Terry Bozzio will give a solo drum performance tomorrow evening at The Hamilton. Photo by Terunobu Ohata.

Let’s begin with the premise that giant drumsets are super cool. When rock ‘n’ roll started, drummers were still playing on tiny kits designed for jazz. In the ’70s, when amplification wattage and touring budgets exploded, so too did the number of drums on stage. Rush’s Neil Peart, ELP’s Carl Palmer, and The Who’s Keith Moon were just a few of the drummers who refused to acknowledge that less is more. So take all of these kits, in toto, and compare them to the behemoth that drummer Terry Bozzio is bringing to the District tomorrow. Paraphrasing the warrior-poet, Crocodile Dundee, we can say, “That’s not a drumset. That’s a drumset.”

“It’s just a natural extension of wanting to move the instrument forward and do things that are unique,” said Bozzio, who will be at The Hamilton tomorrow for a solo performance.

Bozzio first rose to prominence in the ’70s, playing with the musical iconoclast, Frank Zappa. Zappa’s piece, “The Black Page,” was a drumming benchmark at the time and was written specifically for Bozzio. The 63-year old drummer went on to play with the art rock band, UK, then in the early ’80’s formed the MTV-pioneering Missing Persons. After that band broke up, Bozzio joined the band of revered guitarist Jeff Beck.

Throughout this time, Bozzio employed large drumsets, but in the mid-’80s, he started receiving invitations to do clinics and seminars that didn’t involve a band. He began applying compositional techniques to the drumset so that he could play more musically. Bozzio’s current 40-date tour is his first series of solo performances in the U.S. aimed toward the broader public and not just for drummers and musicians. To do this effectively, Bozzio needed a kit that could present a wide array of sounds. Not only does it have all the practical elements he needs, it was also designed with aesthetics in mind so it’s as much a sculpture as it is a musical instrument.

“It’s just one more outlet of creativity,” Bozzio said of the design. “It expands like an orchestra. You have different colors and textures.”

The drumset is comprised of over 50 cymbals, close to 40 drums, 22 foot pedals, all manner of ethnic percussion, and some electronics for added measure. Bozzio works with drum and cymbal manufacturers to custom design most of the equipment, all of which is mounted on an elegantly formed rack system that can be transported in a trailer, needing just two hours and only two people for set up and tear down.

Bozzio’s compositions are generally built on ostinatos [repeating patterns], created with one to three limbs, and then he uses others to play melodies on the drums and cymbals, all of which are tuned to specific pitches. The ostinatos are akin to a mantra, in that it leads to a trance-like mood over which Bozzio can express himself. Depending on the complexity of the ostinato, the time it takes for Bozzio to develop the limb independence to play musically over the pattern can range from three days to two years. Dedication aside, the ultimate goal for Bozzio is always to make his drumset a tool for telling a personal story.

“At this point, it’s the only example of a complete musical statement on the drumset,” Bozzio said of his approach. “I don’t care too much for people who are technically advanced with nothing to say. I’m trying to look inside and show people what’s there.”

Terry Bozzio will perform at The Hamilton on Wednedsay, September 10 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets $20-$25.