Just who is The Deathray Davies?

"You know Slayer? We kind of sound like that," said founder John Dufilho. "No, just kidding."

Guitarist Chad Ferman added to the runaround.

"I hate that question," he said.

The Davies will be headlining tonight's edition of Roustabout! beginning at 9 p.m. at the Darkhorse Tavern, 128 E. College Ave., with perennial openers The Bullet Parade. DJ Tyler Kulp will also be spinning records.

"We actually sound like earplugs being taken out of your ears," Dufilho said.

The truth of the matter is that the Davies are in fact, as the band's moniker suggests, owing much to the garage Brit-pop of Ray Davies' outfit of the '60s, the Kinks.

While Dufilho cites those arguable leaders of the British Invasion as a major influence, he insists the Davies try not to replicate other bands. He said Midnight at the Black Nail Polish Factory, the group's studio release from May, to be a pretty experimental outing.

"That was our self-indulgent record," Dufilho said. "I'm proud to be selfish."

For the group's follow-up, which it will record in December, he said he wants to create something a little more upbeat that rocks.

So far the Davies' popularity has spread mainly by word of mouth. The production of each of the band's previous recordings was a one-time deal with various indie labels. The band plans to shop its new release around in the same manner.

The Deathray Davies began in 1998 as the brainchild of Dufilho, a one-man side project into which he incorporated songs that didn't fit in with the band he was a member of at the time, Bedwetter. He recorded his debut playing all the instruments himself.

In 1999, the band was invited to perform at a festival, so Dufilho assembled a group to back him onstage and in subsequent live shows. Nevertheless, he still recorded his sophomore release, The Return of the Drunk Ventriloquist, almost on his own, before putting together a permanent lineup in 2002.

Currently, the band is on tour with another band morbidly named after a famous British rock star, the Brian Jonestown Massacre.

Jeff Van Fossan, Bullet Parade frontman and Roustabout! organizer, praised the Davies' substantial sound.

"It's always good to have some Southern boys come in once in a while and show us how to rock," he said of the group that came the farthest for the event, hailing from Dallas.

So what's the one thing Dufilho would say to his idol Ray Davies if given the opportunity?

"I would tell him that The Village Green Preservation Society is a record full of amazing songs. And I would tell him not to be such a stubborn old bastard in his interviews 'cause we all love what he's doing. Hopefully, I'd just buy him a drink and hear a good story."

Along with its performance at Roustabout!, the Davies will be appearing for an interview on student station WKPS-FM (90.7) The Lion from 3 to 5 p.m. today. The program is jointly presented by the Indie 500 and State Your Face shows, and will also allow the members of the band to try their hand at some on-air DJ-ing.