Jun 5, 2015 2 min read

A Carmichaels musician and songwriter who loves playing “old school country” with a touch of blues and rock recently released his first album that was seven years in the making.

Mark Pratt, who goes by the stage name of Mark Austin, strums his guitar, tinkers with the bass and occasionally plays a fiddle in his free time, which helped him to hone his own brand of original brand music not heard on most country radio stations.

“It’s not your pop country. It’s more old school,” Pratt said. “It’s probably a blend of blues and rock in it. There is some traditional country that I do write.”

He released his album “Whole Lot of Country” in November after beginning the recordings in 2007. Working in a recording studio was a new experience for a musician who gigs in front of live audiences as many as three times a month in Greene County and across the border in West Virginia.

“It’s different,” Pratt said. “First time I ever done that. It’s totally different than performing on stage. You don’t have to worry about how you sing (on stage). You just do your stuff and you’re done. With recording … you got to replay it and see what needs done with it.”

The recording took seven years, Pratt said, because he spent time picking his favorite songs he’s written over the years. Pratt began playing guitar when he was just 4 years old and began taking lessons a couple years later.

He’s loved playing ever since.

Pratt, 54, plays solo for most performances, although he also enjoys playing with a “house band” if they’re at the show. He typically performs in Greene County or at restaurants and roadhouses in Fairmont and Morgantown.

“They seem to like my original material,” Pratt said of his audiences. “I get a pretty good response from them.”

His next live performance will be at New Freeport Volunteer Fire Department June 13 at 6 p.m. His album can be purchased by searching “Mark Austin” on his promoter’s website at www.tatemusicgroup.com or individual songs can be downloaded at www.reverbnation.com.