Today, we sat down with Take It or Leave It to discuss their inspiration to write music, heroes, and much more! Be sure to check out the music of Take It or Leave It on Spotify below after the interview!
Interview:
Craig Chalfin – Bass, Vocals
Zach Eisen – Lead Guitar
Mario Frascone – Rhythm Guitar, Manager
Devon Beuschel – Drums
What is your inspiration to write your music? Is it your surroundings?
Craig: Personal experience, as well as the political climate. I also use it to escape a mundane existence.
Zach: Evolving as a musician. The best feeling is realizing something that used to be difficult is now easy because you wrote it into your music.
Mario: Inspiration comes in waves. Sometimes it’s current events, sometimes just a feeling. I try to find fun patterns that make me want to move because if it moves me, it’ll move the audience too.
Devon: I like writing what I know, and I spend too much time in my head. So it’s mostly emotional stuff that I find neat ways of expressing.
What type of music did you listen to growing up?
Craig: As a child of the 80s, I listened to everything from alternative rock to hip-hop to metal. Then Dookie by Green Day and Weezer’s Blue Album came out, which introduced me to punk rock and bands like Rancid and Goldfinger. The rest is history.
Zach: Mostly whatever was in video games. Guitar Hero and Rock Band are more obvious, but game soundtracks and background music shaped a lot of my early taste.
Mario: My neighbor introduced me to ska right around the time Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater dropped, so I got hooked on that skate punk vibe early. Blink 182, Green Day, Goldfinger, Reel Big Fish and Sum 41 were running my MP3 player nonstop.
Devon: Classic rock from my parents, punk and ska from my older sister.
Is there someone you looked up to as a hero?
Craig: When I was young, no I didn’t really have a hero. As I get older, it’s my father. But as a musician exclusively, there are too many to list. Off the top of my head: Phil Lynott, Tim Armstrong, and Dave Grohl.
Zach: Slash was the OG for me. He was the first guitarist I molded my playing after. Then people like Eddie and Steve Vai, Synester Gates, and Scott & Tim (from Polyphia) to name a few more.
Mario: As a Blink 182 fan, Mark and Tom were iconic and still are. No shade to Travis either, he’s unreal. Outside of Blink, I’ve always admired Dave Grohl for his versatility as a guitarist and drummer. I’ve always liked playing all the instruments in the band myself. But if I had to pick one hero, it’s Mark Hoppus.
Devon: Solid Snake. IYKYK.
If you weren’t a musician, what would you be doing today?
Craig: I’m not a career musician. I work a back office corporate job from my living room. Who can live off being a musician anymore?
Zach: Probably art or electronics. Something creative as well as technical.
Mario: Give me some D&D. I’ve been playing on and off since 2003, and I probably would have doubled down on it over the years. I’m also into live performance and theater, so I could see myself working behind the scenes running sound or building sets.
Devon: I’d need an outlet of some kind. I’d probably be a writer. I don’t know, I have a compulsion to create, so if it wasn’t music, it’d be something else.
What advice do you have for our fans out there that want to create music?
Craig: I’m not one to give advice. The whole music industry is a popularity contest anyway.
Zach: Just do it. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.
Mario: I learned how to play in a band because of Guitar Hero and Rock Band. I played percussion in the school orchestra, but I had never touched a drum set, let alone a guitar. So just go for it. Make music because you want to, and you’ll enjoy the whole ride.
Devon: The first step to making good art is to make art. Just start creating, and work from there. That’ll give you the clearest idea of how and what you want to improve.
Music:
