"He said he could really use a camera like that, so I gave it to him," Doughty said, before adding with an unconcerned shrug, "so now I’m a photographer without a camera."

His unruffled and adaptable nature has helped him find success in what has often been a difficult career. A singer/songwriter promoting his album Haughty Melodic (released last year on Dave Matthew’s ATO label), the 35-year-old NYC artist already has a cult following that’s been both a blessing and a curse.

He was the frontman for the 90s jazz-based avant-garde band Soul Coughing, a group that kept its shows fresh and spontaneous, fueled by Doughty’s stream-of-consciousness lyrics and the occasional hip-hop outbursts. Free-flowing and experimental, the band’s music made its way onto movie soundtracks for the X Files, Batman and Robin, and Spawn.

The group disbanded in 2000, and Doughty found himself facing serious obstacles, not the least of which was drug addiction. Soul Coughing’s label Warner Brothers dropped him and rejected his solo acoustic debut Skittish, so he kicked the drugs, toured on his own, and sold the album on CD-Rs in plain white envelopes. He wound up selling 20,000 copies. He also met Dave Matthews at a festival in 2004, which led to the new label deal and the recording of Haughty Melodic.

It also led to jet lag. "I live in New York, and Dan Wilson, the producer I wanted to work with, lives in Minneapolis," Doughty explained. "So for two years, I was flying back and forth, taking forever to record this album. When you have that much time to think over all your ideas and play back what you’ve done in the studio, you keep coming up with new stuff and wanting to go back and try new things. I’m really proud of this album, but it was torture to make! I’m just glad that all the effort and energy I put into it really comes through in the music."

The album, a full-band collection of earthy and jazzy folk rock, is a total departure from the anything-goes style of Soul Coughing, but fans and press seem to have adapted. PopMatters called it "definitively profound," and his MySpace network has grown to almost 10,000 fans. Doughty has learned to take advantage of the internet, not just for spreading the word but for business matters, such as finding a bass player.

"I found a guy named Scrap Livingston through my own web site’s blog," Doughty said. "I just mentioned in the blog that I needed a bass player, and suddenly, there he was. I dig the people I meet in this business. I love my band. This is the first band I’ve been in since Soul Coughing, and I love touring and getting to play with them in front of audiences."

Despite the advantages enjoyed in his earlier days, such as being signed to a major label, Doughty never looks back. "I’m happier as a solo artist. I feel more centered. Music is my whole life. I write music, eat, sleep, take walks, and write more music."

While he’s already writing material for the next album, his spontaneous nature refuses to try to iron out the details right now. "I’ll just play it as I go. I never really figure out what I’ve done until I’ve done it."