Leaving his comfortable life in Austria, singer Thomas King departed for the United States in 2008 to pursue a music career.
King, whose real name is Thomas Kloiber, grew up with a professional violinist as a mother and a businessman as a father. He started playing the drums at the mere age of four. When he turned 16, he started to preform vocally after being introduced to theater performing; however, there weren’t enough opportunities to pursue his musical dreams in his hometown of Vienna.
“I had to give up my family and friends,” King said. “I came to Los Angeles, the capital of entertainment.”
Once the musician arrived in the United States, he trained at the Music Institute in Los Angeles, which eventually prepared him for the beginning of his professional music career. Bassist Gui Bodi, guitarist Ramon Blanco, and drummer Andres Torres teamed up with the aspiring musician to form an up and coming band. Thomas King and Band have so far released two EPs; High On Life, which was released three years ago, and Last Night Living, which was released last year. For the most recent EP, writing the songs was a very collaborative process within the band.
“We started writing the songs for Last Night Living together as a group for one week,” King said.
As a way to promote the albums, King and his band have toured around the country, going from California to Louisiana. In March of this year, they performed for the students at Downey High. Junior Kristen Edmonds clearly remembered the performing style of the entertainer.
“He was a very talented young man from the way he spoke is words,” Edmonds said. “His lyrics were inspiring.”
Also attending the concert that day was Junior Imelda Ikenasio, who felt that the music produced by King and his band could be listened to anybody.
“They’re just somebody everyone can listen to,” Ikenasio said. “If you like light music, you can listen to them.”
Although the thought of performing for fans brings joy to this artist, traveling many miles via bus can result in some drawbacks.
“We got into a serious accident,” King said. “A truck hit our touring bus. Our bus rolled over. Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt.”
When it comes to the fans, the performer feels most accomplished when he knows they have appreciated the music he and his band mates had spent months creating.
“One girl emailed me one day, telling me that she had a bad day,” King said. “She said that when she listened to my music, she felt much better. Connecting with the fans; that’s always the highlight.”
Whatever the ambitious entertainer decides to do next in his music career, whether it be a new album in the works, or more touring with his band, King will reach the level of success he always dreamed of.
