By Seth Jones | Reporter
Houston sophomore Thomas Csorba lives a busy life, balancing the full workload of a business major while pursuing a music career.
Csorba grew up listening to many renowned singer-songwriter musicians within the folk and Americana genres, including Woody Guthrie, Buddy Holly and Townes Van Zandt, according to Csorba’s website. Csorba said he remembers when Van Zandt’s music began changing the way he viewed that style of music.
“[Van Zandt’s music] really shook me because it’s so honest and simple,” Csorba said. “It had a certain power to it.”
Under those influences, Csorba decided to release his debut EP , “Kentucky,” as a junior in high school. Since then, he has released another EP, “Hard Truths and Noble Lies” and began playing shows wherever he could.
On his journey, Csorba has played many shows and said he has found that he loves performing, not only for his own pleasure, but in hopes that the audience members get something from his songs. When he plays a show, Csorba said he feels like he’s inviting the audience to see a vulnerable side of himself that they can apply to their own lives.
“I am on stage bleeding publicly,” Csorba said, “and that’s a pretty terrifying thing, but I think if people come and they cling to [the performance] and embrace it, it’s a really beautiful thing.”
Plano senior Caleb Reynolds has seen Csorba perform multiple times and believes that Csorba will be successful. Reynolds said he will fit right in with names in the folk genre like Van Zandt.
“[Thomas Csorba] sounds like the best of them; he writes like the best of them, he performs like the best of them;” Reynolds said. “His sound is something that stays. His sound is something that’s unique to him.”
Within the folk and Americana genre of music, lyrics tend to be an important part of what makes a song or an artist successful, and Reynolds said he believes that Csorba has that part down.
“I think a lot of people can sing. I think a lot of people can play guitar,” Reynolds said. “His words convey true emotion.”
Csorba said he recognizes how blessed he is to have success in the music industry and feels humbled every time people attend one of his shows.
“Every ticket sold … is a gift,” Csorba said. “Because who am I to think that my art is worth somebody’s $10? Every ticket sold is something to be grateful for, and every stream on Spotify is something to be grateful for.”
While Csorba loves music and aspires to be a musician in the future, he understands that the music industry is tough. He said that even if being a career musician doesn’t work out, he knows that music will be something that he loves and uses as a cathartic form of expression.
“If I get a day job working nine to five … I’m still going to go home after a long day’s work and write and play my guitar, and I think that’s just because it’s a part of who I am,” Csorba said. “I know it’s going to be a part of my future. It means enough to me.”
