Meet Bryan Reilly

We had the good fortune of connecting with Bryan Reilly and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Bryan, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
I think the main key to my success is availability and being open to a majority of projects that come along. If you want to be a full time musician, audio engineer or record producer, availability is a huge factor in that. In 2010 I quit my job to pursue music full time, and it ended up being the best thing I ever did. Within 6 months I was in the biggest band in Detroit, Ty Stone and The Truth, which lead me to tour all over the country playing arenas, stadiums and amphitheaters. I also landed a record with Stewart Francke which featured the best musicians in Detroit, as well as Bruce Springsteen on one song (which I also played Drums on), the album Heartless World was also considered for a Grammy Nomination that year. That record was the first time I was credited as a Producer, so it’s held very dear to my heart.
Not to mention I also met Olivia Millerschin and John Maison in that time, who both went on to be very successful artists themselves. With both of them, I’ve been able to travel all over to make music, as well as produce songs for them in the studio.
If you’re not available and open to these situations, have the time to commit 100%, it’s very possible the opportunity can pass you by. As an audio engineer and record producer, being flexible around peoples schedules has been a big key to my success as well. Most artists still have to work a day job, so me being flexible to work late nights or weekends shows them that I’m dedicated to the art and there to help make it come to life.
On top of availability, being a nice person and someone who is easy to get along with is very much part of my brand. I always try to make everyone around me as comfortable as possible. While on the road I never get into trouble or have the band or crew worrying about me. I’m always on time and I always play to 100% of my ability. As a producer, my job is to make the artist as comfortable as possible so I can pull the best performance out of them. So over the years I’ve learned ways of telling people they need to do a better performance without directly saying that, or making them feel like they’re not there yet.
Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
This answer could be a novel lol. But I’ll first answer how I got here today. It was not easy, in fact it was a constant battle. I was broke basically all of my twenties because even when you’re doing huge shows or making big records, the pay isn’t great for artists, musicians or engineers. It also took a lot of time and energy, which affected other parts of my personal life. A lot of sacrifice is required to make it in the music industry.
A project I’m most proud of is one of my solo pieces. 29 Trips Around The Sun was a piece I wrote right before my 30th birthday. It was a big separation from everything else I was doing at the time and really pushed the musical boundaries I thought I was capable of. It went on to win my first personal Detroit Music Award for Outstanding Classical Composition.
Start Francke’s records Heartless World, Love Implied and Familiar Fire.
Olivia Millerschin “Yes, No Maybe So” Record, her songs “I Can Say” – “Time Out” – “When” and “Better” are some of my favorite works.
Ty Stone’s The Boulevard. The experience of making the record is very dear to me. I also love the songs and how creative we got in the production process. We made the record we wanted to make and I love it.
West of Sundays “Spellbound” group of songs off their record “The Pretty Trap” is one of my favorite production projects.
Mike Leslie Band “4am Blues” is one of the best things caught on tape. We were a new band and that was one of the first things we wrote together. That recording is a live take in the studio.
Bob Mervak’s ArmChair Expert themes are some of the stuff I’m most proud of. Bob has inspired me to be a better musician over the years (he’s probably the best musician I ever met and am so lucky to play with him). ArmChair expert went on to become one of the largest podcasts in the world. Worldwide, the theme song has billions of streams.
Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I love food, so we’ have to hit OWL on Woodward and J’s Penalty Box in Ferndale for a Pickle Pizza. For drinks it would have to be Danny’s Irish Pub in Ferndale or Sugar House downtown for Cocktails. We’d so some hiking out at Stoney Creek, disc golf at Wagner Park and a walk on the riverfront.
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are a handful of people that have helped me along the way. First and foremost are my parents, Tammi and Brian Reilly. Without them, I would not be here today. From the beginning of this music journey, they always supported me and never doubted or discouraged me.
Brian and Mark Pastoria gave me my first studio job in Detroit. That job opened a lot of doors for me and paved the way for me to grow in the Detroit music community.
Randy Stevenson was one of my biggest supporters from the day we met. He opened his studio up to me, which was the biggest level up I’ve had up to that point. He really believed in me and supported me. He’s a great guy who wanted to help people and help make great art. He built one of the most beautiful studios I’ve ever seen in Birmingham and equipped it with some of the best gear on the market. He never really asked me for anything in return, but without him I wouldn’t have been able to grow as an engineer or producer, so I am forever grateful to him and his wife Rhonda.
Stewart Francke was the first major artist to truly believe in me. Through him, I met all the top players in Detroit. He took me under his wing when I was 23 years old and told everyone I was the best around. We ended up making three records together, which I still hold as some of my best work. He was the first one to credit me as a producer and believe in me that way. We became dear friends over the years, he recently passed away and I miss him every day.
Olivia Millerschin has been a huge influence on me musically and personally. She was 15 when we met and she was already one of the best songwriters and singers I’ve ever heard. Working with her and playing in her band taught me so much about songwriting and the power of a song. The music expanded my musical knowledge as a guitar player exponentially and the songs she was writing opened up a whole new window and perspective to me that I was unaware of really at that point growing up in the rock/punk rock world. Also, her character as a person has been a big influence on me. She is always so kind, humble and selfless. She has become one of my best friends over the years and I wouldn’t be who I am without her.
I also want to thank Ty Stone, who took a chance on me as a young drummer and gave me my first shot in the big leagues. I was 24 when I met Ty and joined the band. He was signed to Atlantic Records at the time and was the biggest artist in Detroit. The first two shows we played together were back to back at The Machine Shop in Flint and St Andrews in Detroit, both the biggest shows I had played up to that point. Within a year, we were touring the country and Caribbean with Kid Rock on his Born Free Tour. We’ve played shows in front of 100,000 people at a festival, played Ford Field opening for Kid Rock on his 40th birthday show, Comerica Park twice with Kid Rock and Sammy Hager, and countless other amazing shows. He also trusted me to produce and play all the instruments on his second record “The Boulevard” which is still one of my favorite artistic records I’ve made today.
I also want to thank Ryan McGuire and Mike Nehra of Vintage King. Ryan took me under his wing and employed me as his chief engineer at his amazing studio “45 Factory”. He opened up my world to the analog gear market like never before. Through him I’ve really learned about sonics of musical equipment and how to capture audio in a more pure way. He also brought me on as part of the Vintage King team as a freelance employee to work in the marketing department, where I was able to use the newest and best gear on the planet, making videos to a worldwide market to show off the product. Without Ryan and Mike, I wouldn’t have been able to afford the gear that eventually became my own studio. Mike Nehra has been a huge supporter of mine since we met and still brings me in on projects he’s working on. He’s a big inspiration to me in the business world, and I’m very honored to call him a friend.
To my buddy Samm Routheaux. There was a time when I thought I might get out of the studio business, and Samm was the one who convinced me to stay in the game. Our project band together, Echo Astronaut, was the spark and inspiration I needed creatively to keep going. His friendship over the years has been a rock, he’s supported me more than anyone else I know. He truly is selfless and cares deeply for me and the people in his life.
Jake Shives has always been there for me from the day we met. Instant best friends. He’s my number one brother in this music production world. He started as an intern at the studio I was working out of at the time and has now become one of the best engineers and mixers I know. Lucky we still get to work together to this day.
Lastly, I want to thank Leah Reilly, without her, none of this would’ve been possible. Her love and support was the only way I was able to pursue this crazy life of mine. She sacrificed a lot for me over the years and for that I will always be thankful and love her dearly.
Instagram: @breilly86 and @scrambleshack
Image Credits
Photo of me with the guitar is Dustin McLaughlin – photo of me and the dog (Chunk) is by Olivia Millerschin