One Win Choice

We are a hardcore punk band that lives in Philadelphia, PA. We're probably in our van somewhere.

[onewinchoice-blog]

Final shows and tour down to the Fest!

Hey there fellow Fest-ers and residents of the East Coast. Here are the dates / venues for the last One Win Choice shows and tour. We are super pumped to be playing alongside punk rock heroes PROPAGANDHI in just over a week! Not to mention our final Philadelphia venue show at THE FIRE with Shook Ones and buddies Greek Favourites. On the tour we are joined up with our comrades ASTPAI from Austria. Hope to see you there or at some point in our van in the next month! <3 One Win Choice

FINAL SHOWS/TOUR: 

OCT 5TH - PHILADELPHIA, PA @ UNION TRANSFER W/ COMEBACK KID, PROPAGANDHI (TICKETS HERE) OCT 14TH - PHILADELPHIA, PA @ THE FIRE W/ GREEK FAVOURITES, SHOOK ONES (TICKETS HERE)

**FOLLOWING DATES WITH ASTPAI** 

OCT 16TH - PHILADELPHIA, PA @ GOLDEN TEA HOUSE W/ THE HOLY MESS, NONA, REALLY HIGH  OCT 17TH - PROVIDENCE, RI @ AS220 OCT 19TH - TOMS RIVER, NJ @ THE SHED OCT 20TH - BROOKLYN, NY @ HI-FIVE BAR W/ FELLOW PROJECT, THE SMITH STREET BAND  OCT 21ST - RICHMOND, VA @ THE CAMEL W/ STATIC RADIO, THE ARTERIES, LUTHER OCT 22ND - ASHEVILLE, NC @ THE GET DOWN W/ 1994!, EDHOCHULI, SHORES, TAPE & WIRE  OCT 23RD - ATLANTA, GA @ WONDERROOT W/ BURNERS  OCT 24TH - TAMPA, FL @ TRANSITIONS PRE-FEST OCT 24TH - TAMPA, FL @ TRANSITIONS PRE-FEST  OCT 26TH - GAINESVILLE, FL @ THE FEST 11 @ FLORIDA THEATRE W/ ENSIGN, THE SWELLERS, MAKE DO AND MEND, NO TRIGGER, POLAR BEAR CLUB, ANTI-FLAG (ONE WIN CHOICE ONLY)  OCT 27TH - GAINESVILLE, FL @ THE FEST 11 OCT 28TH - GAINESVILLE, FL @ THE FEST 11 @ LOOSEY'S W/ CAVES, ANTILLECTUAL, LEAGUES APART, THE SMITH STREET BAND, SSSNAKES, MALADROIT (ASTPAI ONLY) 

[onewinchoice-blog]

Last tours, last shows, this October.

After roughly ten years of One Win Choice being a band, those of us who remain have decided to call it quits.  Recently, Justin, our guitar player and one of the founding members relayed to us that it was time for him to bow out and focus on other aspects of his life.  Given all the changes we have had in the last three to four years, we saw that it was time to put One Win Choice to rest and move on.  Our final tour will be at the end of October down to the Fest in Gainesville, Florida and we could think of no better way to celebrate it than with our best buddies in Astpai from overseas.  Final dates on that coming soon.

We cannot possibly thank everyone enough for all the support over the years, from releasing records, booking shows, cooking meals, sleeping places, kind words, and good conversations.  

Keep an eye out for new music from the remaining four in the not so distant future.  

See you on the road, at The Fest, or in our daily lives.  

-Dan, Justin, Justin, Pete, and Phil  

[onewinchoice-blog]

Two more shows in Europe...

So we left off in Toulouse, France.  We played a kick ass show in support of the local roller derby team.  The venue was pretty fucking ace and I was stoked especially on the first balcony of the tour.  Big thanks to the Shorter, Faster, Louder girls for putting the show on and taking care of us.

The next evening we played in Marseille, France in a tiny basement bar called O'Bundies.  The name is definitely misleading; I thought it was going to be some kind of Irish pub in the middle of France, however it turned out to be littered with rad graffiti, the typical sight of a thousand stickers everywhere.  The show itself was really good and a bunch of people turned out for one of the sweatiest basement shows we've played in a while.

The following day we had to be in Bern, Switzerland for our show at the Dead End.  Which strangely enough, was starting at 3AM.  However, since we didn't have to leave Marseille for a few hours we got to hit the beach, swim in the Mediterranean Sea for the first time, and visit/skate the famous Bowl Marseille that was featured in Tony Hawk 2.  Fuck yes, that ruled.

The show in Bern that night started promptly at 3AM.  The Dead End was explained to us as the bar that everyone goes to after the others close, and this fact came to be 100% true.  The place was packed from 2:30AM until 6AM (when we left), and the people in attendance were definitely going crazy for the bands.  I'm pretty sure the alcohol and lateness of the evening had more to do with it than anything else, but it was fun nonetheless.  Thanks to Rufi for setting up the show and hosting us that night.  Check out his acoustic act Migre Le Tigre here.

Following Bern was Bludenz, Austria at a youth center called Villa K.  The show itself was pretty low-key and we were all definitely feeling the effects of being awake for 25 hours straight.  In the evening we all basically just felt like zombies, aching for an adequate night's sleep.

After our quick stop in Austria, we headed to Italy for a show in a small town outside Verona called Sanguinetto.  It was the first open air show of the tour, on a quite large outside stage at a place called Mamma Mia's (fucking Italian right?).  About 30-40 lovely people showed up for the show in total and everyone we met that night was super rad.

The next day was another acoustic show that we played nearby at our friend Federico's house (huge Italian villa).  It definitely felt like a Monday all day, since we spent most of our time lounging in his gigantic garden, cooking food, playing basketball, and checking out his recording studio.  Federico set up a pro-fucking-fessional PA, mic-ed up every instrument, and proceeded to record both acoustic sets that evening.  All in all, it was a really fun show and a great experience, hopefully those recordings never surface though…

Our last show in Italy, and our last acoustic show of the tour was played in Trento.  We played a house show (America style) to some of the most enthusiastic and attentive people of the whole tour.  Even though it was acoustic, we all felt super comfortable and in our element.  Huge thanks to Ollie for setting it up and taking care of us so well.

The next evening was in Ljubljana, Slovenia.  We played the squatted compound known as Metalkova in a venue called Gromka.  Not only was the show super well attended and fun, we also got to see our best buddies Dario and Shaggy from In-Sane, and play with our friends Jack Holmes, and The Liberation Service who are both from Austria as well.

Last night we were in Graz, Austria and played one of Astpai's Efforts and Means LP release shows. The show was at one of our favorite venues in the world, called Sub.  The club is pretty small, dark, and in June, fucking hot as hell, especially once you stuff 50 to 60 sweaty punks in it.  Needless to say, this show was one of the best of the tour so far, not only because of the turnout and the energy from the crowd, but because we got to meet up with many of our Austrian friends that we've met through the years.  Endless hugs and kisses to Robert and Klaus for taking such good care of us!

As for now, we have 2 shows left, both of which are in Austria on Astpai's home turf.  Should be fun, boozy, and just a little out of hand.  

<3 One Win Choice

[onewinchoice-blog]

Bridgend, Wales through San Sebastion, Spain.

It's been a number of days since we logged our adventures, so I'll try to keep this one as brief as possible.  On the night of the 5th, we played a sweet show that our friend Rich put on for us.  Loading into the show was a two story nightmare, but that bar we were playing in, Hobo's, was super sweet.  There were a bunch of people in attendance and our friend Yogi's band, Question the Mark, really fucking ripped.

Big thanks go out to Rich, not only did he house us, feed us, booze us, and do the show for us, he had a spare car stereo in his office that he donated to the Astpai van, Falcor.  Check out his record label here. Fuck YES!

The next day we were in Portsmouth, England, playing a cozy little spot called the Edge of the Wedge.  We were hosted by Tim and El Morgan from Southsea DIY and the show itself was a fucking ripper.  Good turnout, motivated people, and excellent vegan beans and sausage.  Congratulations again to Tim and El on their engagement!  You both rule.  

After our show in Portsmouth we had the entire day to lounge about since our ferry ride was booked for 3AM the next morning.  We spent the day searching for our lost Sat Nav (left in the venue), watching movies (Batman Begins), sleeping (hungover), and cooking an epic tour meal with our buddy Tom from Attack! Vipers!  All in all, when we boarded the ferry, witnessed the sunrise on the English Channel, and headed for the coast of France, we were all stoked about our stay in the United Kingdom.

Our first show back in France, and first time for us, was an acoustic outing at an amazing bar cafe called Hijack in Boulogne Sur Mer.   We were hosted by a great guy named Nico and the show itself went over awesomely.  Really good turnout and a lot of good conversation, even with our glaring ignorance of the French language.  "Thank you for this wonderful game of fives."

The next night was one of the best shows of the tour.  We played in Nantes at La Scene Michelet with the amazing Nine Eleven.  If you haven't heard of this band yet, check them out right now.  Amazing records and an even more inspiring live performance.   The turnout was great and the club's sound was huge, so all the bands sounded fucking ace.  Thanks to Joris for taking such great care and hosting us at his place afterwards.

Last night was our second of three acoustic shows on the tour and we played in a ritzy wine bar.  We met the promoter, Steve, upon arrival to La Rochelle and he took us under his wing immediately.  We visited his flat, on a Venice-like street two blocks from the beautiful harbor of La Rochelle.  Shortly after we took a brief walking tour of the city, staring like the tourists that we are at the constructive beauty of the downtown.  One of the prettiest cities we've been to all tour.  

The show itself was fun and it paired with a birthday party for Steve's friend.  We all sipped "Eyes Wine Shut", ate delicious vegan sandwiches on French baguettes, and felt just a little to tour-grimy to be in such a nice wine bar.

The next night we played full band sets at Le Barbarella in La Rochelle.  The bar was pretty tiny, but the attendees were fucking stoked to have us and Astpai for the evening.  Huge thanks to Steve for hosting us and providing one of the most delicious pre-show vegan buffets in modern memory.  

After La Rochelle, we crossed the border of France into the Basque Country region of Spain.  We played a super rad club called the Mogambo.  The weather was pretty dreary, but we were all excited to be in Spain for the first time.  A fair amount of people turned out and people were definitely stoked on the show.  The sleeping place was the bar, so needless to say we set to DJ-ing, drinking kalimotxo, and fine wines until the wee hours of the morning. After being awoken by a rambunctious Pete Pie, we spent some at the closest beach and generally admired the natural beauty of the Basque Country coastline.   Hell to the yeah.

Typing this from the backstage of La Dynamo in Toulouse, France.  Set to play at around midnight for a punk rock roller derby benefit. 

12 shows left on this European tour.  Onward! <3 One Win Choice

[onewinchoice-blog]

Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Lincoln, UK.

So it's another rainy day in the United Kingdom.  Relaxing at our new buddy Rich's place, cooking food, playing music with his daughter, and in general waiting around for our show tonight in Bridgend, Wales at Hobo's.

The last few days have been pretty fucking awesome.  With two shows in the majestic beauty that is Scotland, we got to visit Glasgow for the first time, and play in Edinburgh for our third.

Both Glasgow and Edinburgh were fun shows.  Glasgow was at The Bay, a smaller size pub nestled into the city center.  We also got to meet up with our buddies in Shields Up for a few days.  The show was a bunch of fun and definitely had a nice intimate feel.  Thanks to Boab for setting it all up, feeding us delicious chili, and getting us sufficiently tipsy on tiny French beers!

After the show in Glasgow, we drove overnight into Edinburgh and stayed with our friend Kevin.  Waking up in one of the prettiest cities on planet Earth was definitely a treat.  

We had loads of time to walk around, visit the Edinburgh Castle, hang out on the Royal Mile, fancy us some bag pipe playing, and really relax and get taken in by the city.

The show that night was in the cavernous Banshee Labyrinth, which houses a downstairs punk club, free cinema room (where we were treated to Predator), pole dancing bar, and even the makings of a torture chamber.

The show itself was pretty rad, with all the bands kicking major ass.  Both Corsicana and Shields Up tore up the basement bar.  Our set and Astpai's were also super fun, thanks to Kevin for booking the show, touring us around the city, and letting us take over his apartment for the day.

After a couple hours of sleep, we left Edinburgh at around 6AM driving toward Lincoln, England for Crash Doubt Fest.  We arrived around noon, loaded into the venue, and got into Fest mode.  We spent the day wandering from stage to stage, checking out a bunch of super fun bands, including but not limited to The Liberation Service, Above Them, The Cut Ups, All Eyes West, Shields Up, and The Skints.  Unfortunately, we didn't get to check out Apologies I Have None since our set time clashed with theirs.  It felt awesome to play and our set was really a lot of fun with a bunch of people singing along.

Directly after the show, we headed to SCY, a local dance club for some serious after partying.  We spent the majority of the night on one dance floor or another, singing a long to a plethora of pop punk songs, or dancing to bumping-ass house music.

Two more shows left in the United Kingdom before we travel back to the mainland.  Tonight in Bridgend, tomorrow in Portsmouth.  

<3 One Win Choice 

[onewinchoice-blog]

London, Bristol, Cambridge, and Manchester.

Whew.  Time for a day off on tour.  In some ways, they are a thing to look forward to, recharge some batteries, reconnect with some family members at home.  On the other hand it means about 30 hours until we play another show, and this 30 hours is looking to be spent in the first day of English rain we've had so far on tour.

The last four days have been loads fun.  First, was an all-dayer at The Black Heart in the heart of Camden Town in London.  We got to experience vegan thai buffet and the eccentricities of the Camden market (google: Cyberdog).

The show itself was pretty rad and in true Fest-like fashion we spent much of the day partying and hanging with friends outside the van, bouncing up and down the stairs to check out the eight different bands of the day.  Big ups to Ollie for having us and for taking care of us so well.

The next day we met up with Dave from Caves in Bristol, who was doing our show for us at the Croft.  Our tour party was joined that night by acoustic duo Feralous and a super rad, super punk four piece called Southpaw Fakers.  

Monday nights are always kind of hard to wrangle up enthusiasm after a long, crazy weekend.  However, there were some sing-a-longs to be had and the night turned out to be quite an awesome time.  Thanks again to Dave, and Phil and Steve from Southpaw Fakers for the place to crash.

Tuesday's show was in Cambridge at what looked to be quite a traditional English pub, called the Corner House.  Justin was nice enough to book us a show quite last minute, and grateful not to have the day off, we played to an attentive handful of people who were stoked we rolled through town.  After the show, we had a minor GPS crisis / tour FAIL. Placing the wrong address into the navigation we ended up loitering outside of what we thought was going to be the flat we were staying at.  Without a phone number, and looking like quite a ragtag group of individuals (read: troublemakers) in the beautiful Cambridge streets, we thought it best to climb back in the van and head to our friend James' place in Manchester.

Arriving in Manchester around 5AM, we spent much of the day sleeping in.  After cooking an epic English breakfast of fried potatoes, baked beans, toast, hummus, and spinach salad, we gathered our things and heading into the city center of Manchester.

We spent about an hour before the show walking through town, checking out Piccadilly Gardens, sampling a burrito, and stocking up on more cider.  Heading over to the Kraak Gallery, an art-space, bar, venue, minutes from the city center, we loaded in, and got to be part of a pretty awesome show.  

The bill was five bands, each of which were super freaking awesome.  Highlight might be have been Ruin It For Everybody's rendition of Propagandhi's Back to the Motor League.  I didn't think it was possible to play that song any faster, however they fucking ripped it and pulled it off.  Nice.

After the show we headed over to a seedy Manchester karaoke spot and belted out some of the hits to 10 or so people who walked with us from the show.  I (Dan) got to sing two Oasis songs IN Manchester.  That's one less thing I need to do now before I die.  FUCK YES.

Big thanks to Kieran for the show and Francis from Leagues Apart for kicking ass at the sound booth.

And now we wait...

<3 One Win Choice

[onewinchoice-blog]

Nijmegen, Lille, and Norwich! (Hell yeah!)

In the last few days we've had some of the most stressful days but also some of the most rewarding of the tour.  First off, we arrived a night early in Nijmegen, Netherlands, and got to explore the city, walk to the cow beach, swim in the river, and relax all day in the Klinker Cafe, which is above the Onderbroek, the venue we played that night.

Sorry for the thumb, Pete Pie playing photographer in the Netherlands. This is a handful of us swimming the river just 15 minutes walk from the Nijmegen city center.

The Onderbroek show was awesome, we got to hang out with our buddies in Bridge and Tunnel, play an awesome show, stay up to the wee hours of the morning, and have a dance floor take over with Above Them, Bridge and Tunnel, Astpai, and One Win Choice all well represented on the dance floor.  So much fun.

On the next day we were set to travel to Lille, France but had to detour first to Dortmund, Germany to pick up the freshly pressed new Astpai record, Efforts and Means.  

We ended up getting stuck in the worst traffic you could possibly imagine in Belgian territory, nearly making us late for the show.  Luckily we arrived in time to load out, play the show, eat some lasagna, and travel to our sleeping place for a birthday party.  All in the span of about 2 hours, after spending nearly 8 in the van.  Crazy.

This morning was spent, again, stuck in freaking insane amounts of traffic trying to catch our ferry from the mainland to the United Kingdom.  We ended getting held up at the border for about an hour because of a processing issue with our visas for the UK portion of the tour.  Our agent at the border was cool enough, and apologized for "twisting his melon."  He also compared our tour party to Metallica.  Interesting.  

As Zock coined it, "Metallica stays in fucking huge hotels, and we're sleeping on floors."  DIY Truth.

After crossing the English channel we had exactly 4 hours until the curfew of the show we were playing in Norwich.  Coincidentally, the GPS had us about 3 hours until we arrived at the venue.  

So again tonight we arrived, played last and played fast.  As typical for Norwich, however, the show fucking ruled, and all thanks to the Aiden, Dan, and the Norwich DIY folks for organizing an amazing evening.  

So it's almost 4AM.  Tomorrow is London.  Here we come U.K.  I hope to meet Ricky Gervais at some point.  Dude is punk, right?

<3 One Win Choice.

[onewinchoice-blog]

Leipzig, Berlin, and Münster, Germany.

So we left off last in Münich, and have played 3 shows since.  Leipzig, Germany at the Atari was super fun, especially with the Conveyor sing-alongs.  The venue was quite relaxing, located in beautiful section of the city, and we played our first basement of the tour, which always feels like home for punk rock.   The show started quite late thanks to the Champions League final, and to the dismay of many at the venue, Bayern was defeated in epic penalty kick fashion.

Thanks to Rosa for taking such good care of us that night.

Our show in Berlin was at the Subversiv, which was also a rad venue.  Max and company made us feel quite comfortable with vegan potluck in a beautiful courtyard, and a kick-ass show in a medieval looking basement room.  Braindead played a 19 song Operation Ivy cover set, which fucking ruled.  All four Americans took the stage at some point to either play guitar, sing, or drum on all the classics you'd expect from Energy and Hectic.

We also got to meet our new friend Anna, a super sweet person who was running sound but also plays in a variety of bands in Berlin.  Check out her stuff here.

Monday was a day off for us and we spent the entirety of the day touring Berlin.  We spent time at the Holocaust Memorial, Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag, and walked a few kilometers of the wall.  Fucking insane.

In true activities night fashion, we decided to play a game of Threes at the Berlin Wall.  Toni Magpie took home the 2-3 Euros wagered in an overtime face off with Bernhard.

Last night we played in Münster with The Copyrights and The Murderburgers.  Needless to say, the show was super awesome.  Astpai kicked ass with a horde of singalongs for those in attendance.  Hugs and high fives to Flo for booking the show and taking such good care of us.

Time to hit the road, off to Eindhoven, Netherlands, and tomorrow is Nijmegen!

Cheers from Germany!

<3 One Win Choice

[onewinchoice-blog]

Kafe Marat, Munich, Germany.

First day of the tour was super awesome.  We played a vegan collective in the city center of Munich and enjoyed the show immensely.  

Our set, as well as Astpai, Braindead, and Kaput Kraut's were increasingly fun.  Both the organizers and attendees were super welcoming.  Many drinks were consumed, and late night pizza was definitely ordered.

By the end of the (long) night, Dan had consumed the remains of Philip Alexander's hacked off beard, and both Pete Pie and Justin Phillips had taken turns working the tiny bar situated at the back of the club. 

Leipzig, Germany tonight, and Berlin tomorrow! 

<3 One Win Choice. 

[onewinchoice-blog]

Overnight flight to Münich complete. We met up with Astpai around 10AM and organized the van, installed some new tires, and of course drank some delicious Bavarian beer. We were supposed to have a day off today but got added to tonight's show with Braindead (Hamburg) and Astpai at Kafe Marat, a vegan punk collective. Needless to say: super stoked, super lagged. But in the words of Rabe Yane, "you just gotta power through."

[onewinchoice-blog]

We are going to be on an airplane Thursday.  FUCK. YES.

[onewinchoice-blog]

Art Star Craft Bazaar in Philadelphia tomorrow, 11am to 6pm. Justin and his fiancé Courtney have a wealth of their prints and creative musings on display and for sale. Check out VAYA bags too. Beautiful people working hard beautifully.

[onewinchoice-blog]

Leaving for Europe in 5,4,3,2,1....

So we started a Tumblr account.  Fuck.  There are just too many websites to post our mindful yammering to these days.  

We are leaving for tour in just under a week, flying from Philadelphia to Munich.  We figured it would just be easier to keep the masses updated on our whereabouts and shenanigans by linking all of our online personas together.  

Keep an eye out for a wealth of priceless information and knowledge in the coming weeks (i.e. Pete Pie quotes, dice-night across the Atlantic, and the occasional picture or two of where we are).

<3 One Win Choice.

P.S. First Tumblr complaint: No MySpace integration?  What the FUCK!?