Take It Or Leave It  25/06/2025

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MM: Can you tell us about your band and who your biggest influences are?
TIOLI: We’re Take It Or Leave It, a punk band from just outside New York City. We started
playing together in 2021 and have been on a mission ever since to make music that feels
familiar but still fresh. We self-produce everything and we call our sound “Pasta Rock,”
which to us means comfort food for your ears.The name came from a fan who noticed
TIOLI (Take It Or Leave It) looks and sounds just like ravioli. So it’s punk with a new flavor,
just like your nonna used to make.
As for influences, our sound is heavily shaped by Green Day, Rancid, Blink-182, Queens
of the Stone Age, and Goldfinger. There’s tons more but that’s a good start. Each of those
bands brings something different to the table, whether it's melody, attitude, groove, or grit.
Their music laid the foundation for what we’re building now. We are also not genre locked,
as you’ll regularly catch us covering hits from a wide range of artists who helped shape our
sound throughout the years. Our daily playlists are wide ranging, and that helps us find
intricate ways to make our own blend of punk rock.

MM: Where do you draw your inspirations and ideas from?
TIOLI: It really comes from all over. A lot of our songs start with a feeling or a moment that
hits hard enough to demand a melody. Sometimes it’s something personal like a broken
friendship, other times it’s frustration with the political climate. We've written lyrics based
on offhand conversations, half-formed thoughts, and even just a random guitar lick that felt
like it created a story. We still have a few random pieces of paper pinned to the wall with a
random rhyme or concept. A lot of it is observational, day-to-day experiences, and trying to
hold on to joy in a complicated world.
 

MM: What would you say is your band’s favourite song?
TIOLI: From our original songs, “Some Things Never Change” is probably our favorite to
play live. It’s relevant now more than ever, especially with everything going on in
Washington. It’s a track of resistance, with call-and-answer vocals that the crowd loves to
yell to. Outside of our own music, we always love playing “Video Killed the Radio Star” and
“Just What I Needed.” Neither are punk songs originally, but we give them our own spin
and they go off every single time. The crowd reaction is instant.
 

MM: Plans tour and festival wise for 2025?
TIOLI: 2025 is all about creating. We’re working on a follow-up to our debut EP and
focusing on writing and recording. We self-produce all our material and partner with
Anthony Bilancia at Small Room Studio to give it that professional finish. That said, we still
have some killer summer shows lined up, and if the right festival calls, we’re answering.
We’ll also have some shows later in the year, but the real touring/festival goals kick off
next year.
 

MM: What can we expect from Take It Or Leave It live?

TIOLI: Entertainment, plain and simple. We bring props, we interact with the crowd, and
we feed off the room’s energy. We’ve changed songs on the fly based on what someone
was wearing in the audience. In Buffalo, someone had a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
hoodie and we spontaneously played the TMNT theme song just for them. That kind of
spontaneity is part of what makes our shows fun. We want everyone in the venue to feel
like part of the event.

MM: What do you like best and worst about touring?
TIOLI: The best part is meeting new people and seeing our music connect in real time.
Traveling to new cities, hitting new stages, and making new fans, it’s hard to beat that. The
worst part? Probably the food. We all love cooking but when you’re on the road, it's way
easier and cheaper to eat junk. Healthy options are few and far between unless you want
to burn through your whole budget in a day.
 

MM: Which three bands would be your ultimate touring buddies?
TIOLI: The list is way too long to pick three but if we are making a super tour today, Green
Day, Blink-182, and The Offspring. Those bands helped shape modern punk and have
been playing huge shows for decades. Touring with them would be an absolute dream.
Not just because we’d learn a ton from watching them every night, but also because we’d
get the chance to play those massive stadium shows we used to fantasize about.
 

MM: Whats the most memorable concert you’ve been to (other than your own) and
why?
TIOLI: Mario saw Blink-182 on the tour where Lil Wayne was the opener. Instead of
catching them locally, he and his now-wife decided to see them in Virginia while on
vacation. A storm had just hit the area so most of the lawn tickets were upgraded to seats
in the amphitheater (due to flooding and lack of attendance overall), which worked in their
favor. But the wildest part was Lil Wayne’s set. He walked out with a blunt, did a few
songs, and then halfway through his set time, he said he might quit the tour because the
crowd wasn’t big enough. People were losing their minds because he just walked off stage
minutes later. It was total chaos, but Blink crushed their set and made the whole night
unforgettable for us. We could all go on and on about the memorable shows though, it’s
why we love going to see our favorite bands. They always have a story to tell.
 

MM: What do you feel has been your biggest accomplishment so far?
TIOLI: Releasing our music. That alone is a hurdle that many artists never cross. Writing,
recording, mixing, and putting it all out there takes time, money, and energy. And we do it
all ourselves! Our debut EP Tunnel Vision is something we’re really proud of. It shows
what we’re capable of and it sets the bar for what’s coming next.
 

MM: Which are your two favourite albums of all time?
TIOLI: Each of us has our own pick but we definitely have a bunch of close seconds. For
Mario, it’s The Mark, Tom and Travis Show by Blink-182. Craig’s choice, more for its
influence than daily replay value, is Sgt. Pepper by The Beatles. And Devon stands by Led

Zeppelin II by you guessed it, Led Zeppelin. All three of those albums shaped the way we
write and perform.
 

MM: Can you remember the first time you ever played live and how it felt to have
people watching you?
TIOLI: We’ve all been performing for years in some form, school concerts, old bands,
open mics. But that “first time” feeling never fully goes away. Even now, there’s always a
little knot in your stomach right before a set. The second we hit that first note though, it all
melts away and it’s just us and the music. We’re always smiling because we love doing it,
even if the nerves catch up sometimes.
 

MM: Growing up, which band posters did you have on your bedroom wall?
TIOLI: Pretty much the same ones that inspired our sound: Rancid, Blink-182, Green Day.
We still have Rancid canvases on the walls at our practice space and a bunch of old
memorabilia scattered around. We miss those days when albums came with fold-out
posters you had to flatten with books for a week before you put it up on the wall.
 

MM: Who do you think influenced the world of metal and rock more than any other
person?
TIOLI: According to Craig (and honestly, he might be right) it all goes back to the Beach
Boys. Their album Pet Sounds pushed The Beatles to make Sgt. Pepper’s, and that
changed the entire music world. If the Beach Boys hadn’t made that leap, the ripple effect
might not have happened.
 

MM: Whats the most important thing to the band right now?
TIOLI: The most important thing is that we want to be here making music. We have full-
time jobs and families, but we carve out time each week to do this. It’s our therapy, our
way of tuning out the world and connecting with each other in a language that only we
speak. That drive and connection is what keeps the whole thing moving.
 

MM: If you could do a cover of any song, which one would it be and why?
TIOLI: Even though we are an original band, we still play a ton of covers from all different
genres. But one we’ve talked about that hasn’t made it into the set yet is “Two Princes” by
Spin Doctors. That intro is iconic, the melody is fun, and the lyrics are surprisingly well-
suited to a punk-style reinterpretation. Plus, who doesn’t love a good scat section?
 

MM: Tell us why we should buy and listen to your band.
TIOLI: Because you’ll hear the passion in every track. We put everything into our songs
and our performances. Whether it’s the way we scream a lyric or how we rearrange a
setlist on the fly just to make a moment hit harder, we’re always trying to create a
connection. Our music blends punk nostalgia with a fresh voice, and our shows are built
for audience participation. Whether you’re listening at home or watching us live, we want
you to feel something. That’s the goal.
 

MM: Four words to describe Take It Or Leave It
TIOLI: Passionate. Entertaining. Hilarious. Nerds.

 

MM: Final words for your fans and our readers?
TIOLI: Thanks for checking us out. We know there’s a lot of bands out there, so we’re
grateful you spent a few minutes getting to know us. Come see a show, stream the EP,
and if you’re not in our area, hit up our YouTube. We’re bringing live streams back later
this year to make sure everyone can be a part of what we’re building.

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LINK TREE
https://linktr.ee/music.takeitorleaveit
MEMBERS
Craig Chalfin – Bass, Vocals
Mario Frascone – Guitar, Manager
Devon Beuschel – Drums
SOCIALS
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/takeitorleaveit_band
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/takeitorleaveitband
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TakeItOrLeaveIt_band
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/tioli-band.bsky.social
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@takeitorleaveit_band
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/takeitorleaveit_band
MUSIC
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/takeitorleaveit-872042877
BandCamp: https://takeitorleaveitband.bandcamp.com/album/tunnel-vision
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5S60w9S5bvsF4qM00hjf6V?si=JBUdwxl-
RAOxAYjsp_maxw
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/take-it-or-leave-it/1777896776
Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/artists/B017WY07QI/take-it-or-leave-
it?marketplaceId=ATVPDKIKX0DER&musicTerritory=US&ref=dm_sh_T8xEQeAy5t6qutx5
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