THE DEATHRAY DAVIES
BIO
"No information can be given about the Deathray Davies – listen to the music and decide for yourselves."
So said the note that John Dufilho attached to a cassette of solo records he speculatively submitted to the SXSW Music conference in 1999. "I just didn't have a band and was trying to cover that up," Dufilho recalls. "I was shocked to hear that 'the Deathray Davies' had been accepted and had to put a band together quickly, so I stole friends away from other bands."
The SXSW show was a success and the Deathray Davies gradually shifted from side-project to front-and-center, from casual collective to tight touring act. Instantly embraced in their native Dallas, soon the DRD were spreading tentacles through road-treks with the likes of the Breeders, Old 97s, Pete Yorn, and Superchunk. By the time the band's fourth album, 2003's Midnight at the Black Nail Polish Factory, appeared, they were earning write-ups in Esquire and People, and video-play on MTV2.
The Deathrays absorb influences from the British Invasion staples—the Beatles, the Kinks, and the Zombies—to Bob Dylan and the Beach Boys, to the Ramones and the Replacements. They're about songs, songs, and more songs, Dufilho's oft-understated expressions blooming within charmingly eccentric arrangements and bouncing progressions mottled with showers of guitar and keys.
In 2021, the band released Time Well Wasted, their first album in over 15 years, marking a triumphant return that proved their melodic instincts and creative spark had only deepened. They continue to perform, channeling their infectious energy into every show and reaffirming their place as a vital part of the indie rock landscape.
MUSIC VIDEOS
TIME WELL WASTED (2021)
TRACKLIST:
TAPPING ON THE X-RAY
OH STARS
FALSE ALARM
TALKING WITH FRIENDS
CLOSE YOUR EYES AND FLOOR IT
MEDICINE HEAD
I’M IN LOVE WITH ALEXA
DON’T LET ME FALL
LUCAS, I’M IN ROOM 39
THEN YOU MET ME
THEY TOOK YOUR BRAINS
YOU AND ME UNTIL THE END
TRUST ME TONIGHT
