Our Mission
Stellar Tracks is a bunch of Detroiters working to make and promote excellent music locally and internationally. We’re driven, up-to-date, creatives working to connect with other individuals who share our mission.
Beyond our excellent in-house staff, we work with a ton of talented studio musicians and related creative professionals. We’re enthusiastic, fun-loving, and want you to travel alongside us on your musical journey.
Brian
Brian Thomas runs the show at Stellar Tracks Recording Studio. Our head engineer’s extensive tracking and mixing experience spans numerous genres including: rock, hip-hop, punk, jazz, folk, classical, metal, etc.
Formally trained under Ben Blau and Jeff Robinson, Brian draws technical expertise from years of real world experience. Brian is always pushing the boundaries, stocked with fresh ideas for your project. Did you know pink noise and a gate can beef up a snare track? Brian knows.
A talented performer and recording artist in his own right, his songs feature beautiful guitar work, layered synths, deep lyrics, and great vocal tones. This extensive musician background doubles his value in the studio.
Behind the desk, Brian is a detail-oriented engineering wiz with a relaxed demeanor. He knows all the tricks, works quickly and efficiently, and can sculpt a track to match the sound in your head. He’s excited to select and place the mics, record your project, and mix it beyond your expectations!
Dana
Dana Gress is our in house composer, arranger, and phenom multi-instrumentalist. He can craft a four-piece horn arrangement in his head on the spot, and record it track by track without ever writing it down! His huge talents mean he is called into tons of sessions for Stellar Tracks.
Dana holds a Bachelor of Music Composition from USC, and a Master’s in Education from Westminster College. He’s a published composer with film and television credits, as well as a professional recording artist with his bands Chill FX and Innerspirit Project.
Dana keeps everyone at the studio laughing nearly round the clock with his huge sense of humor and bright demeanor. His spellbinding musical talents are the perfect storm for recording clients looking to add fresh sounds to their projects!
Kyle
Kyle Clark dreamed up and built Stellar Tracks Recording Studio as an addition to his successful 4 Star Music Academy lesson teaching business. After earning his Bachelor degree from Berklee College of Music in 2006, Kyle set out to build a mini music college right in his hometown.
Kyle plays guitar, bass, piano, drums, and sings in addition to engineering, producing, and recording his own material. He’s a jack-of-all-trades that lives and breathes music, runs the business, and organizes the large amount of talent Stellar Tracks brings to projects.
Kyle’s fun-loving but pull-no-punches charm keeps the studio in creative mode. He’s always ready to get his hands dirty to overcome roadblocks. At the end of the day, you’ll find Kyle is a highly motivated dreamer, undeterred by obstacles, looking to fill the world with new and exciting sounds.
Rob
Rob Emanuel has been playing shows since he turned 13. He knows nearly every musician in the Detroit metro area. Funk, Jazz, Brazilian, Musical Theater, Salsa, you name it he plays it. In addition to graduating from the Percussion Institute of Technology, Rob studied under the who’s who of drumming: Carmine Appice, Alan Dawson, Chuck Flores, Ralph Humphrey, Steve Houghton, Joe Morello, Joe Pocaro, Ed Shaughnessy, Chuck Silverman, and Efrain Toro.
Those are the drummers you’ve heard on Rod Stewart, Eddie Money, Dave Brubeck, Johnny Carson Tonight Show Band, Woody Herman Big Band, Al Jarreau, Barbara Streisand, and Frank Zappa records (among many others).
Rob himself has recorded with a huge list of artists including: The Platters, The Drifters, The Shirelles, The Contours, Marcus Belgrave, Wayne Kramer of the MC5, and on and on. I frankly thought the list was too long to post all of them.
As a percussionist Rob is swinging, grooving, in the pocket, and full of spark. Skilled across genres and all things percussion, Rob breathes life into every project he tracks. It’s a pleasure to work with highly talented musicians and also with hard working professionals. In Rob Emanuel, we get both and then some!
