Creativity and chaos converged in several practice spaces to bring unlikely musicians together for one night only.
On the morning of January 3rd, 2026, about forty or fifty adventurous musicians of varied skill and experience gathered around coffee and donuts at my favorite place in New York City, The East Williamsburg Econolodge.
The occasion? Band Lottery 2026.
If you aren’t familiar with Band Lotto (as us traumatized veterans call it), I self-righteously implore you to read one of the articles I wrote about it in the weeks leading up to the event. But in case you don’t want to do that (I wouldn’t), I’ll give you the definition and we can just see how it goes from there.
Band Lottery
[band lot-uh-ree]
noun
plural band lotteries
"An annual event in which participants are randomly selected and separated into musical groups with the mission of writing 3 songs and performing them in under 24 hours."
So yeah - a bunch of us get together at a venue/glorified storage space and spend the day writing songs with randos and friends we’ve never played music with before. You never know how it’s going to go. Some years, people strike gold and create some of the coolest art I’ve ever heard in my life. Occasionally, it leads to full creative endeavors that last beyond the Band Lotto event. And more often than not, there’s an element of chaos, whether circumstantial or just natural from the awkward unfamiliarity in the relationships. Personally, I love it and thrive there.
This year we ended up with 8 bands, and just like last year, each band performed that night at the Gutter Spare Room in Brooklyn. bandNada is proud to present you with the Band Lottery 2026 Compilation, featuring one song per band. Below you’ll find my recollection of each track, and some notes on the songs chosen. If you’re into the process of art, local musicians, and sounds that will never again be replicated, this is something you gotta hear.
Øhawl - “Before The Lord”
It’s fitting for the first song on this compilation to be full of Biblical references, because Øhawl’s “Before The Lord” sounds like a Higher Power™ is breathing Band Lotto into existence. The song immediately explodes into it’s intro, with noisy synth, heavy bass guitar, and crashing cymbal hits. The vocal and lyrical approach took me right back to college, going to see mewithoutYou play my local all ages venue. If I didn’t know better, I would have assumed this was Aaron Weiss himself.
Side note: The abstract nature of this song is “giving” Dischord Records, as the kids say. Look at Øhawl’s band photo, and then Google “Dischord 133.” Then, look at this compilation’s album art, and Google “Dischord 123.” These apples don’t fall far from the tree, I suppose.
FFO: mewithoutYou
Veronica and the Sinful Delights - “Best Friends”
It’s not unheard of for a Band Lotto band to consist of odd instrumental components. Veronica and the Sinful Delights was our first example of that for the night, because they had two drummers—and good drummers at that. The song “Best Friends,” which we’ve included here, is the longest track on the comp, largely due to its give-and-take drum solo in the bridge. Chris and Will, aka “the drummers,” go back and forth with different percussive drum riffs, eventually converging into a beat-driven buildup to call the rest of the band back in. The whole band was awesome, but the dueling drums was their secret weapon.
FFO: drums, pet owners
Beer 'n' Shot - “Party Time, Excellent”
This was my band. It included me, another guy named Rob on bass, an accordion player named Antonio, and my dear friend Liz of the band Sorry Darling on drums. When Antonio first walked up to us after our groups were chosen, I was assuming he would be a drummer. He was wearing a big sleeveless black metal shirt, and I’m pretty sure he could bench 12 of me. Turns out, he had an electric accordion, which, you know, ended up being our unique thing. We called our band Beer n Shot, because other Rob and I both ordered beer/shots at lunch. Lyrics were a last few hours thing for us, and after Antonio mentioned Shrek, we made all of the songs about Michael Meyers movies. The one you hear on this comp is about Wayne's World. Bon appétit.
FFO: Movie quotes over accordions
Piss Machine - “Gotta Run”
Whenever I start to feel like I’m getting too old for immature punk shit, some friends in their 30s and 40s get together and start a band with a name like Piss Machine. I love the fuckin’ synth in this song, even though it’s in the wrong key. Band Lotto isn’t always perfect, but it is usually fun and pretty creative. I hear what they were going for, and to me it was like a synthy power pop band taking cues from scrappy hardcore. Honestly, it sounds like a band I would listen to. In the words of Kasey, "please give a warm welcome" (and a solid listen) "to Piss Machine!"
FFO: The Cars, Black Flag
Ponytail Wig - “Let You Go”
I don’t know what it is with Awful (Din) Aaron. He always seems to have full personal songs written for Band Lotto. It’s like he just exudes emo from every pore in his body. I’ve seen him at 2 or 3 of these, and this year wasn’t different. However, to add some novelty into the mix, this was another one of those bands with an unusual instrumental lineup. The band had two bass players, and while I was skeptical, they actually did a masterful job making space for each other. You pretty much had a lead bass and a rhythm bass, but somehow it was good. I was immensely impressed by that. Also, the name makeup of this band was humorously monotonous. Two Jons and two Erins (spellings varied for both names). Sometimes happenstance can be pretty funny.
FFO: Low end
Top Tier Automotive - “How Do You Think I Feel?”
Beginning your set with “if you drive a tow truck, fuck you” is the kind of smelly kid hardcore energy that I wish every single band in New York performed with. Top Tier Automotive was a band that included a couple band lotto vets like my Onesie bandmate Ben on bass and Dani of Wildcard, but also some newcomers to the Band Lotto. According to the band, they arrived at Ben’s Sci Labs practice space to jam and all hell broke loose. Upon arrival, they found a tow truck trying to take Ben’s car from the delicious Taco Bell/KFC combo parking lot across the street. Remember, Band Lotto is also a day of chaos. As the band says in the intro of this song, “Tonight we’re here as Top Tier Automotive because they tried to steal Ben’s car, so we’re stealing their fuckin’ name.” So sick.
FFO: Free parking
Posh Salon 2000 - “No Kings”
I think I can get behind this band name, though I have no idea what it actually means. Posh Salon 2000 had a cool indie/post punk sound that would make David Byrne proud. The lyrics to "No Kings" tell the story of a New York minute, but I haven’t quite figured out the details yet. Someone is named Maria, someone is on a tour of the city and has a ticket to Alphaville, and I think there’s a pride parade mentioned? Regardless, there was a great back and forth between two vocalists in this song, and I always love it when a band pulls this off well. My instinct tells me this was 25% improv, but it was delivered in an artistically comedic way that I really enjoy. Check it out and get ready to dance your ass off, because it's a bop.
FFO: Talking Heads, Television, etc.
Gabby’s Table - “Take My Hand”
Gabby’s Table included several people I’ve known or played with through the years, including my previous bandmate Lori Bingle, Julian of No Jersey, and Rohan of Look At The Bones. That said, who the hell is Gabby? Well, turns out, Gabby wasn't a band member, but the band MANAGER!! That's right - after waitressing the band that afternoon, Gabby took the reigns and was crowned band manager!! She actually came to the show too, and stayed for the entire thing to watch her clients perform. That's Band Lotto magic, baby! Anyway, "Take My Hand" by Gabby's Table is that sort of dramatic post punk that I tend to expect from artists that hang out in Brooklyn. You know, the kind of musicians who fucking love New Order. And sometimes, it just feels right. This time, it felt just right. The band was tight, the parts were well-written, and they were an awesome act to end the night with. Slightly unrelated, but I hope that Gabby's Table gave Gabby a generous tip that afternoon.
FFO: Waitresses
Aaaaand that’s a wrap on Band Lotto 2026! The compilation is out now, and we can't wait to make music with you all next year. Toodles!
Listen to the Band Lotto comp here.
