Mike Doughty has always tried to keep things interesting. Case in point, his aptly named 'The Question Jar Show,' which the former Soul Coughing frontman is currently bringing to venues along the West Coast. The setup? His acoustic guitar, one accompanist (on cello, mostly), and a glass jar. Inside the jar are question cards filled out by audience members before the set, and Doughty answers a few of them throughout the night.

While this could lead to eye-rollers like "Will Soul Coughing ever get back together?" or "What's your problem with Starbucks?" the questions at Saturday's gig in San Francisco made for an entertaining evening. For example, we now know that Doughty is enthusiastic about pickles, prefers Jimi Hendrix over Stevie Ray Vaughan, takes Macs over PCs, and is possibly afraid of trees. The first word that comes to his mind is "inscrutable," if he could tour with any other artist it'd be John Zorn, and if his music tastes like anything it's yogurt.

This past February, Mike Doughty went looking for inspiration at a place specifically created to create creativity: Yaddo, an uber-prestigious artist colony in upstate New York whose previous residents have collectively brought home 63 Pulitzer Prizes.

"I didn't particularly choose it because I wanted to do something specific there," Doughty tells Spinner. "I just applied and got in and that's what happened."

Upon arrival, he was given a cabin as both his living space and his work studio that was distraction-free and off-limits to visitors. "I had a piano and a table and so much time to work," says Doughty. "There's a great little routine you get into. You go up to the mansion every morning for breakfast, and they give you a lunchbox to take back to your studio. Then you come back for dinner."

Politically-minded post punk Mike Doughty took to an alleyway in his current hometown of Brooklyn, along with some friends for his new video for the song 'Fort Hood.' Although the video showcases a dance party, the song itself carries a heavier meaning. "Fort Hood is the base in Texas that's lost the most people in Iraq and Afghanistan," Doughty explained to Spinner. "I went to Walter Reed last year, met some guys who had lost limbs, and came out scared and grateful. I grew up an Army brat in the '70s, when many of the adult males around me were in Vietnam, and there was lots of strange behavior that I now recognize as PTSD." Keeps your eyes focused on the slideshow that appears behind the dancing, which illustrates the song's impetus.

The latest ...

• Jay-Z is supporting Barack Obama in a big way on his 'Heart of the City' tour.
  
• Elton John will play New York City's Radio City Music Hall on April 9 to support Hillary Clinton's campaign.
• Speaking of Radio City, former White House team Bill Clinton and Al Gore will make appearances at the venue for 'The Minds That Move the World' speaker series.
  
• Joining DMX in the totally clueless club, former Hear'Say singer Suzanne Shaw admitted that she had never heard of Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton. Really?
  
• Ministry's Al Jourgensen told Spinner that he thinks Bush is evil. Oh yeah, and he's supporting Barack Obama.
• Former Soul Coughing singer Mike Doughty told Spinner that he's firmly for ... anyone who's NOT Bush in his recent visit to the Interface.
• Heather Mills posted a pro-Clinton message on her Web site.
• You thought Will.I.Am was obsessed with Obama? See those who take it to the proverbial next level.
  
• Dave Matthews Band will perform a free concert in support of Barack Obama this Sunday at Indiana University.

"Illegal file sharing saved my life." --Mike Doughty

The former Soul Coughing singer admitted to Spinner that the World Wide Web has been more friend than foe in his quest to get his solo music heard.

Soul Coughing founder Mike Doughty tells it like it is.

"Illegal file sharing saved my life," Doughty tells Spinner when he stopped by the Interface to perform a few tunes from his new album, 'Golden Delicious.' "When I got out of Soul Coughing, I had a record called 'Skittish' that had never been released. But somebody put it out there and I was able to go out and play shows. People knew the songs and they brought me burned CDs for me to sign which was trippy -- signing your own bootleg."

Doughty also made no bones about who he's supporting in the upcoming presidential election. Find out who, plus his five-song performance, after the jump.