You can change your name and your style, but some things will always stay the same.

For A.A. Bondy, his constant is playing music. A.A., which stands for Auguste Arthur, used to go by Scott when he played in the grunge band Verbena.

Verbena was an independent band from Alabama that released its first recordings on the venerable Merge Records label. The band’s major label debut, “Into The Pink,” was produced by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl.

But it is not the 90s anymore, and Bondy now plays solo with an alternative country sound.

Bondy says he didn’t tire of Verbena’s music as much as he became tired with the dynamic.

“I just got tired of being in a band. I’ve got guys I play with now, but I wouldn’t call it a band. We play together, but it’s a different kind of thing than that was,” Bondy said.

Bondy is part of a growing contingent of musicians who started playing music in loud, independent rock bands and ended up playing in the softer Americana, singer-songwriter style. These musicians include Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst, who Bondy recently toured with, and former punk rocker David Dondero.

“I think it’s a natural progression,” Bondy said. “It just so happens people arrive at that place at a certain time after they’ve done the other thing.

First bands are all about just taking all the influences that you’re excited about as a teenager and trying to make something out of it. It’s bells and whistles and jumping up and down.”

Bondy’s newest record, “When the Devil’s Loose,” was released on Fat Possum records, a label that Thomas Function and Ohio’s own Black Keys also work with.

“When the Devil’s Loose” has been called a “collection of evocative and intriguing songs” by Pitchfork. The 10 songs on the album use nature metaphors and lines such as “Down to the station where the train has pulled in” to recall a bygone time.

But Bondy said not to read too much into his lyrics.

“I don’t know when I put stuff out there what people are going to react to. People think there are a lot of religious themes on the record, but I don’t think there are. It’s like saying ‘Jesus Christ.’ It could be an invocation in church, or it could be someone swearing when they change a tire,” Bondy said.

Bondy comes to Columbus Nov. 30 to play at The Basement. Tickets are $10. Willy Mason will open the event.

Steve Ciolek, a third-year in biology, said he saw Bondy play two years ago in Cincinnati.

“He was in between two loud bands, so it was nice to see someone quieter with a good voice,” Ciolek said. “And he was drinking whisky.”

Not surprising for someone who sang on “O the Vampyre” that he “could drink the world and never get my fill.”