Research

Introduction

Lo Beggar, an indie rock outfit from Nashville, Tennessee, formed in early 2015 after guitarist Chad King and drummer Preston Vaughn’s time playing with another band. Because of their busy schedules, the two decided to add singer-songwriter Seamus Fennessy, bassist Murphy Johnson and guitarist Kyle Mosurinjohn. With influences such as Manchester Orchestra and Brand New, the group formed over a mutual love for playing music together and sharing its songs with others.

Primary Research (list all the research you conducted – what you did)

* Email interview with guitarist Chad King

* Email interview with lead vocalist Seamus Fennessy

* Attended show at The Block on Sept. 19

* Interviewed concert attendees

Secondary Research (list what you did, where you looked)

* YouTube page – two videos, 10 subscribers, 240 views total

* Instagram page – 13 posts, 62 followers

* Twitter page – 24 tweets, 22 followers

* Google search – Twitter and YouTube links are the first results

Research Results positive and negative. What did you learn?

Since I have a prior relationship with members of Lo Beggar, I was already familiar with their personalities and musicianship. I primarily gathered information about the band from Seamus and Chad, who were more than willing to cooperate with me. Overall, the members are goofy and relaxed, but Lo Beggar takes its craft seriously. Each of the band’s songs contains storytelling lyrics that are complemented by skillfully crafted arrangements. As a result, Lo Beggarr is able to take liberties with their live sets without losing the heart of the song.

I also learned the story behind the band’s name, which gave me insight into worldview. In our interview, King explained that “lo” was the first word sent over Arpanet, the precursor to the internet. Combined with “beggar,” the name illustrates the divide between technology’s height and low social standing. The members of Lo Beggar acknowledge this dichotomy because they find themselves in it. Therefore, they write music for those who stand with them as normal twenty-somethings longing for honesty behind technology’s veneer.

Lo Beggar’s publics predominantly fit in the 18-25 year old range. In fact, everyone at the concert seemed to fit into this demographic, aside from one of the opening bands and Vaughn’s parents. Many of the fans are local, low-income college students who share the band’s affinity for indie rock. For example, one student commented that their set flowed seamlessly, and he found their music to be quite enjoyable. Another was impressed by the band’s ability to engage the crowd with such an energetic performance.

The best channels for Lo Beggar will definitely be Instagram and YouTube. People love seeing footage of the band in action. Though tweets are helpful in disseminating information, the most eyes go to the photos and videos Lo Beggar posts. The band has the most followers on Instagram and 240 total YouTube views.

Summary (where do you go from here?)

I have had a thoroughly enjoyable experience with Lo Beggar thus far. The members have been cooperative and receptive to my help. The only concern I have is the band’s casual approach to its gigs and social media activity. According to King, Lo Beggar isn’t aiming for fame of any sort, but is simply enjoy playing together and for others. Therefore, that could potentially leave me with not too much to work with. However, I think a boost in social media activity and a possible website creation will give the band some momentum in the Murfreesboro/Nashville music scene.