Music senior Rory Fratkin recalled the first time he ever saw Take It SLO perform during UU Hour and thought, “I will be in that group!” After two-and-a-half years of performing with Cal Poly’s a cappella group, Fratkin can sit back and say he followed through with his plan.
Acoustics carry a lot of weight if you’re not just singing the latest Britney Spears tunes in the shower or trying to make glass break. For members of Take It SLO, good acoustic feedback is golden.
“We perform pop songs without any instruments. We make the sounds of the instruments with our voices,” Fratkin said.
Whether it’s performing at Thursday’s UU Hour or singing to help raise money for the Wheelchair Foundation, Take It SLO relies on quality vocals to produce an a cappella hit.
“It’s really fun to watch them. (A cappella) is something you don’t see all the time. Usually there are bands playing at UU Hour, but (Take it SLO) was something different,” said liberal studies senior Heidi Vigario, who has seen them perform at both UU Hour and Relay for Life.
But the a cappella group isn’t just a bunch of kids who sing scales all day long. They also manage to arrange their own renditions of popular contemporary songs.
“They’re all our own interpretation of a contemporary pop song. It’s all ours,” said construction management sophomore and Take It SLO member Chris Lawrence.
“All of the ideas for songs we sing come from the minds of the members in the group,” Fratkin added.
Take It SLO has had a hand at performing well-known hits such as, Seal’s “Kiss from a Rose,” OneRepublic’s “Apologize” and Will Smith’s “Men in Black.”
They also have arranged original vocal medleys. Their pop medley features Justin Timberlake’s “SexyBack,” and the Pussycat Dolls’ “Buttons.” They also have a Disney medley which features childhood favorites like “Under the Sea,” “Circle of Life,” “A Whole New World” and “You’ll Be in My Heart.”
“Everyone loves Disney,” Fratkin said.
Neither categorized as an Associated Student Inc. club nor a music group, Take It SLO is in a league of its own.
Managed entirely by the students who make up the 16-member group, Take It SLO takes advantage of the freedoms they are given. Certain members take on unofficial leadership roles to run rehearsals, organize events and book performances, just to name a few.
“We get to do what we want because we’re student run. We do it as we see fit,” said Fratkin, who acted as the group’s unofficial music director.
Taking a step away from traditional choirs, the group was started in 2003 by a small batch of students looking for an alternative for collective singing.
The result was a collection of students from diverse backgrounds and majors unifying to do what they loved to do: sing.
“Getting to know these people has been so fun. Without this type of a group, most of us wouldn’t have even met each other while we’ve been here at Cal Poly. I wouldn’t have met most of the people who aren’t involved in music outside of Take It SLO. It’s something that drew them – the music and what we do. It’s very close-knit,” Fratkin said.
Rehearsing about five hours a week sometimes isn’t enough for the members of the group who have become a family.
“It’s kind of like our version of a fraternity or sorority. We do things together on the weekends. We have our practices that aren’t just ‘get there and sing.’ We hang out, too,” Lawrence said.
The group recorded their first self-titled album last summer and released it early last October. They have already experienced success with selling over 500 copies of their CD, which features 11 songs.
Currently, the group is gearing up for their upcoming big spring concert, where they will be performing about 16 songs.
“I’m going to continue performing with Take It SLO as long as I’m here. I love it. It’s defining my college life. It’s a big part of my life,” Lawrence said.