The Heroes return to rock Hoyt Park
By Terry L. Wilson
The Heroes will perform a free, live concert in Hoyt Park on July 9 for the Scripps Ranch Symphony in the Park summer concert series. The band is a crowd favorite, and always draws a capacity audience for their top 40 dance music.
As the drummer and manager for the popular group, Tommy Boyd has been playing for the Symphony in the Park concert series for years. This year, Boyd welcomes back an old friend and former band member for a one night only gig.
“Our guitar player, Val Dalkostadniod, is from Bulgaria. He’s going home and is taking his family with him,
so he won’t be at the concert this year,” Boyd said. “In his place, we have invited a former member of The Heroes to gig with us at Scripps Ranch. He was also a member of Listen, a band we both played in during the ’70s. His name is Marc Intravala, and I’m sure a lot of people from Scripps Ranch will remember him from when he played here as a member of the Heroes.”
During Desert Storm Intravala went on tour with Boyd and The Heroes – playing guitar and singing – performing in Spain, Greece, Crete, Sicily, Sardinia and Germany.
“The band is happy to have him sit-in, and they’re looking forward to playing with Marc again,” Boyd said. “Otherwise, we have the same people that we’ve had for a number of years. We have Mattie Mills and Amber Duke, our female vocalists; Laymon Davis is on bass guitar; Mark Moorhead plays the keyboard; Art Fisher plays sax, flute and bongos; and I play drums – and we all sing. The band and I are looking forward to seeing everyone at the park.”
Each month during summertime, Hoyt Park plays host to some of the best bands in San Diego at the Symphony in the Park concerts. Boyd, a Scripps’s Ranch resident, is a big reason why only top talent makes it on the annual roster.
“I hand-pick all the bands that perform at the concert,” he said. “We have a crowd that ranges in ages from 70 to seven. To help me create a list of songs for the show, I ask people of various age groups what they want to hear. Then, I get together with the bands to make sure that each group has a playlist that has something for everybody in our audience.”
The July 9 performance by The Heroes begins at 6 p.m. and ends at 7:30 p.m. Concert attendees are encouraged to arrive early. No high back chairs are allowed, and no one should bring their pets as this show is for humans only. Do not spread plastic tarps on the ground because they kill the grass.
The July 9 concert is sponsored by Collins Family Jewelers.
For additional information, visit symphonyinthepark.org.