On April 18, Rye native Miles Clyatt marked two milestones: the one-year anniversary of Band Memo’s first show at The Bitter End — and the band’s first featured performance at Garcia’s, the intimate venue inside The Capitol Theatre.
“That venue is a big deal for us because it’s like a Mecca for bands in our scene,” said Clyatt a few days before the performance. The five-piece group, rooted in jam-band traditions, retro, and improvisational rock, is focused on songwriting and is beginning to build a regional following across the Northeast.
They had played Garcia’s, the storied Port Chester venue, before, but only after-hours sets while crowds filtered out of the main theater. This time, however, marked their first time performing original songs under their own billing — and it felt monumental.
Band Memo is made up of five musicians who met playing music in Brooklyn: Clyatt on drums, James Crafford on vocals and guitar, Quinn Tuff on lead guitar, Martin Schmid on keyboards, and Andrew Trautmann on bass. The members hail from across the Northeast, including Fairfield County, Buffalo, and Boston.
While the band is expanding its reach, Clyatt remains closely connected to where it all began.
Growing up on Milton Road in Rye, he remembers the drum kit his parents bought him before he was 10, set up in the basement where he could play for hours — without soundproofing and without much complaint.
His drum teacher, Brian Shankar Adler, helped shape his early musical instincts.
“He’s a pretty big deal in Latin jazz fusion — that was his whole thing,” Clyatt said. “So even though I play mostly rock music now, I’ve always practiced jazz and like to think that I have a more jazz-based flair to my playing.”
A Class of 2013 Rye High School graduate, Clyatt immersed himself in every musical outlet available there.
“I did every possible kind of music at school — band, orchestra, jazz band, percussion ensemble, drum line,” he said. “And then I had my own group with other kids where we would just improvise.”
Among his collaborators were John Benoit, now a touring punk musician with his band Resilia; Henry Pearson, now a teacher; and Harry Cohan, who recently relocated to Paris.
Some of his most memorable early performances didn’t take place on formal stages.
“I think the best performance I ever had in my life was at a graduation party in my friend’s backyard,” he said. “That was epic.”
He also credits his high school band teacher, Dr. Dan Brown, for fostering a creative, open environment.
“I remember, in between jazz band sessions, he would just let us mess around and jam — play rock music and be loud — and would never tell us to quiet down,” Clyatt said. “He was a great presence all throughout my high school years.”
Today, Clyatt teaches young drummers at the Rye Arts Center, passing on some of that same encouragement. (Though some of his students cite their parents not allowing a drum set at home as an excuse for not practicing.)
With parents who are both artists — his father, Bob Clyatt, a sculptor, and his mother, Wonda, an actress — it’s no surprise he pursued a creative path. He recalls his mother often playing Led Zeppelin in the car, which became his favorite band.
“Really, I got into this type of music because all the cooler older kids in high school were listening to Phish and going to shows at Jones Beach,” he said. “Dave Matthews Band was big, too. At that age you just want to follow suit.”
Clyatt said Band Memo is trying to bridge genres, combining improvisation with songwriting.
“We talk about this a lot,” he said. “The term ‘jam band’ has kind of lost all its meaning. It’s like any band doing anything virtuosic live gets labeled that way. But we like to think we’re an actual jam band — we improvise while still focusing on songwriting and making good records.”
The band’s name reflects both practicality and philosophy. “Band Memo” was partly chosen to stand out on streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, where many groups already use the name “Memo.” It also draws from the Latin phrase memento mori — a reminder of life’s impermanence.
“I think the direct translation is ‘remember you’re going to die,’ which sounds kind of morbid,” Clyatt said. “But the meaning behind it is, we’re all going to perish one day, so you may as well enjoy life and make the most of it.”
That idea carries into the band’s music. Their recent single, “Going Home,” released April 8, reflects on the fleeting nature of life:
“If I could live forever and never pay the price, I’d lay my cards on the table and double down on vice / If I ever wanted something I could always wait another day / If every day was sunshine and never a cloud of rain, I’d watch a million sunsets and all of them in vain.”
From Rye basements and late-night New York City clubs to the stage at Garcia’s — and with a new booking agent lining up a potential summer tour — Clyatt and Band Memo are making the most of the moment, onstage and off.
