Finding Missing Persons

Missing Persons, yeah, they weren't kidding!  I've just come off the ol' information superhighway where I was looking for some Missing Persons -- with caps, you know: the band Missing Persons.  Not easy.  Missing Persons clearly never anticipated the internet search engine when they were tossing around band names.  Them and  Berlin.  And Them.

Reason I've been hunting Missing Persons is my recent rediscovery of this great song: "Mental Hopscotch" (Real Audio archive).  I wish I could remember how it felt as a 12-year old to find this song hanging out at My MTV.  I do remember developing a major crush on singer Dale Bozzio, probably because she wore big pieces of see-thru plastic on her boobs and I was 12.  Yeah, her and Terri Nunn - from Berlin. Anyway, here's the smokin' vid for you to download (offsite):  Mental Hopscotch smokin vid

There's actually a nice bunch of videos for you to download on this page.  All the hits are there - you remember!  "What are words for when no one listens anymore?"  (hear it on Irwin's old Gender Bias).  And how about "Destination Unknown"?  Great stuff.  Mike Lupica just played that song on his radio show this week, that link'll take you to straight to the mp3 archive of his show. (It expires on 7/24/06 - after which, you'll have to settle for this realaudio link.)

Briefly, Missing Persons came out of Frank Zappa's group.  This may partially explain some of what they're up to now.  Founding guitarist Warren Cucurrullo (don't go there), after a long spell with Duran Duran, became Guitarist as Athlete.  He's now got a shaved head, a soul patch, and bulging pecs and used to make porn on his website.  Bass player Patrick O'Hearn (don't go there either) is now a top-selling New Age artist; keyboardist Chuck Wild (oof!) is an "active investor"; and Dale Bozzio (her website's down) occasionally tours as Missing Persons with an entirely new line-up, which includes this guy. 

What is it with these people and the bulging pecs & soul patches?

Keep reading!  Jump the flip!

What's really keeping my jaw solidly stuck to the floor is drummer Terry Bozzio.  You know, they've got a subculture for everything.  For instance, before I sliced my thumb off a few weeks ago, I was ignorant of the exqusite social opportunities digital self-truncation afforded.  That said, there exists a Cult Of Terry. Terry Bozzio is perhaps the fussiest, most athletic drummer ever.  He's a total muscleman counting fool, with a drum kit that makes Neil Peart's look like Dennis Flemion's, and his website is a messy combination of manifesto, memory book, and musings.  This, from the "Foreward"

I want to share my experiences, strengths, philosophies, hopes, influences, hobbies, other interests, etc. with you in the hopes that you might learn from my mistakes & successes, be entertained by the stories, and be helped by the benefit of whatever knowledge I can pass along. 

And to your right is the man you are meant to imagine speaking these words to you as you read them.  Mind you, while he's maintaining this mostrosity, he's also one of the busiest drummers on the planet.  While you're visiting, allow me to recommend The Gallery, and Hobbies, wherein he links to no less than four pen websites.  That's pen websites.  Websites devoted to pens.

It seems like Terry's a really nice guy, and I love Missing Persons and have really dug some of his drum stuff with Zappa, but I can't let this one go: here is perhaps the most shockingly inappropriate drumming I've ever heard: Terry Bozzio plays drums with Fantomas. (that's a youtube link).  Wow.

Hey, if anyone's got video of Missing Persons performing in the 1980 movie "Lunch Wagon", I'd love to see it! 

Wrapping up, to your left is a real nice pic of a real live missing person, Peggy S. Houser.  It seems she joined a motorcycle gang.

Comments

[Goyim in the AM]

Let's see: I've played with Mary, Mary's played with Trevor, Trevor's played with Terry...
The good news is I'm just four degrees of musical separation from Dale Bozzio!!!!
The bad news is I'm four degrees of musical seperation from Frank Zappa.

[husker dude]

another band that never anticipated the internet search engine: CAN

[\_escarpment]

Can someone tell me what soundtrack Destination Unknown was on? It's been bugging the hell out of me since I heard it on Mike's show.

[fatty jubbo]

I saw Missing Persons live a few years ago. It was a New Years Eve show at the decrepid Congress Theater in Chicago- they were playing with a bunch of other washed up has-beens. I had a friend who lived in the theater and we stopped by her place before going out for our festivities. We only watched the Missing Persons set, which was...uh...interesting. No Terry Bozzio. Dale Bozzio was haggish and in some other world- she was yapping between songs, trying to make jokes, trying to flirt with the new young guy drummer...it was pretty sad. At one point she went on a long anti-Terry Bozzio rant, claiming the young guy was a much better drummer at which point she told him to do a drum solo to prove himself. The theater was scattered with 40-something married types trying to relive their youth. Nobody looked like they were having a good time. They had a fucking crane camera to tape the whole goddamn sad event!

Having huge holes in my knowledge of music, I had only a faint idea of who they were. I was with a big Zappa fan who shocked me when he said the original drummer was in one of Zappa's bands.

[Holland Oats]

Try searching for The The while yer at it!

[dave from Knoxville]

Searching for Yes is no piece of cake, either. Not that most of you would want to.

[John from Oslo]

I had to dig up some info on old zappa musicians when Dweezil and the "Zappa plays Zappa" band came a while ago. And I found porn... http://www.musicafollia.com/rockscandal/dalebozzio_gallery.htm
Dale Consalvi was also a Playboy™ pool- (as in billiards) bunny in Boston, before meeting up with FZ in L.A. But I digress... I totally agree with you Scott, they do strange new agey stuff nowadays, the lot... Weird, 'cause their virtousity has forever burnt their licks and swiss ostinatoes into my brain. What they did with FZ was great, and Missing Persons wasn't too bad either, just very "80ish" I even bought O'Hearns "Between two worlds" and thought it was ok (back then...)
I saw Terry Bozzio at some "Drum Clinic" thing with Dom Famularo some years ago - I was stunned as to how bloody YOUNG he looked, in worn-out jeans - playing his enormous drumkit (with a million toms tuned in quarter notes) and now MP is doing these "Lost 80s Live" gigs, with "A Flock of Seagulls", "Bow wow wow", "Devo", oh well...
If you can get it - listen to Terry's drumming on the 70's Brecker Brothers album "Heavy Metal Be-Bop" - some great hard hitting "jazz" drumming there...

[Dale Hazelton]

And I just threw away the Dale Bozzio Hustler test shoot issue from 1984. Who knew? Unfortunately she had done her own hair and makeup, more 70's porn starlet than 80's new wave queen.

Did you see her on last summer's secret pleasure, "Hit Me Baby One More Time"? She looked pretty good, cleaned herself up drugwise I guess. I was hoping they would bring that show back, if only to see how bald and out of shape alot of those acts have become -- you won't think of a Flock of Seagulls ever the same again.

Did they ever show the Plasmatics on MTV? Wendy O. Williams definitely bested Dale Bozzio in the costume department:

http://www.punkamine.org/Irudiak/Ikonoak/wendy-o-williams-1.jpg

[tony z.]

It's not that hard.

[Mark Allen]

Worst searchable band name: X

[norelpref]

One of the best drum solos (in a pop song context) is performed by Terry Bozzio in the MP song "Windows." In an otherwise sedate tune, this bombastic roll around the kit and syncopated flam-fest is a real treat. Hope you can find it. I might have it in my Nomad ocean...if so I'll post it later....

[Joel Sanderson]

I managed a drive-in movie theater in the 80's when "Lunch Wagon" (or "Lunch Wagon Girls") came out. I usually ignored this type of movie when they played at the theater, but one night while walking across the theater's lot from the concession stand to the office, I froze in my tracks as Terry Bozzio appeared on the movie screen. I couldn't believe he was appearing in such a piece of crap film, but the bands music performance was pretty good. They appear in the film as a bar band, maybe even with lines of dialouge (?) and perform "Mental Hopscotch" and "I Like Boys" on camera. The film pops up on cable from time to time and appears to have been released on VHS.

[Bryan Martin]

"Mental Hopscotch" is performed by the band more than once in the movie, and the bridge is peppered all throughout the film. oddly, i purchased a copy of this movie a few months ago from the record store i work at and am obviously just getting the to July BOHA, but i've only been able to sit through "Lunch Wagon" once. rediculous

[Bryan Martin]

typo and all

[Harry McLeran]

Terry Bozzio is a nice guy. Check out his drumming on Zappa's "Zoot Allure's" LP. Great.
Didn't Dale to an album with Prince producing? Think it was just called, "Dale."
"Destination Unknown" IS a great track.