By Braden Felts

Tall. Lanky. Metal. One fateful day in 1999, adorned with some beat-up black Converse, a worn pair of black jeans, a then-stylish green and black bowling shirt, and a combed-over blue mohawk, Mike Boyd arrived at Collegiate School. A far cry from the soft-spoken and relaxed Director of the Arts we have today, surprisingly, Boyd spent most of his life rockin’ ‘n rollin’. 

Boyd’s love for music started at a very young age. He remembered listening to music on the radio as a little boy, and even then, it made him feel “inspired.” Born in upstate New York, Boyd lived in South Carolina and other states in the Southeast before his parents settled in Richmond in 1978, when he was eight. Around this time, he experimented with songwriting and performing songs for his mother. Luckily, Boyd’s mother was “supportive and encouraging,” leading to his love of music flourishing after that.

The CD cover for the 1991 Boy O Boy album Boy O Boy O Boy O Boy O Boy O Boy O Boy O Boy. Photo credit: Ken Felts.

Boyd played drums in his middle school jazz band, but his passion for music took off in high school. He attended Monacan High School, dead-set on playing baseball, but Boyd completely switched his path when he joined a band with some classmates on the third day of school. By the time he was 15, he and his band were playing clubs in Richmond and making money. With matching leather jackets and mullets to boot, Boyd’s rock n’ roll lifestyle was born.

Boyd then went to Virginia Tech in 1987 and immediately took a keen interest in the music scene there. Later that semester, a popular band, Boy O Boy, desperately needed a drummer, and, at the begging of his friends, Boyd reluctantly auditioned, because “all the girls” loved Boy O Boy. Boyd had performed until 6 a.m. the night before his audition, and, running on minimal sleep, he trudged his way to the audition. At the audition, Boyd willingly played any tune the band wanted; his expertise was on full display. Boyd learned he would be Boy O Boy’s new drummer a few days later.

At the end of the 1987-88 school year, the band decided to collectively transfer to VCU because the club scene in Richmond offered a better opportunity for the band to succeed. Throughout college, Boyd and the band continued to play at clubs and fraternity parties up and down the East Coast. The group was “pretty serious,… playing most any night of the week.” Boyd said, “Our popularity in Richmond was well-established by 1992, [and] by 1994, when I graduated, we were regionally popular in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast.”

In 1994, they landed a spot on Star Search, a television competition series that showcased music and comedy performers. Following Star Search, the group changed its name to Fighting Gravity, and they eventually got an interview and article in Rolling Stone magazine.

Fighting Gravity. Photo credit: Danny Clinch.

Despite the acclaim Boyd and the band were getting, Boyd said they were “just having fun” experimenting with songwriting and doing what they loved. For Boyd, music evokes a feeling that cannot be replicated. After the band signed with Mercury Records in 1997, they recorded an album at the famous Bearsville Studio in Woodstock, New York, creating an experience for Boyd to meet many other incredible musicians, such as pop-folk artist Janis Ian and Frozen’s Idina Menzel. 

In 1998, they released You and Everybody Else, the album they had worked on the whole year prior, but after a buyout by a larger corporate conglomerate, Fighting Gravity’s album received no funding. Their album was, in Boyd’s words, “dead in the water.” In 1999, Boyd began teaching part-time as a band teacher at Collegiate after initially rejecting the job offer. He played with Fighting Gravity professionally until 2007, but they never again reached the height of success as they did in the mid-1990s.

From 1999 to 2007, Boyd served as Collegiate’s pep and jazz band director and percussion instructor. During this time, he helped many students fall in love with music. While Boyd was already a stellar musician in his own right, his greatest skill with music came with his ability to teach others. Unlike many other high school band directors, Boyd rarely played with the band, instead letting the students figure out the creative process independently. Collegiate Upper School English teacher and Match advisor Vlastik Svab said that Boyd’s innovative teaching style has “influenced the way I think about teaching and leadership.” 

In 2007, Boyd officially joined Collegiate full time. Boyd’s dramatic transition from a professional rocker to Director of Performing Arts did not come without regrets. He said he “could not fall asleep on Friday nights” for a long time. Nevertheless, this transformation allowed for Boyd’s passion to take another form. Now, as a teacher, Boyd was able to help other students with their love of music while still joining in many different productions around town, such touring Broadway shows like Wicked at the Altria Theater. Boyd played drums and percussion for groups all across Richmond, including at shows at The Dogwood Dell Amphitheater.

Collegiate’s Jazz Band circa 2015. Photo credit: Vlastik Svab.

In 2020, Boyd was promoted to Director of Arts. After 17 years as an administrator, Boyd has overseen many positive leaps for the arts programs school-wide. Boyd credits the program’s growth to the incredible faculty and staff at Collegiate, and he takes great pride in how the classes have evolved. 

Boyd’s life is a story of someone who did everything to pursue what he loves. Senior Connor Chang (’24) said Boyd’s impact on him has been prevalent from their first interaction, saying the “amount he cared for each student” was noticeable. Having taken several performing arts classes, Chang said that Boyd had “been with me in my whole art journey” during high school. Boyd noted that he does not want to take away the spotlight from others, and his “greatest satisfaction is seeing a student” fall in love with music.

Coming into my Senior year, I did not know Boyd at all. However, as I have progressed in my musical journey with my band Twisted Vipers, Boyd has mentored me and my bandmates. Playing with him has, without a doubt, made me a better musician and person. I am proud that Mike Boyd is my friend and personal hero.