James Kelley mans the ship at Wire Road Studios.: Mike Damante

For the Kelleys, the family business is the music business. Engineer James Kelley started Wire Road Studio in 2009 with his father Byron Kelley, and since then the recording studio has carved its niche around town as a destination for local artists as well as ones from Atlanta , Nashville and Los Angeles. Byron Kelley was in the energy business all of his life before retiring and using his passion for music along with his son’s to make the studio dream a reality.

On Sunday, Wire Road Studios celebrated its grand opening of the new 5,000-square foot studio in the Heights, which includes two recording studios, a video editing suite and amenities like kitchens and posh lounging areas. The studio is known to host mostly local hip-hop acts like The Niceguys, Montana and Thurogood Wordsmith, but James Kelley’s love of music and inspiration to start a studio began with an introduction to rock.

“I was lucky to have an older brother who force-fed me Nirvana and Metallica music when other 9-year-old kids were listening to Ace of Base,” James Kelley said. “The studio inspiration started in high school when a close friend bought a four-track Tascam cassette recorder, so we could record ourselves. That got me hooked on production, and I've simply been upgrading ever since.”

Studio A: Mike Damante

The upgrade came full circle on Sunday, as alternative act Mantis as well as Hazy Ray and Trucker’s Choice all performed at the unveiling event that boasted the new Studio A, which is a 600-square-foot studio equipped with a Brodmann grand piano keyboard, drums, guitars, amplifier choices, isolation rooms and recording software like ProTools.

Yves Saint, lead emcee for The Niceguys, relishes the opportunity to record in a first-class facility.

“I have the resources and free reign to do whatever I want within reason of course,” Saint said. “It's a good energy that allows fluid thought. That transition from the inception of an idea to its execution is seamless.”

While the aesthetics and recording equipment are nice, Wire Road strives to make musicians feel at home.

“I really think what sets us apart is the atmosphere here, people are very comfortable and feel like part of the family and James’ passion makes the artists feel good about what they got ( to work with),” Byron Kelley said.

Hazy Ray recording: