When Ben Folds performs with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra April 9 at the Ohio Theater, the acerbic singer/songwriter will be making his second stop in six months and his fourth such visit since 2013 to the Capital City. Those who saw his Nov. 14 show at Express LIVE will most likely be in for a totally different experience. And that show was different from the 2014 concert at Columbus Bicentennial Park or the one he gave with the Ben Folds Five in 2013 at the Lifestyles Community Pavilion.

In a telephone interview from New York, Folds said that aspect is one of the many things he enjoys about his career.

“That whole 360 life thing makes me happy,” said Folds who was a judge on NBC’s acapella singing competition show THE SING OFF from 2009-2013. “I can go do an NBC television show, walk off that stage and walk onto another and play ‘Bitches Ain’t Shit’ by Dr. Dre, then go play with an orchestra, and then do a chat roulette gig. I dig that.

“There have been times when I’ve enjoyed it when the set list stayed the same. Some times when you’re refining the picture, you don’t discover as much as you do when you have to get past the pain of repetition. I like moving it around. I like the freshness of it. I’ve been doing orchestras for a while that when I get to do a rock show, I’m going to be thrilled that I get to make loud noises.”

Folds has made so many stops in Columbus that he might have been eligible to vote in the state’s primaries. His familiarity with the city and his nondescript persona allows him to blend in with the area surroundings without being hassled. During his concerts, Folds often makes references to popping into a record store or a restaurant unrecognized.

“I like the feel of Columbus,” Folds said. “For whatever reason, it seems when I’m booked (for a show in Columbus) I’m there for a day before or two days after. I end up trolling the Short North and record stores. They shut Betty’s (Bar and Grill in the Arena District), which is where I used to go.”

While his musical stylings are always changing, Folds is not a chameleon because he refuses to blend into the musical blandscape as either a performer or as a lyricist. He appears to be as comfortable performing for the tuxedo and tails set as he is taking a piano stool and bashing it against a Baldwin piano.

That lack of convention carries over to Folds’ songwriting. If he played safe with his lyrics, the Nashville based singer/songwriter might have become the next Billy Joel or Elton John. Instead often his CDs are slapped with a Parental Advisory label. He thinks nothing of dropping an F bomb into his lyrics and surrounding it with a luscious mix of minor keys.

Folds’ lyrics read more like three-and-a-half minute studies of extremely flawed characters. Instead of candy-coated, radio-friendly confections of roses and “I love yous,” Folds gives his listeners a steady diet of party goers who won’t go home (“Steven’s Last Night in Town”), suicidal girlfriends (“Carrying Cathy), and even the occasional out-of-work journalist (“Fred Jones, Part 2”). Folds, who has collaborated with British authors Nick Hornby for his LONELY AVENUE CD, and Neil Gaiman, said people often misinterpret his lyrics as coming from his point of view.

“You talked about these rich characters (in my songs). I try to make them that way but I only have three and a half minutes to work with,” Folds said. “A lot of people used pop songs for events or for feelings: ‘I am mad and I need a song.’ I’ve got your song. ‘I just broke up with my girlfriend, I need a song.’ ‘It’s Christmas. Give me a song.’

“Maybe I need to write a better pop song. The songs that I have written for an occasion have been really successful. People use my song ‘Luckiest’ for weddings all the time. It’s one of my successful songs and it is void of all that conflict. It’s more of a song for an occasion. I’m sure there are song writers out there who look at me and go ‘Dude, just do that. Everyone is going to be a lot happier.’”

Instead, Folds continues to play by his own set of rules.

“You have to be yourself. I’m sure years from now if people heard (‘Luckiest’) without knowing any of my (catalogue) and then heard the rest of the songs, they would be scratching their head for a while.”