Boyd first started playing gigs in junior high in his older brother's band, The Benzi Kriks, around Sewart Air Force Base in Tennessee. In 1968, the family moved back to the Colville reservation where he continued to play gigs with his lifelong friend Jerry Stensgar, who played bass. He started playing cover music in bars by the age of sixteen. At the age of 23, Boyd was recruited as a guitar player in the group XIT, which was one of the first rock groups in Indian country to have success. Boyd played for two years with XIT. Boyd also appeared in the documentary, "XIT: Without Reservation", which was a live recording filmed at the Mystic Lake Casino in Prior Lake, Minnesota. Boyd and XIT bass player, Frank Diaz, started a cover group called Greywolf with drummer, Ed Banning. This group continued in many forms throughout the next fifteen years, and eventually added drummer Alfonso Kolb, who continued to play with Boyd afterwards. After Diaz's departure, Jerry Stensgar joined as bass player until Greywolf officially disbanded.