Josephine grew up in Sydney in a big family where singing around the piano was part of life. She is the daughter of a doctor with a passion for classical music and traditional jazz and an ex-nurse who was always ready to sing out a number from South Pacific, The Andrew Sisters or Eartha Kitt. The school choir provided more opportunities for harmonizing as did the James Taylor, Carole King, Cat Stevens and America song books and she went on to study acting and perform in theatre and musical theatre productions.
A trip to Broome in 1986 to visit her sister stretched to sixteen years. It was here within this extraordinary, remote environment and musically fertile community that a desire to make her own songs sprouted. She started growing a family instead and around this continued singing and played percussion in various duos, trios and the ten-piece women's band Big Jidj. She sang in the Bran Nue Dae Cabaret featuring the songs of Jimmy Chi and Kuckles, touring to the 6th Festival of Pacific Arts in Rarotonga and performing at Stompem Ground in 1992. It was in this year that she also wrote her first song Dance of Life (a sample track) which was first recorded on Hidden Voice a compilation of Kimberley Women's songs, produced by Lynn Hazelton and Lorrae Coffin. She became inspired to write more after a songwriting workshop with Lynn and dreamt of one day recording her own album.
Josephine has lectured in singing for the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts Certificate III in Theatre (Indigenous) and coordinated the course in Broome for twelve months with her partner, choreographer Simon Stewart. She taught Using the Voice workshops to Indigenous teacher trainees at Notre Dame University in Broome and has practiced and taught yoga for many years.
After moving to Perth in 2003 and falling pregnant early the following year she knew it was now or never! Twenty months, twelve songs and a beautiful daughter later, Feel Your Way is complete.
