Right now Mike Doughty is driving north toward Santa Barbara, which is on fire. It's Thursday, and though 30,000 Santa Barbara residents are fleeing the fire, the former leader of Soul Coughing is driving toward the city. He has no idea whether his gig has been canceled.

Unfortunately, the show has been canceled, but Doughty will continue his west coast tour, which spans from San Diego to Vancouver, stopping in Sacramento on Sunday, May 10 at Marilyn's on K. Doughty will be playing an acoustic set as a duo with cello player Andrew "Scrap" Livingston.

Mike Doughty -- known simply as M. Doughty while leading Soul Coughing -- grew up on various army bases in the United States and Europe. He says he is "peripatetic," and that moving around since infancy prepared him for life as a musician on the road.

"There's also something about traveling that suits me; I just have road legs, and I'm very comfortable when I'm touring," he said.

Doughty went to the New School in New York City to study poetry, where he developed a unique rhythmically-inclined writing style that comes through in his syncopated singing with Soul Coughing as well as his latest solo album, Golden Delicious. Critics say his latest album is perhaps his best solo material yet, and it's his second in a row working with Grammy-award-winning producer Dan Wilson, who has also produced Semisonic, the Dixie Chicks and Jewel.

Golden Delicious embodies Mike Doughty's laid back style -- rhythmic, funky, yet deeply personal. It's danceable, but at the same time, it makes you want to step into a car, drive down the sunny California coast, and sing along with a group of friends.

It must have been the product of working with Wilson, whom Doughty describes as "super-relaxed, an excellent guy with excellent ideas, really smart and fun to hang out with," and having Dave Matthews as a boss at ATO Records, whose priority is that "there be sufficient time and attention to develop each artist and each release," according to their website.

Doughty loves interacting with the audience -- his song "I Just Want the Girl in the Blue Dress To Keep On Dancing" is all about audience interaction -- and he says he's excited "just to hang" in Sacramento, eat some Mexican food, and play "for some good Sacramento people."

Got a question? Cool. His tour consists of what he calls "Question Jar Shows," so before the concert, write down a question on any topic -- "the weirder the better," he says -- and between songs he or Livingston will take the time to answer them.

Although Doughty claims he has "no other marketable skills" besides music, his popular blog and Twitter with over 4,000 followers reveal that he is also a crafty writer.

The duo will be playing Marilyn's on K (and 9th) at 7 p.m. to a 21-and-over crowd. Tickets are $18 in advance or $20 at the door.

Photographs courtesy Mike Doughty.