Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Matt Hoyt hallowed

“I think it’s important to remember what we love to do.”

Matt Hoyt: RIP to an impressive impresario.
Matt Hoyt: RIP to an impressive impresario.

Multiple creative scenes in San Diego reeled from the news of Matt Hoyt’s death on August 14. According to KPBS, he had been diagnosed just a week earlier with the rare and aggressive illness that took his life. Hoyt, age 45, possessed a seemingly boundless appetite for creativity, one matched only by his output — in art, film, food, and especially music, as both fan and performer. As the lead singer of Turkey Mallet in the mid-’90s, Hoyt lent his voice to San Diego-centric compositions such as “Surf Nazi Norman,” which chronicled nominally fictionalized run-ins with the titular character in Ocean Beach.

Remembrances posted to social media paid tribute to Hoyt’s impact, which continues its ripple effect in the wake of his death. Director Benjamin Johnson (Fanboy) credits his interactions with Hoyt for pushing him forward in his endeavors beyond bartending at the Casbah. “I first got to know Matt Hoyt when he was filming the Black Heart Procession movie and videos, and I was just blown away by him. Here was a guy doing huge things! But he was just a funny kickback dude. It made me stop and reassess what we are capable of if we work hard.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Former Turkey Mallet bandmate Bryan Lancaster says, “Matt had the kind of magic that transforms a room with a band and a few kids into the full-blown rock and roll revival concert experience. He was committed to the music and to whatever needed to be done. For the 45-60 minutes we were on stage, Matt was a complete rock star, making everyone who was there feel included and seen, like they were one of the band.”

Music played a major part in the convergence of passions he pursued, as when he became business partners with promoter/Casbah owner Tim Mays and musician Steve Poltz in the restaurant and bar Starlite. “Matt had a certain gleam in his eyes and a Mona Lisa smile as he told stories,” says Poltz. “This guy could make anything funny. His mind was lightning-fast and he was completely able to hold my ADHD attention.”

His booking of bands such as Bikini Kill at The Soul Kitchen in the ‘90s exposed San Diego to touring acts which in turn ignited the already smoldering indie rock scene here. Drew Douglas, aka grampadrew, recalls, “Matt had a way of commanding a room among a crowd of people used to being the ones who commanded the room. He had that wry smile that contained multitudes and that twinkle in his eye that always seemed to be calculating some devious and wonderful plot.”

His love of film intersected with work again when he directed videos for local stars Goblin Cock and Pinback. Hoyt recalled his work on these projects fondly in an April 2020 Facebook post. “In the midst of everything we’re all dealing with, I think it’s important to remember what we love to do. I love making film and videos with friends, and this Pinback video is one of my favorite things I’ve ever done.”

Hoyt concluded the post by writing, “It’s funny to think this entire video is about people drifting in space, wondering if their comrades are okay, and if they will be reunited on the other side.”

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Norteño, Mariachi, and Banda groups hire out at T.J. cemeteries

Death always comes with music
Next Article

Gonzo Report: Eating dinner while little kids mock-mosh at Golden Island

“The tot absorbs the punk rock shot with the skill of experience”
Matt Hoyt: RIP to an impressive impresario.
Matt Hoyt: RIP to an impressive impresario.

Multiple creative scenes in San Diego reeled from the news of Matt Hoyt’s death on August 14. According to KPBS, he had been diagnosed just a week earlier with the rare and aggressive illness that took his life. Hoyt, age 45, possessed a seemingly boundless appetite for creativity, one matched only by his output — in art, film, food, and especially music, as both fan and performer. As the lead singer of Turkey Mallet in the mid-’90s, Hoyt lent his voice to San Diego-centric compositions such as “Surf Nazi Norman,” which chronicled nominally fictionalized run-ins with the titular character in Ocean Beach.

Remembrances posted to social media paid tribute to Hoyt’s impact, which continues its ripple effect in the wake of his death. Director Benjamin Johnson (Fanboy) credits his interactions with Hoyt for pushing him forward in his endeavors beyond bartending at the Casbah. “I first got to know Matt Hoyt when he was filming the Black Heart Procession movie and videos, and I was just blown away by him. Here was a guy doing huge things! But he was just a funny kickback dude. It made me stop and reassess what we are capable of if we work hard.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Former Turkey Mallet bandmate Bryan Lancaster says, “Matt had the kind of magic that transforms a room with a band and a few kids into the full-blown rock and roll revival concert experience. He was committed to the music and to whatever needed to be done. For the 45-60 minutes we were on stage, Matt was a complete rock star, making everyone who was there feel included and seen, like they were one of the band.”

Music played a major part in the convergence of passions he pursued, as when he became business partners with promoter/Casbah owner Tim Mays and musician Steve Poltz in the restaurant and bar Starlite. “Matt had a certain gleam in his eyes and a Mona Lisa smile as he told stories,” says Poltz. “This guy could make anything funny. His mind was lightning-fast and he was completely able to hold my ADHD attention.”

His booking of bands such as Bikini Kill at The Soul Kitchen in the ‘90s exposed San Diego to touring acts which in turn ignited the already smoldering indie rock scene here. Drew Douglas, aka grampadrew, recalls, “Matt had a way of commanding a room among a crowd of people used to being the ones who commanded the room. He had that wry smile that contained multitudes and that twinkle in his eye that always seemed to be calculating some devious and wonderful plot.”

His love of film intersected with work again when he directed videos for local stars Goblin Cock and Pinback. Hoyt recalled his work on these projects fondly in an April 2020 Facebook post. “In the midst of everything we’re all dealing with, I think it’s important to remember what we love to do. I love making film and videos with friends, and this Pinback video is one of my favorite things I’ve ever done.”

Hoyt concluded the post by writing, “It’s funny to think this entire video is about people drifting in space, wondering if their comrades are okay, and if they will be reunited on the other side.”

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Starvin Marvins, a sandwich party pad in Pacific Beach

Hand-made furniture and overloaded sandwiches close to the surf
Next Article

Live Five: Patch Croome, Sara Petite, Buck-O-Nine, Justin Froese, Nardwuar’s Video Vault

Americana, ska, punk, and solo singer-songwriters in Del Mar, Kensington, Mission Valley, Oceanside, Little Italy
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader