Longtime Norman-based musician dies
Boyd Littell, drummer for the Oregon via Norman hip-hop act Addverse Effects, singersongwriter and respected sideman, was found dead Tuesday in an Oregon park. He was 40.
Portland police officers are conducting a death investigation at Colonel Summers Park where the former Norman resident's body was found next to a bicycle, according to Portland’s KATU news station.
“This just comes blowing out of nowhere,” said Jon Mooneyham, another fixture in the Oklahoma music community. “My heart’s broken.”
The musicians had DJ’d together often and had a running joke where Littell referred to Mooneyham as his “dad” at concerts. Mooneyham is just one of dozens of local musicians who remember Littell’s decades-long pursuit of music in Norman with too many bands to count. Most recently, Littell drummed and sang for Addverse Effects, a popular hip-hop staple at The Deli.
His performing credits include The Ills, a 10-piece salsa group called Conjunto Clave and a reggae act named Tincture. He also created original electronic music under the moniker Thumpre.
“Boyd was handily one of the most ambitious musicians that I’ve known around here,” Mooneyham added during a phone interview. “His death hits hard. No style of music was taboo to him. He played bass in country bands like Mama Sweet. Hip-hop was near and dear to him. I never thought Boyd got the due credit he deserved beyond the circle of Oklahoma musicians.”
Mooneyham remembered how Littell could drum in a way that mimicked the sound of sped up analog tape.
Incited by a DIY work ethic, Littell would often start many projects alone regardless of genre. Norman-based recording engineer and drummer Steve Boaz said Littell’s music had a huge impact on him. Boaz started a home studio in his garage and met Littell’s sister when he went next door to prepare his neighbors for the noise.
“It immediately became my biggest goal to meet (Boyd) and work with him,” Boaz told The Oklahoman. “That happened, and I got to record a bunch of his solo stuff. ... When he was creating something, you could visibly see the thoughts rattling around in his head. His brain would think it, and he would execute it.
“It was the first time I'd seen someone work that way. I still do my best to imitate that.”
Littell’s tastes were as eclectic as his treasured bike, complete with leather toe straps, a basket tattooed in stickers and an air horn taped to the handlebars. He was interviewed about his ride via BikePortland.org. It was rare to see Littell without an instrument and even rarer to see him without two wheels. To help make ends meet, he worked as a bike messenger after moving to Portland a few years ago.
“Boyd never owned a car for as long as I knew him,” Boaz said. “He carried mounds of instruments on a bike trailer and made his own messenger bags out of super thick truck tarps.
“It was just his thing. You couldn’t give that guy a ride even if it was raining cats and dogs.”
Littell’s music taste also led him to accompany dancers at the University of Oklahoma. Mary Lyn Graves studied ballet at OU and fondly remembered Littell drummed at every modern dance class she took. Littell enthusiastically posted to Facebook when he landed a similar gig in Oregon.
Norman-based Mama Sweet guitarist Alan Orebaugh called Littell “the most musical person I’ve ever known.”
“In every creative situation, he always had something out of the box musically and it was always brilliant,” Orebaugh told The Oklahoman. “He raised my awareness of quality in performing, and I felt like I had kind of been accepted when he came to appreciate my playing.”
Orebaugh remembered how his bandmate didn’t get outwardly excited about much but will never forget how excited Littell got meeting Dweezil Zappa during a Tulsa music festival.
Littell’s enthusiasm was contagious. Multiinstrumentalist and filmmaker Mickey Reece considered him to be a big inspiration.
“Boyd was larger than life in his talent but never made you feel like he knew it,” Reece said to The Oklahoman. “I was always humbled when he would talk to me like an equal because I considered him superior in every way.”