Ann Arbor singer-songwriter Dave Boutette has a nickname that a few of his musician pals have bestowed on him. The moniker is “Happy Dave.”

“That used to make me cringe, but now I’m cool with it,” says Boutette, who’s been a fixture on the local roots music scene for the last 15 years — and who, before that, spent 10 years as the lead guitarist for the raucous Detroit-area alt-rock band, the Junk Monkeys.

“If you spend much time with me, you’ll find that I’m kind of a whimsical person, and I can be sort of a goof at times, so I guess it fits,” concedes Boutette with one of his infectious laughs. “Plus, I genuinely am a happy person — I’ve been able to put myself into a place in life where I get to do what I want to do, and still have a roof over my head and food in the refrigerator.”

Boutette’s sense of whimsy has a way of making it into his songs — whether it’s in his lyrics or the sometimes tongue-in-cheek musical arrangements. For example, his song “Love Won’t Go Away,” from his 2007 CD, “The Piccolo Heart,” features a vintage-jazz arrangement that comes fairly close to sounding like a circus-band approach. Listen to Dave Boutette "New Parade" (MP3).

And “Dime in Hand,” also from that CD, employs a similarly retro-jazz musical backing that, while an homage, is also rendered in somewhat droll fashion. Many of the songs on that CD had ornate, layered and sometimes tricky arrangements that yield new details on repeated listenings.

“I guess that record was my ‘Sgt. Pepper's,’” jokes Boutette, who performs at the Green Wood Coffee House on Friday. “It’s sort of my ‘headphones record.’ I like that people can listen to it 20 times, and on the 20th listen, hear things they hadn’t heard before.

“I’m definitely interested in combining styles,” says Boutette. “I don’t want to be a 1-trick pony. There are a lot of artists who, over the course of their careers, stick to the same kinds of sentiments or moods, but in real life, people aren’t like that. Whether I’m making music or making a stir fry, I like to throw in something a little different — maybe throw 'em a curve ball, to get people to turn their heads.

“If you always stick to the rules, the music becomes seamless and perfect — and at that point, it becomes background music.”

At the same time, Boutette doesn’t want to become a tribute act to a certain style. “Instead of taking it too far, Adam Druckman (Boutette’s producer and guitarist) and I also like to create something with the colors we draw on as 2 Midwestern guys who were born in the ‘60s.”

So, for his next album, which is slated for summer release, Boutette and Druckman have opted for something less ornate and more organic. “It’s going to be a much simpler presentation,” says Boutette. “It will basically be just the chords and the melody, augmented by a low tone, like a bass, and a high tone, like maybe dobro or mandolin. Plus, some other colors, like flugelhorn and such.”

PREVIEW Dave Boutette Who: Ann Arbor singer-songwriter who’s been a fixture on the local roots-music scene for the last 15 years. What: A mix of folk, blues, classic country, swing and roots rock. Accompanied by John Latini on electric guitar and lap steel. When: Friday, 8 p.m. Where: Green Wood Coffee House series, at the First United Methodist Church Green Wood, 1001 Green Road. How much: $12. Details: 734-665-8558; AnnArbor.com calendar; Green Wood Coffee House web site

Boutette has come a long way as a solo performer since the Junk Monkeys broke up in ’94.

“When the band split and I moved to the Ann Arbor area” — Boutette is from Dearborn originally — “I got this weekly gig at the Farm Market, but up until then I had never sang lead vocals and played guitar at the same time. In the Monkeys, I was the lead guitarist, but the only singing I ever did was background vocals, and we also had a rhythm guitarist. But when you’re by yourself, you have to handle everything — the lead, the rhythm, the bass line — and also sing. At first, I could do maybe 3 songs by myself.”

Then Boutette began studying up on the great acoustic-folk singers and songwriters, most notably Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan — plus roots-rock heroes like The Band and early Rod Stewart and the Faces.

These days, Boutette’s musical mix consists of folk, blues, classic country, swing and roots rock. And if he does a cover by a well-known artist, he tries to avoid the obvious choices. “I look to do a Woody song that maybe not everyone knows — try to find a different side to that artist.”

At Friday’s show, Boutette will play acoustic guitar and be accompanied by another local music pal, John Latini, on electric guitar and lap steel.

When it comes to the themes that Boutette likes to explore with his lyrics, he muses that the tone “is often one that sort of extols how we should be self-reliant — that we can’t count on what our parents or grandparents did,” he stresses.

“You can’t just base your life on the hard work they did. Just look around what’s happening in Michigan the last several years. None of that really counts for anything any more. There comes a time where you have to ‘build your own,’ so to speak. Everything is eventually going to break, or falter. You can’t rely on the past to keep you afloat.

“I think we’re all responsible for creating our own happiness.”

Kevin Ransom is a free-lance writer who covers music for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at KevinRansom10@aol.com.