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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Heavy hitter

Known for the depth of his lyrics, A.A. Bondy does it without thinking

A.A. Bondy spent the late 1990s and early 2000s as frontman for the grunge band Verbena.   Courtesy of A.A. Bondy (Courtesy of A.A. Bondy)

A. A. (Scott) Bondy is widely regarded for his didactic lyricism and heavy subject matter.

But when it comes to writing his alt-folk songs, the former frontman for ’90s grunge band Verbena said he’d rather not think at all. He’d just as soon let his songs write themselves.

If the process becomes a lot of work, then something isn’t working.

“A day doesn’t go by when I don’t play something, but it’s not like I’m always writing stuff down,” Bondy said during a telephone interview while on the road.

“I think anybody who paints, or does anything like that, is always at work in some way. I work all the time time, but I don’t want it to feel like work. If it does, I stop.”

Not that his songs are effortless, or left totally up to inspiration. But they draw on a natural flow and reflection of things around him, even when he doesn’t always notice it.

On Bondy’s sophomore solo effort, 2009’s “When The Devil’s Loose,” he wrote half of the album in the middle of the winter in upstate New York, and the other half during a rainy season in Mississippi.

That’s not to say there is a split between Northern and Southern sounds on the record, but environmental factors were certainly at play.

“I try not to think at all when I’m writing my best stuff,” Bondy said. “It’s almost like you’re conducting yourself or basically steering this thing that’s already moving in a direction and I can’t make it turn around.

“But reggae music sounds like reggae music because it’s made on an island. You’re not going to get that in Alaska.”

As on his acclaimed 2007 solo debut, “American Hearts,” big ideas abound in simple forms in the latest set – mournful, yet with hints of hope – but this time out Bondy leaned more on lyrical subtleties and fuller instrumentation than on his first solo outing.

Bondy headlines a show with local alt-country favorite Karli Fairbanks on Monday at The Blvd., 230 W. Riverside Ave.

•There’s more alt-country folking around town this week with North Carolina trio Bowerbirds, which incorporates forms of Appalachian music, bluegrass, gypsy jazz and Southern gothic sounds.

Bowerbirds share a bill with Julie Doiron and Kevin Long tonight at 7 at the newly relocated Empyrean Coffee House, 171 S. Washington St.

Tickets are $8 in advance through brownpapertickets.com, $11 at the door.