“When the Devil’s Loose”
from the album When the Devil’s Loose
2009
iTunes
Singer/songwriter A.A. Bondy‘s choice to embark on a solo career was just something to do. The former Verbena guitarist/vocalist said there is a new dynamic as a solo artist, especially an independent solo artist, that is hard to explain.
“First off, when I write the songs, I don’t have to see if anyone else likes them,” Bondy said during a phone interview from Charlotte, N.C. “If I was on a bigger label or in a band, then there would be all this other stuff surrounding songwriting.
“But now, with the songs I write, I feel, I don’t know, like I’m finished building a frame of a house and stepping back to look at it. It feels complete to me. It’s like a gift to myself.”
After releasing his debut solo American Hearts in 2006, it was released by Fat Possum in 2007. The album was mostly acoustic singer/songwriter fare with a couple of electric tracks thrown in the mix, said Bondy. “I didn’t really think of what it was going to be,” he said.
However, when it came time to record songs for his new album, When the Devil’s Loose, which will be released on Sept. 1, Bondy did mostly electric. “It wasn’t that big of a deal to me,” he said. “I played them the way I thought they would sound best. And it so happened that they are more beefed up than the so-called ‘country sound’ on my last album.
“I think that everybody wants to do something different and to have the freedom to do whatever they want inside of what they do,” he said. “Well, at least I do. I like making things interesting. At least they’re interesting to me.”
However, doing different things musically doesn’t mean they have to be polished. “I’m not one of those people who plays things hundreds of times to get it right, unless something else is happening during those 100 times,” Bondy said. “In fact, after a couple of times, if it doesn’t work out, then it’s old.
“Some of my ideas die a horrible messy death, but others blossom and become the thing I want to follow to see how they come out.”