As Nirvana and company were changing the course of rock music history in the mid-’90s, something arguably even more punk rock was occurring: A trio had the audacity to lug a piano across the country and unleash its brand of guitar-less indie rock that seemed to have sprung from nowhere.

“It was kamikaze s–t, rolling it on stage, on its side and setting up, playing and tearing that down and going to the next town,” says Ben Folds, who led Ben Folds Five before embarking on a successful solo career. “At the time, we were told, ‘You seriously think you can play this gig?’ But that was what made the whole thing cool.”

The North Carolina native and his band broke through with its 1995 sophomore album, “Whatever and Ever Amen,” led by the poignant ballad “Brick.” The band’s third album came in 1999, then a lengthy hiatus and a few reunions. Folds has become even more prominent since, diving into collaborations with orchestras, serving as a judge for five seasons on NBC’s “The Sing-Off” and in 2017 becoming the first artistic adviser to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center.

Folds will be in town this week for two events: a book signing on Wednesday — with Sara Bareilles — and a concert, along with the Violent Femmes, on Thursday at The Rooftop at Pier 17.

His memoir, “A Dream About Lightning Bugs” — his first book — was published Tuesday.

“I have always enjoyed people’s stories,” says Folds. “Usually when I make a record, it’s a record that I’d like to hear if I was going to buy a record. I think with the book it’s similar. In my book, I mention, for instance, not that I’m trying to pick on him, someone like Gene Simmons. I loved Kiss, but I never saw an interview with Gene Simmons where he actually revealed what’s behind making music and creativity, the decisions and the education. He might have gone to band camp or something, but I don’t know, he wouldn’t say.

“I didn’t really have a burning desire to tell my story. It was more that my story is the framework of where I can relate some things. … If I had something uncomfortable, like talking about my girlfriend’s abortion in high school, that’s not for the sake of, ‘Oh, look what he’s revealed,’ it’s because this explains the song, which explains the person behind it,” he says, referring to “Brick.”

While Folds has been working with top-level musicians in the rock and classical genres for decades, he was just as impressed by the a capella upstarts he came across on “The Sing-Off.”

“People make great music. It doesn’t mean that it all sees the commercial light of day,” he says. “The millionaire songwriters, the music business, is a separate issue for me. A capella always interested me over the course of my career because I’ve seen such creativity just come out of regular college students who were going to do other things [with their lives], and I Iove that. In the book, I talk about the difference between an amateur and a professional, and William Shatner said that in his experience the amateur is usually more talented, the difference is they can’t do it on the clock.”

Improving the state of music and making it more accessible is high on Folds’ priority list right now, including his role at the Kennedy Center.

“I’m really trying to improve the state of pops concerts around the country,” he says. “That can be hard. Hopefully, we can work together to create a little better template for touring orchestras and orchestras in other cities to do meaningful shows with pop artists and not s–tty ones.”

Folds’ book event at Cooper Union, presented by Strand Books, is at 7 p.m. Wednesday. His co-headlining show with Violent Femmes at The Rooftop at Pier 17 Thursday begins at 6:30 p.m. The venue, located in Lower Manhattan’s Seaport District, was recently named Pollstar’s Best New Venue. Upcoming shows there include Papa Roach (Aug. 11), Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band (Aug. 18) and Ben Harper (Aug. 27).