BIOGRAPHY
Terry Bozzio, born Terry John Bozzio on December 27, 1950 in San Francisco, California, is an American drummer best known for his large drum and percussion set-ups, as well as drumming with Missing Persons and Frank Zappa.
Terry had an interest in the drums from a very early age, playing along to the records of Tito Puente as well as the music of Sandy Nelson and The Ventures. After witnessing The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show when he was thirteen years old, Terry begged his father for drum lessons. On July 15, 1964, Terry began a six month series of drum lessons with Todd Fleicher and Ken Blewer. It was during this time that he worked on reading music, drum rudiments, Stick Control and basic drum beats. During the next four years Terry played in a number of garage bands.
While music Sir Francis Drake High School and College of Marin, Terry studied drumset with Chuck Brown and Lloyd Davis, plus classical percussion and timpani with Roland Kohloff.
In 1975, Bozzio auditioned and won the gig with Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention. That same year he recorded his first album with Zappa and Captain Beefheart: Bongo Fury (Live at the Armadillo in Austin, TX). During the ensuing 3 years with Zappa, Bozzio recorded over 10 albums, including the premier of the infamous "Black Page" which Zappa wrote for Terry, the movie Baby Snakes, three world tours and several Saturday Night Live television appearances.
In 1977 Bozzio joined The Brecker Brothers with whom he toured and recorded Heavy Metal Be-Bop. Shortly after, he was dismissed by Zappa as he temporarily joined Group 87. He went on to auditioned (unsuccessfully) for Thin Lizzy. Bozzio joined UK in late '78, recording Danger Money (1979) and a live album, Night After Night (1979), as well as touring the USA and Canada twice (supporting the popular progressive rock band Jethro Tull), and in Europe and Japan.
After UK disbanded in early 1980, Bozzio, ex-Zappa guitarist Warren Cuccurullo and then-wife and vocalist Dale Bozzio founded the band Missing Persons. Missing Persons released the albums Spring Session M (which went Gold), Rhyme & Reason, and Color in Your Life. Missing Persons also toured the U.S. & Europe and often appeared on TV and radio.
After the Missing Persons breakup in 1986, Bozzio joined ex-Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor's solo band. He also played on recording sessions with Robbie Robertson, Gary Wright, Don Dokken, XYZ, Paul Hyde, Herbie Hancock, Dweezil Zappa, and Richard Marx. During this time he began touring as a clinician/solo drummer and recorded Solo Drums, which was his first instructional video for Warner Brothers. Bozzio joined Mick Jagger and Jeff Beck for the video "Throwaway", and teamed up with Beck and keyboardist Tony Hymas to co-write/produce and perform on the Grammy Award winning album Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop. promoted on The Arsenio Hall Show, which was Jeff Beck's first-ever live appearance on American TV.
Beginning in 1990 and continuing through 1995, Terry developed ostinato-based drum solo compositions and recorded his second instructional video, Melodic Drumming and the Ostinato Volumes 1, 2, and 3, as well as Solo Drum Music Volumes 1 & 2 on CD. During this time he also joined Tony Hymas, Tony Coe, and Hugh Burns to form the band Lonely Bears and record The Lonely Bears, Injustice, and The Bears are Running, while living in Paris, France. He also formed the band Polytown with David Torn and Mick Karn. In 1993 Terry joined T. M. Stevens and Devin Townsend on Steve Vai's Sex & Religion album.
From 1995 to 2002 Bozzio did tours of the US, Australia, Canada & Europe as a solo drum artist as well as recording two solo CDs: Drawing the Circle and Chamberworks.
In 1997, Terry was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame. That same year, along bassist and Chapman Stick player, Tony Levin, and guitarist Steve Stevens, he formed the Bozzio Levin Stevens group, releasing two albums: Black Light Syndrome (1997) and Situation Dangerous (2000).
