Most high school seniors are busy worrying about which college to attend or where they'll hang out on Friday night.

But Nick Marzock is busy working on his love of music and lining up his next gig.

The 17-year-old Seneca Valley High School student has played in places as diverse as the Oxford Athletic Club in Pine and the Hard Rock Cafe in Station Square, performing previously published songs and originals.

He plays and writes all his music by ear, and he's been compared to musicians such as John Mayer and Dave Matthews, producing edgy, acoustic originals.

"For a young kid, he definitely can play," said Roy Smith, sales and marketing manager for the Hard Rock Cafe in Station Square.

Mr. Smith said Nick impressed not only him and the other managers at Hard Rock but another local band that was there, Good Brother Earl.

Mr. Smith said while Hard Rock Cafe doesn't like to have the same acts come back too often so that it keeps its client base diverse, he will ask Nick to come back soon for events that would be perfect for his style of acoustic music.

"We like to find new talent, and for Nick, it was all about his timing in contacting us," he said. "We had an act cancel at the last minute, and Nick filled in for them. He did a great job."

But long before Nick started playing at the Hard Rock Cafe, he caught his first real break because of Mike Diehl, director of Cranberry's parks and recreation department.

Two years ago, when Nick was 15, Mr. Diehl gave him a chance to perform for an hour before 1,500 people waiting for the fireworks display during Cranberry's community day.

"He played his cover songs and people really enjoyed them," Mr. Diehl said. "He entertained them. He's a very dynamic young man."

Mr. Diehl said he was pleasantly surprised by Nick's fervor on stage and has since hired him to perform at other events in the township.

"I've seen him grow by leaps and bounds," Mr. Diehl said. "He's a much more polished performer now. He's become comfortable with his style, and I think he's only going to get better."

Nick, who lives in Cranberry, is a self-taught musician, going from learning the piano at age 5, to the drums at age 7 and onto the guitar a few years later.

He credits his grandfather, Skip Schwoeble, with helping inspire him to make it as a musician.

"He comes to all my gigs," Nick said. "He's my biggest fan, and I get my musical inspiration from him."

Nick describes his style as adult alternative that's influenced slightly by his grunge roots.

"It has a little bit of stuff from everywhere," he said of his music. "Some of them have grunge influence."

He likes to tailor his music based on the crowd -- upbeat songs for younger listeners and more mellow tunes for cafes and older crowds.

Nick has written more than 30 songs, some of those performed by his old grunge band. Since he began playing solo, he has written 16 originals. He's currently working to record those songs.

His main source of inspiration is life.

"If something happens to me and I'm happy about it or upset about it, I come home and take my pen out and just write about it," he said. "It's allowed me to have some pretty deep thoughts in my songs."

When he first began playing solo, Nick said, he was very nervous.

"The first time I played at the Hard Rock, I was so nervous," he said. "But not any more. Now, I just get up there and do my thing."

When it comes to lining up gigs, Nick depends on some help from his mom. Cindy Marzock will make the initial contact with a place, and then Nick does the rest.

"My age can make it hard to get into some places," he said. "But if I give them a sample, usually I'm asked back."

Nick said he has worked hard to achieve his accomplishments, and he credits a lot of his success to his years playing football for Seneca Valley. This year, he was named the WPIAL Quad A North All-Conference Tight End, second team.

He said Seneca Valley coaches Jim Lucot and Ron Butschle have helped him develop the kind of work ethic Nick said is important in pursuing his love of music.

As for his future, Nick said he intends to take music as far as he can but he has a backup plan for another career if he needs it.

"I want to do something with political science and eventually go to law school," he said. "I want to have that to fall back on."

And, no matter how much success he realizes through his music, Nick said, he'll never brag about it.

"Talent is only good if you know how to use it, and it's a shame when people get cocky about it," he said. "The biggest thing about being a performer is to be modest. I don't like to brag."

Upcoming shows and information about Nick Marzock is available at www.nickmarzock.com.