What inspired the name of the band? What are your influences and are they the same as when you started out?
The name Take It Or Leave It came from one of those inside jokes that somehow becomes the answer you were looking for all along. Every time someone suggested a name, someone else would shrug and say, “eh, I could take it or leave it,” and that stuck. It fit the attitude. No frills, no fluff. Just music we believe in and leave up to the listener. That same idea carries into our sound. We pull from punk rock in all its forms, from gritty basement bands to polished pop punk anthems. Bands like Blink-182, Green Day, Rancid, The Offspring, The Descendents, and Bouncing Souls are all huge influences for us. But we’re not afraid to step outside the box either. Artists like The Beatles, Avenged Sevenfold, and Lady Gaga are on our radar because they aren’t afraid to break genre rules and push boundaries. Anything that’s viral, experimental, or climbing the charts grabs our attention because we want to keep our finger on the pulse. Whether it’s punk, pop, hardcore, or something totally unexpected, if it makes us feel something, we take notes. Also, shout out to the fans for giving us the nickname Pasta Rockers. Someone said TIOLI sounds like ravioli, and we ran with it. You’ve got to love a scene that lets you be loud and weird at the same time.
How do you approach songwriting?
Songwriting is usually a chaotic brainstorm that somehow turns into something cohesive. Sometimes it’s a riff, sometimes it’s a lyric, sometimes it’s just a feeling. Everyone brings something different to the table, and that blend is what makes our writing process click. The themes change based on where we’re at mentally or what’s happening around us. We write about the turmoil in the world, frustrations with politics, emotional burnout, growing up, growing apart, and everything in between. But we also make room for joy and celebration. There’s no set formula, just an unspoken rhythm we’ve developed over time.
How do you approach songwriting?
Songwriting is usually a chaotic brainstorm that somehow turns into something cohesive. Sometimes it’s a riff, sometimes it’s a lyric, sometimes it’s just a feeling. Everyone brings something different to the table, and that blend is what makes our writing process click. The themes change based on where we’re at mentally or what’s happening around us. We write about the turmoil in the world, frustrations with politics, emotional burnout, growing up, growing apart, and everything in between. But we also make room for joy and celebration. There’s no set formula, just an unspoken rhythm we’ve developed over time.
Why do you write the music you do?
Because it speaks the loudest. This style lets us mix punk rock, pop punk, rock and roll, and classic punk into something that’s raw but still catchy. There’s no rulebook here. We can channel existential dread into one track and follow it with a song about how much we love a cold beer with our friends. That kind of range lets us express everything we’re feeling without watering anything down. Punk has always been about honesty and urgency, and that gives us the freedom to explore whatever’s on our minds, whether it’s personal, political, or somewhere in between. It keeps us grounded while letting us push boundaries. We’re not just making noise, we’re raising our voice. We write because it’s the clearest way we know to make sense of the world.
Live?
We build our setlists based on what keeps the crowd moving and engaged. If a song connects in rehearsal but doesn’t land live, it’s out. If it gets a crowd reaction, it stays. We’ve got a wide catalog already, so we like to rotate different covers in and out to keep things fresh. No two sets are the same. We’re performers through and through, so the setlist has to flow. That means adding things like guitar solos, group vocals, lighting effects, props, and anything else we can think of to elevate the experience. We’ve got harmonicas, megaphones, even our own DIY light boxes. We also take requests and love hearing what people want to hear next time around. And sometimes we call an audible in the moment. We once saw someone in the crowd wearing a TMNT hoodie and jumped straight into the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme song mid set. We’re not afraid to take a risk if it means making the night unforgettable. That’s what the live setting is all about.
Live?
We build our setlists based on what keeps the crowd moving and engaged. If a song connects in rehearsal but doesn’t land live, it’s out. If it gets a crowd reaction, it stays. We’ve got a wide catalog already, so we like to rotate different covers in and out to keep things fresh. No two sets are the same. We’re performers through and through, so the setlist has to flow. That means adding things like guitar solos, group vocals, lighting effects, props, and anything else we can think of to elevate the experience. We’ve got harmonicas, megaphones, even our own DIY light boxes. We also take requests and love hearing what people want to hear next time around. And sometimes we call an audible in the moment. We once saw someone in the crowd wearing a TMNT hoodie and jumped straight into the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme song mid set. We’re not afraid to take a risk if it means making the night unforgettable. That’s what the live setting is all about.
What plans do you have for the future?
Right now we’re focused on finishing and releasing our next EP in early 2026. We have some awesome shows lined up this winter, but more on those in the coming weeks. If you aren’t local to NY/NJ, we’ll also be announcing a special live stream concert as well so you can still get in on the action with us. The future is bright and we aren’t going anywhere.