Bozzio

["Rick Walker" <looppool@cruzio.com>]

Years ago,  Missing Persons played the Civic Auditorium here in Santa Cruz.

I had a gig that night and was incredibly bummed that I couldn't go see 
the 
show (they had torn it up
the first time they came to the Catayst before they got big).

After my gig I went to the Crepe Place (in it's old location) late in the 
evening
and Terry and Dale Bozzio were sitting at a booth having a late meal.

I nervously came up to them and said,  "Gosh, I'm a huge fan of yours but 
I 
was so bummed that you guys played tonight and I couldn't go
because I had a gig booked that I couldn't get out of."

Terry said,   "Oh thanks a lot for sharing that,  would you like to sit 
down 
and have a meal with us.?"

I was just blown away.    I sat down and we had a meal together.

Both Terry and Dale were amazingly nice people...........really 
unpretentious, intelligent, very funny
with no 'star' vibe whatsoever.   They had a really cool rapport with each 
other too and I was sad
when they broke up in later years.  They seemed made for each other (not 
that I know the story).

That encounter  had a huge impact on me.

*******************************

Another thing I always dug about Terry was that he was unafraid to express 
himself in the way he dressed.
He was wearing makeup and had black finger nail polish and a really cool 
look that these days would
be considered goth.

There was something about that really dark look with a truly genuine and 
kind human being that was really touching.
I've always admired men who have the courage to press the boundaries of 
what's accepted in men's fashion in this
culture.

I've had the pleasure of meeting him a few times since then at Clinics and 
NAMM shows and he's always been
really friendly (even though I"m sure he doesn't remember me at all).

The other thing that's amazing about him is that he is making an entire 
living by playing solo drum concerts
with no augmentation (looping, special effects, sequences, et. al.).

That is just unprecedented in the musical world these days and takes 
almost 
superhuman skill.

He's an amazing pioneer and I am a gigantic fan of his musical artistry.