Leave began shortly after Mike Murphy’s previous band, Faroutofme, had announced they were breaking up. Mike (aka “Murph”) promptly shifted his focus to a new project, recording a two-song studio demo he titled Leave. When the demo was complete, he presented it to Jim Latsis, who was at that time, Murph’s partner in an acoustic guitar/vocal project. He asked Jim if he would be interested in participating in the new Leave project, and Jim had no reservations about accepting Murph’s offer. The two then set out to look for a bassist and drummer to fill out the lineup for what would be their newly formed band . The search didn’t last long as Murph seemed to already have a couple of people in mind. On bass guitar, he suggested Joe Herrmann, a friend of his that he met back in the day, working on a college newspaper. On drums, he made a suggestion that was familiar to both Murph and Jim. Terry Keating, with whom both had worked with on previous sessions, had become available, as the band he was playing with was dissolving. The four proceeded to hook up, and it was clear that they had the right chemistry, clicking together from the very start. Soon afterward, the band Leave was off and running.