Former student now a Nashville cat

Brandon Pruitt, former OCCC student turned Nashville songwriter, is working toward a major label release with Sony ATV. “Oklahoma is home to me,” Pruitt said, even though he now resides just outside of Nashville.
Photo courtesy Brandon Pruitt

By Robby Short, News Writing Student

Since the release of his debut album “Red Dirt, Blue Country” through his indie label Bonfire Entertainment, former OCCC student Brandon Pruitt has been busy writing songs and playing to thirsty crowds at the local Tennessee taverns.

“My sound has come a long way since the days of playing Christian Rock in the College Union,” the Lexington, Okla., native said.

In 2003, after a year of attending OCCC, Pruitt moved on to Middle Tennessee State where he finished his degree in recording industry music business by the summer of 2005.

Since then, he’s been gravitating toward a record deal.

“I’m working harder than I ever have,” Pruitt said about his quest for success.

A self-taught guitarist, Pruitt writes his own songs, bringing his own bluesy interpretation to the Southern Rock genre.

In what appears to be an ode to David Allen Coe, Pruitt has spent the last four years playing his dues in the small bars and clubs that litter the mecca of country music.

Two years ago, he signed a four-year contract with Sony ATV.

“I am signed with them as a writer with the intention of developing into a major artist,” Pruitt said.
“Basically, they just own all of my publishing, and are playing a vital role in developing and getting me to record labels with the intention of signing a major recording contract.”

In the meantime, Pruitt is quite content in his relationship with Sony ATV.

“I write with some of the most well-known writers to ever come through Nashville such as Michael Heeney, Buddy Brock, Don Cook, Lee Miller, Clint Daniels and many others.”

And although he now resides just outside of Nashville, his native roots still run deep.

“Oklahoma is home to me,” Pruitt said. “I am and always will be from Lexington, Oklahoma.

“I’ve been out here for five years now and I don’t think Nashville will ever feel like home to me.”

He proves that with “Oklahoma Way,” a song from his first album that shows his love for what he said is an often unappreciated state.

“It’s a song about home and the relationships with people where you grew up, part of how I grew up, and about making people happy — you know, just making the rounds.”

Pruitt said he has no qualms about his love for his home and what growing up in Oklahoma means to “good ol’ boys” like himself.

Through his self-penned songs, Pruitt has reached fans worldwide with the biggest surprise coming in the form of a devoted fan base in Europe. Pruitt credits this, in part, to his music being released on iTunes.

Pruitt made his Oklahoma debut on local radio station KKNG’s “Make It or Break It,” a radio contest used to promote up-and-coming artists.

“Oklahoma Way” received nearly 400 votes, four times more than any artist before or since, Pruitt said.

Lately, Pruitt has been a regular on Reddirtradio.net, an Internet radio station dedicated to the red dirt sound often associated with the style of music radiating out of Oklahoma.

“I love playing those hole-in-the wall bars on the outskirts of town, the kind of places where you can sit down and have a drink with the fans and get to know the people on a more personal level,” he said.

Pruitt will bring that sound home this summer.

“I will bring my band back to Oklahoma June 28 through July 1,” he said.

For more information check Brandonpruitt.com or visit www.myspace.com/brandonpruitt.

There, you can hear “Oklahoma Way and a few other songs.