Show is a night of solo drums

In the world of beating on percussion devices, Terry Bozzio is one of those drummers who could probably compile a shorter list of prominent fellow musicians in the rock and jazz worlds with whom he has not yet played, to contrast with the long list of folks on his musical resume with whom he has collaborated, recorded or toured.

Those with whom Bozzio has pounded away include Frank Zappa, Jeff Beck, The Brecker Brothers, Mick Jagger, Robbie Robertson, Herbie Hancock, Richard Marx, B.B. King and Korn.

Bozzio is on a tour to mark the 50th anniversary of his first drum lesson. "An Evening With Terry Bozzio" signifies that there will be no opening act, no band, no vocalists. Just Bozzio on what he calls the largest tuned drum and percussion set in the world.

"It's not like anything anyone else does," he says. "I take an approach with drums that's kind of like a piano or organ player. My drumming is powerful, fast, violent at times and melodic. These ideas have been evolving for about 30 years.

"It's been one little drum at a time; it may take me six months to figure out what I want to do with each one. The racks are all different and I try to make the results look like a sculpture. I have art that we use as backdrops. I have one of these huge drum set-ups in Europe, another in Japan and the one here in the United States. This year is the first time I've done a tour of the U.S."

Although he is best known for his rock and jazz work, Bozzio says his solo tour includes forays into classical, spiritual and ethnic percussion styles.

Bozzio, 63, grew up in Marin County, Calif., and began his fascination with drums at age 6 when he assembled coffee cans and other found materials. But it took seeing The Beatles on their first American TV appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show to propel him to beg his father for drum lessons. He progressed through garage bands to Marin and Napa counties' symphony orchestras and musicals such as Godspell.

"I had grown up watching TV, 'Little Ricky' Ricardo on the I Love Lucy show, and Cubby O'Brien on The Mickey Mouse Club show; they were little kids who played the drums," he says. "And then when I heard those great instrumental acts Sandy Nelson and The Ventures, well, I knew what I wanted to do in life."

In 1975, he auditioned for and joined Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention, which began a three-year stint that included appearances in the movie Baby Snakes and on Saturday Night Live. In 1979, he formed the band Missing Persons with his then-wife, Dale Bozzio, and ex-Zappa guitarist Warren Cuccurullo. He broke up with the band and his wife six years later and returned to playing with whomever he took a hankering to, basing himself in Austin, Texas, for a time.

He now is back in California and married for the third time, to a former fan, Mayumi Yoshimoto of Yokosuka, Japan, which increased his circle of drummers, he says.

"Her daughter is a drummer and so is my son, Raanen," Bozzio says. "Plus, my brother-in-law is also one, as is my new daughter-in-law."

Family drum sessions are rare, but Bozzio is happy whenever and wherever he can play one or many drums.

"I love to play and make some noise and share it with other people."

Style on 09/30/2014