Q: Lo Beggar formed in early 2015. Describe how the band formed.
Chad: Preston, our drummer, and I had been playing music together with someone else, but he started doing production work on a tour. Since Preston kept busy, we decided to add Seamus to the mix, followed by Kyle and Murphy.
Q: What inspired the name Lo Beggar?
Chad: Lo was the first word sent over Arpanet, the precursor to the Internet. Combined with “beggar,” the name reflects a neat dichotomy between the height of technology and a low social standing.
Q: Who are your musical influences as a band? How do these come out in your music?
Chad: Brand New, Manchester Orchestra, Now Now and Explosions in the Sky. Though we play with some ambient/indie elements, we like to bring some grit and heaviness to the table as well.
Q: What does the songwriting process look like for Lo Beggar?
Seamus: After I write the lyrics and chords, I play it for the band. I try to finish the song structure beforehand, but sometimes I need to bring it to the band to flesh out ideas. Because of the guys’ incredible talent, the melodies and accents accompanying the final product blow me away, assuring me that any song I bring to the band will be enhanced for our shows.
Chad: I’ll flesh out Seamus’ songs with more complex guitar parts. Next, Seamus and I present it to the band to refine the song’s final structure.
Q: What kind of venues does Lo Beggar play in?
Chad: Currently a lot of bars and house shows.
Q: Which song do you enjoy playing live most?
Seamus: Our new song “Sticks and Stones” is my favorite to play live. As the front man, the song is easy to play, but it’s still a loud, exciting way to start the set.
Chad: “Teeth” is probably my favorite because, though it has a soft beginning, it builds up to a loud, crazy ending.
Q: Which guitar do you enjoy playing live most?
Seamus: I love playing my Fender ’72 Telecaster reissue (pictured left), because it’s lightweight with a distinct, punchy tone. The natural wood on the guitar is beautiful.
Chad: My favorite is the custom “Jazzcaster” I built (pictured right). The thin neck of the guitar makes playing much more comfortable, and its bright yet punchy sound is great.
Q: Seamus, you mentioned that your favorite song to play live is “Sticks and Stones,” a song you wrote. Can you tell the story behind the song?
Seamus: “Sticks and Stones” is about all the things that really creeped me out as a kid and the eerie nature of the humid South. The first verse talks about my lack of sleep and how I took pride in taking medication for my light ADD.
“Proud of the reactions that you’re showing,
parade the wounds you furnish every day…”
Truth be told, I probably never had ADD. I just didn’t care about school.
The second verse is about the things that creeped me out as a kid.
“Well you’ll never catch me on that haunted road
sticky smell and some funny ghosts…”
The heat in the South can really get to your head. To me it was never a horrifying place, but a place with an eerie stimulus. I wanted to write that kind of feeling into the song.
The outro verses are about a daydream I had about growing into a giant to never be scared of anything again.
“sticks and stones
won’t break my bones
because they
will build me a home…”
Q: What does the future of Lo Beggar look like?
Chad: Honestly, we’re just happy playing together right now. None of us are trying to achieve fame with this band; we simply enjoy making music together and sharing it with others.
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the literal dj 
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