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It's hip to be square

Musician Mike Doughty gets back to 'square one' with a solo career propelled by hard work and no compromises.

Brittany Burton

Media Credit: Photo courtesy of Jim Wright/Paradigm Publicity

It's a Thursday afternoon in Brooklyn, and former Soul Coughing frontman-turned solo artist Mike Doughty is uncensored and undaunted as usual.

"It's weird fucking times right now for a musician," Doughty said over the phone about the increasingly digital music industry of today's world.

But change has never been an intimidating issue for Doughty; in fact, he has tended to embrace musical evolution and follow his heart regardless of what others expect of him.

Doughty worked with the '90s alt-rock band Soul Coughing for nearly eight years before deciding in 2000 that his vision didn't mesh with his band. So he split and began driving across the country playing his music alone, with nothing fueling his solo journey except for his passion for his art.

"We were on MTV when I quit, so people kind of thought I was a fucking nutcase," Doughty said. "But I quit the band and I got in the car and toured thousands of miles by myself. I was just selling my CDs from the front of the stage."

After leaving Soul Coughing at the near-peak of its commercial success, Doughty has proven what's most important to him is that he reveals his true persona in his performances and not necessarily that he has hits on the charts.

"I was a lot happier once I got back to square one … doing exactly what I wanted to be doing, rather than what made me more successful," Doughty said.

Despite the fact that his initial goal wasn't necessarily to sell records, his musical vision hasn't proven to be a hindrance to his status as a popular artist. Doughty sells out many of his shows, has success with his debut solo release "Haughty Melodic" and has another record, "Golden Delicious," due this February.

"I don't compromise and keep working," he said. "That's really the only secret to success as far as I'm concerned."

He attributes his carefree nature to explore the world and courageous defiance of what is expected as the inspiration for some of his greatest creative works.

"The things I write are directly the consequences of my travels," he said. "It feeds the brain. You should have an obligation to your brain to go out see some stuff and accumulate experience."

But in reality, it's his intricate and poetic lyricism, his fearlessness about breaking the boundaries and his soul-bearing intimacy with his fans that make Doughty's performances so powerful.

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