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Artist
Beat Smash Square
12+ albums
about
Motown by birth, Celtic by choice, Colorado's Beat Smash Square pushes the boundaries of folk by combining traditional music with a rock 'n' roll sensibility. Although they officially formed in 1998, BSS's roots dip back to the '70's, when Fiddler/Vocalist Elliot Jackson and Flutist/Vocalist Kele Lampe attended the same private prep school in a suburb of Detroit. Thrown together because neither fit the preppy mold, Jackson and Lampe soon discovered that they had much more in common, and were soon collaborating on a variety of creative projects. Different life paths caused them to separate for most of the '80's. Jackson moved to Chicago where, in addition to pursuing a degree in Dramaturgy, she was part of the renowned Theatre Ooblek and a founding member of The Bitter Pills. Another participant in both these projects was BSS's guitarist, Ted Moniak, whom Jackson married in 1995. Also originally from Detroit, Moniak, a luthier, made a name for himself in the Chicago music scene as the bassist for Randy Herman and the Sceptre of Benevolence. Meanwhile, Lampe's travels had taken her from Detroit to New York to California before she finally found a home in Colorado with BSS percussionist/vocalist Michael Zimmerle, whom she married in 1996. During these years Lampe -- for no known reason -- laid aside an active role as a musician. She did, however, become involved in radio and in 1993 developed the Celtic Music Show, Whiskey in the Jar, for KVNF in Paonia, Colorado (she r