonball" with its signature opening bass riff. The video for the song, much-played on MTV, was directed by Kim Gordon and Spike Jonze.
The band has not had the same level of commercial success since. Though the Breeders would regroup in the late 1990s, Wiggs was not a member of that lineup.
In November 2005, Wiggs joined The Breeders onstage in London, where the band played two shows, for the 25th anniversary of 4AD Records.
On August 21, 2009, Wiggs joined The Breeders for the final three shows of their tour, since regular bassist Mando Lopez had to fly back to East LA because his girlfriend was in labor. These shows were at the Black Cat in Washington, DC,[4] Diesel in Pittsburgh, and at Newport Music Hall in Columbus, Ohio.
While with The Breeders, Wiggs had formed the band Honey Tongue along with Jon Mattock, with an album, Nude Nudes, released in 1992. In 1995 Wiggs formed Ladies Who Lunch with Luscious Jackson (and original Beastie Boys) drummer Kate Schellenbach. releasing the 7 inch vinyl "Kims We Love" (an homage to the Pixies' Kim Deal and Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon, played entirely on Casio keyboards) on the Beastie Boys' label, Grand Royal.
Wiggs recorded and co-produced the 1995 album Klassics with a K for the Kostars, aka Luscious Jackson's Jill Cunniff and Vivian Trimble.
In 1996 Wiggs collaborated again with Mattock, releasing the Bon Bon Lifestyle album on Grand Royal as The Josephine Wiggs Experience. Wiggs played most of the instruments, recorded and produced.
In 1999 Wiggs started a writing and production collaboration with Luscious Jackson keyboardist Vivian Trimble, under the name Dusty Trails. Their 2000 album on Atlantic Records included a track written for and sung by Country legend Emmylou Harris. Dusty Trails also wrote music, including the outro song, for Happy Accidents, a movie by Brad Anderson (writer/director of Next Stop Wonderland) starring Marisa Tomei and Vincent D'Onofrio.
Wiggs is currently recording new material with Jon Mattock (also recently recording with Massive Attack).[5]