Near legendary for their reclusiveness, with only a handful of live performances, Bone of Contention hunkered down in NYC's East Village during the latter half of the 1990's. The Fun Part, a well-crafted piece of island-tinged pop belies a group of serious musicians committed to breaking free of late-millennium clichés.

Songs From the Cellar

The Fun Part

The public was negligent in responding to Bone of Contention, but late 90’s music cognoscenti of lower Manhattan appreciated the band’s near obsessive determination in adhering to its artistic intent. Here Were Are is a lament in the alt-rock idiom for lost love and lost time. It can also be heard as an existential declaration from the band.

Here We Are

A chance encounter at the Delta 88 music club in NYC with the eponymous front man of the highly regarded James Montgomery Blues Band resulted in Bone of Contention laying down a scorching version of I Can’t Stop. Although the song can be easily heard as the vocalist’s acquiescence to a domineering lover, her sneering sarcasm transforms it into a paean to female empowerment. Classic.

I Can't Stop

This was the last track on Bone Of Contention’s self-produced, four-song EP titled Songs From The Cellar. While sometimes cited as a potential harbinger of ska’s ultimately unrealized fourth wave, the reality was that the primary songwriter was playing catch up to the movement’s previous iteration. No Big Secret.

No Big Secret

Pam Arnold: Drums, Backing Vocals
Katy Brennan: Vocals
Jay Keuper: Bass
Julie Lewis: Piano, Organ
Mark Trottenberg: Guitars