Back in 1996 at his high school in the Bronx, Ari Hest made his musical debut. With Led Zeppelin as his choice of cover band, Hest entertained the adolescent crowd at his school’s “Battle of the Bands.”

Hest says it wasn’t the greatest performance, but the crowd showed some interest.

“I played with one other kid,” Hest says. “I got a pretty good applause for it.”

The performer has come a long way since his high school debut. Since then, Hest has released three albums, played 200 shows in the past year and has headlined college campuses and venues across the country. But it doesn’t stop there.

Hest and his band recently embarked on “The Rubber Meets the Road” tour, which also features Psuedopod and The Clarks.

The tour will bring him to the Maintenance Shop Thursday, but this date will be a little different. The musician says the show will be a break away from the other bands — he will be performing a solo acoustic set.

Hest says one of the best parts of his past touring experiences came from his admiration for other performers. He has had the opportunity of sharing the stage with artists such as Guster, O.A.R., Maroon 5 and Jason Mraz.

“It was amazing,” Hest says. “Guster especially has been a model for my career. I loved playing with them.”

Hest says he has much respect for fellow singer/songwriter Rufus Wainwright and names him as one of his influences.

“The first time I heard [Wainwright] was on a cheesy TV show, probably ‘Dawson’s Creek,'” Hest says with a laugh. “I heard him sing and thought, ‘Wow, I have to get his record.’ He blows me away.”

Although Hest enjoys the newer acts on the music scene, his major influences come from the music he listened to growing up.

“When we were younger, my brother had a solo album of Peter Gabriel,” Hest says. “It got me into music in general. It was cool to identify with what [Gabriel] was doing.”

His brother wasn’t the only family member to expose him to music. His father, who is now a college music professor, used to write jingles for toy commercials, having Hest sing on them. His mother is a professional singer and is someone Hest says he can go to for musical advice.

“[She looks at] my lyric-writing, making sure I really mean what I say,” Hest says. “She’s like an editor.”

Hest says he thanks his parents for introducing him to the guitar.

“My mom had an old nylon string guitar that she never played much, [but when she did], I listened to what she was playing for me,” Hest says. “I realized that I was good at picking things up, thanks to my parents.”

Having three albums under his belt, Hest will be releasing a fourth in early 2004. Although it’s a revised, updated version of his third album, “Story After Story,” three new tracks will appear.

“I went back into the studio to remix some songs and change a few things around,” Hest says. “I also put some new songs onto it.”

Although the performer says he doesn’t have an ultimate musical goal, he has a good idea of what is going to make him happy and satisfied.

“I don’t really think I have a particular goal other than to be doing this for a living and have fun while I’m doing it,” Hest says. “I feel like I’m pretty happy doing what I’m doing.”

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Who: Ari Hest

Where: M-Shop

When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday

Cost: $6 students, $8 public