The Deathray Davies have been in the same city as their namesake at least twice. But the paths of the Dallas band and the legendary leader of the Kinks have never crossed.

In March, Ray Davies was at the Austin Convention Center, showing a film and playing songs from his new album. About the time Davies started his South By Southwest Music Conference appearance, The Deathray Davies was wrapping up a set at one of the hundreds of parties that take place during the festival.

“We knew he was down there, but it never happened,” said drummer Robert Anderson. “With all our gear, we knew we’d never get everything packed up and get over there. I don’t think anybody in the band has actually met the man.”

That’s unfortunate. Even though the band’s name is a tongue-in-cheek twist on the Kinks’ frontman’s moniker, it is a sincere tribute, not an attempt to poke postmodern fun at Davies.

“John, our singer and founder of the band, is a huge fan of him and the Kinks and all that,” Anderson said in a telephone interview from the band’s van somewhere in Arizona. “One of his favorite albums is ‘The Village Green Preservation Society.’ I’ve become a bigger fan in my time with The Deathray Davies. I grew up on the bigger Kinks songs. I always liked them.”

John is John Dufilho, who sent a cassette of solo recordings to SXSW in 1999 and said they came from a band called The Deathray Davies. SXSW said, “Come on down.” But Dufilho had a problem: He didn’t have a band.

So the first edition of the Deathray Davies was formed to play that SXSW showcase. That was a hit, and the band shifted from a side project for the prolific Dufilho to the center of his attention.

Meanwhile, The Deathray Davies has shifted from loose collective to tight road band.

Anderson, who said he just went to his fourth SXSW with the band, is still the new guy in the group, a sign that it has congealed into an enduring outfit. That has had an impact on their recordings as well.

The band’s first two records were primarily made by Dufilho. Album three was a band record. Album four was primarily done by Dufilho and bassist Jason Garner. With last year’s “The Kick and the Snare,” the full band was in the studio and they produced their most consistent recording yet.

“For me, it is more fun,” Anderson said. “I’m speaking selfishly as the drummer. It gives the music a more cohesive feel. It has the live vibe and feel.”

The band will go in the studio to make another record immediately after this tour, Anderson said. There aren’t likely to be many surprises when that record comes out. The sound will still have the fuzzy power-pop sound that connects back to the rock ’n’ roll of the ’60s.

“I hope you can hear our influences,” Anderson said. “We’ve taken that sound and made it our own. We’ve made it fit today. But there’s definitely the ’60s in there — the Kinks, the Who, the Zombies, that sort of stuff. There’s a lot of personal influence in there after that.”

Among the other influences that can be heard in their music: The Beach Boys, The Ramones and The Replacements.

But the Kinks remain first among equals, even if there are plenty of people who don’t understand the origin of the band’s name.

“It’s funny,” Anderson said. “It’s about a 50-50 split. Some people really get it. Other people go, ‘What?’”

While they haven’t met Davies, he’s given his tacit blessing to the band’s use of his name. A few years ago, Davies was at SXSW, giving the keynote speech and popping up to do a song with the New Pornographers, but he passed on seeing the band that bears his name.

“I don’t want to die,” he said at the time.

The Deathray Davies are a tireless road band. They took four months off before embarking on their current tour, the longest such layoff during Anderson’s tenure with them. They’ll be in Lincoln Wednesday for a show at Knickerbockers.

“Our live show is good times,” Anderson said. “We tend to just play songs off the cuff. We don’t have a set list we follow. We just go for it. We drink a lot of beer and vodka and try to have as good a time as possible.”

Reach L. Kent Wolgamott at 473-7244 or at kwolgamott@journalstar.com.

If you go

What: The Deathray Davies with the M’s

Where: Knickerbockers, 901 O St.

When: 9 p.m. Wednesday, April 26

Admission: $5