“I refused to believe the negative things he said because I couldn’t lose hope. But everything he said came to pass”: Terry Bozzio asked a question when he joined Frank Zappa. He asked the same question when he left

Terry Bozzio with his Big Kit.

In 2017 drummer, composer and painter Terry Bozzio looked back on a career that features experiences with Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart, UK and others, and summarised what he’d learned from it all.

Terry Bozzio isn’t known for sitting back and taking things easy. The Grammy-winning drummer, who came to prominence with Frank Zappa albums such as Zoot Allures and Sheik Yerbouti in the 1970s, is a self-confessed workaholic. His turbocharged drumming helped propel UK’s Danger Money and Night After Night after Bill Bruford and Allan Holdsworth left the ranks. Boasting stints with Jeff Beck, Quincy Jones and Mick Jagger, Bozzio has also fronted his own bands, including his post-punk synth-tinged pop outfit, Missing Persons, and the eclectic improv-supergroup HoBoLeMa, with Holdsworth and King Crimson’s Tony Levin and Pat Mastelotto.