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In the ever-shrinking fragile world of indie rock, Mike Doughty is a silent renaissance warrior who appears immune to the side effects of fame and notoriety. His name may escape the "what's cool" radar of MTV-driven Gen Nexters, but former Soul Coughing frontman, poet, journalist and singer/songwriter Mike Doughty stays true to his craft by not compromising his art. The new music he is recording remains intricate and quirky, and his followers continue to listen no matter what.

"As a solo performer, I have a very strong fan base. It's a rush being on stage. You reach a very high emotional pitch through music," Doughty said during a recent interview.

In support of the live album Smofe + Smang: Live in Minneapolis, released a few months ago, and to gather momentum for his first solo record due out this fall, Doughty will perform in Hoboken at Maxwell's on Aug. 20 at 9 p.m. The show is expected to sell out.

Smofe + Smang was recorded at The Woman's Club Theatre in Minneapolis on Feb. 27, 2002. It's an intimate acoustic rockument of Doughty's simplicity. When Doughty is not talking on the record, he presents the audience with gems. Of course, a pop classic like "Circles" finds its way during the encores, but fan favorites like "Busting up a Starbux," "Madeleine And Nine," "Lisa Ling and Lucy Liu," and "Thank You, Lord, For Sending Me The F Train" capture Doughty's sense of humor, brilliance and virtuosity. Unlike many former arena rockers who use live albums to try to win back their fans, Doughty's Smofe + Smang is a collection of indie classics straight from a New York underground scene that is dying to stay alive. Doughty re-introduces himself to us and assures us the best is yet to come.

"It's a mistake to write songs you think the audience will like. You have to write your songs and let the people decide whether they like it or not," he said.

Doughty has performed more than 100 solo shows since the Soul Coughing breakup. He has also opened for people like John Mayer, G Love and Special Sauce, They Might Be Giants, Rusted Root, Galactic and the Violent Femmes. His poetry book Slanky was recently published by Soft Skull Press and he wrote the soundtrack for the Cypress Films movie EvenHand.

In 1993, Doughty founded the band Soul Coughing as a way to fuse his folkie background with his love for hip-hop. At that time, Doughty was working at New York City's Knitting Factory, and doubling as a music critic for several publications, including the New York Press. Eager to start a band, he recruited bassist Sebastian Steinberg, drummer Yuval Gabay, and keyboardist Mark De Gli Antoni. They were all a part of the local music scene, he said. After just one rehearsal, Soul Coughing played their first show. A buzz soon began to spread about the band, and they made plans to record an album on the Knitting Factory's house label. But plans to record under Knitting's label came to a halt when Slash Records stepped in and presented the band with a better offer. A year later, the band released Ruby Vroom. The album was an assortment of alternative, hip-hop, spoken-word, trance and various other types of sounds. It received good reviews and sold more than 100,000 copies.

Soul Coughing, whose name comes from a poem Doughty wrote about Neil Young throwing up in the back of a bus, then hit the road to promote Vroom. Though the band often opened for bigger acts like Jeff Buckley and Sunny Day Real Estate, audiences were generally supportive. In 1996, Coughing released Irresistible Bliss. The single "Super Bon Bon" received heavy airplay on alt and modern-rock radio. The video was picked up by MTV. The added exposure turned the band into headliners. Bliss sold more than 250,000 copies.

In 1998 they followed Bliss' success with El Oso, which turned out to be their last album. In March 2000 Soul Coughing announced their breakup to explore various side projects, according to Doughty. Since then, Doughty has been living the singer/songwriter troubadour life. He describes his career now as "soft rock."

"Life is simpler nowadays. I sleep, wake up, perform, and drive," Doughty said. "It's flattering to think that thousands of people really like what I do."

Doughty will perform at Maxwell's at 1039 Washington St. in Hoboken on Aug. 20 at 9 p.m. Tickets are $10. For information call (201) 653-1703 or visit www.mikedoughty.com. q