By Kenneth Gambill
Photo by Harrison Hudson

Along with acts such as Harrison Hudson, Tova Rinah and the Way Home and Tim Brantley, Atlanta’s The Beggars’ Guild has quickly gained notice from industry professionals, not by sounding like every other band out there, but by gathering great musicians together who know the ins and outs of the industry and how to write a song.

“I can write a song and bring it to the guys and they can immediately know whether or not certain parts are going to work,” explains vocalist/guitarist T.J. Edmond. “They have all been through the industry crap and have worked with established bands in the past.”

Edmond met drummer Jon Chalden at the end of 2005. Soon after, bassist Gregg Shapiro and guitarist William McNeill joined the guys and a month later were playing countless songs. A couple of months later they were playing their first show, gaining quick exposure and garnering praise throughout the community. Now, almost a year later, the guys are about 25 shows deep and aren’t stopping anytime soon.
“We want to tour and record, that’s it,” says Shapiro. “There’s no reason to do anything any differently.”

The guys are intent on getting their sound heard throughout the country, and they have been mainly focusing on producing a great debut. Having plenty of songs to work through, they narrowed it down to six for their new EP, Breaking Me Down, which was recorded by Dan Hannon. Hannon most recently worked with Manchester Orchestra, a band that has quickly moved up the Atlanta elite totem pole and earned the chance to play Lollapalooza.

Although Edmond is the main songwriter in the band, he never turns down an opportunity to try new ideas that the rest of the guys present. “If someone comes in with a blues riff and it sounds good, I’m going to want to jam it out,” says Edmond.
“It’s all about writing good songs and putting on a good show, not about how you look while you try to do those things,” adds Chalden.

With influences such as Del Amitri, Pedro the Lion, Ryan Adams and Tom Petty, the guys are quickly accruing a following. “We opened for The Damnwells and the crowd slowly diminished after we played,” says Edmond. “It sucks because they are a great band, but it was cool to have people who came out for them and Army of Me tell us that they liked us.”

Their recent Atlantis performance was overshadowed by the indie darling showcase held simultaneously at Vinyl, but the band had a great turnout nonetheless and made some new fans. “We had about 40 to 50 people there, with some of them never having heard us,” explains Edmond.

The band credits some of its success to making new fans on MySpace. “The best thing about MySpace is the fact that it has limitless possibilities as far as promotion,” says Chalden. “Millions of people have all of this unheard music at their fingertips, and that’s pretty cool.”

“Plus, it acts as a free website and electronic press kit,” adds Edmond.
The Beggars’ Guild’s music is also featured on www.discrevolt.com, a new website out of Atlanta that is similar to iTunes. The band can purchase download cards from the site at 50 cents each and, in return, sell them for $5. While the consumer gets 15 downloads from the card, the band makes $4.50 from the card, as well as royalties from any of their own downloads.

“It’s a great way for people to be able to hear our music who wouldn’t otherwise have had the chance,” explains Edmond. “If someone buys a card from us at a show, maybe we’ll give them a free CD with the purchase of the card.”

For the time being, The Beggars’ Guild has come far in its short musical life. When they say they aren’t stopping anytime soon, the public better be quick to take them seriously.

www.beggarsguildmusic.com