Daddy's Gonna Kill Ralphie

Contradictory to their somewhat cynical name, former Athens-based band Daddy’s Gonna Kill Ralphie plays soft, singer/songwriter indie rock as a response to people and occurrences in lead singer Toby Fallsgraff’s life.

In 2004, Daddy’s Gonna Kill Ralphie transformed from Fallsgraff’s solo project to a three-member band during his last week at Ohio University. Tonight, it will play their first Athens show as a band at the Blue Gator, 63 N. Court St.

Fallsgraff started performing at open-mic nights under the name taken from a line in the 1983 movie “A Christmas Story.” OU alum Rob Zajac, who majored in audio-production, recorded one of Fallsgraff’s shows. He told Fallsgraff to call him if he ever wanted to record again.

The singer took him up on his offer, and they began recording what would become their first album as a band, with Zajac on bass and Kyle Kilmer on drums.

Zajac and Fallsgraff worked on the album through exam week of their final quarter at OU, and Zajac even recorded vocal tracks of Fallsgraff singing in the shower until 3 a.m. the day he was moving out of Athens.

Currently, Fallsgraff is attending graduate school in Washington, D.C., and Zajac and Kilmer are at home in Port Clinton, Ohio.

“When you’re far away from Athens, you tend to miss Athens at least a little bit,” Fallsgraff said. He is excited about coming back to BagelStreet Deli, 27 S. Court St., he said.

Daddy’s Gonna Kill Ralphie’s music echoes the sounds of The Shins, Elliot Smith “had the anti-depressants worked a little better,” and The Beatles, Fallsgraff said.

“Some people were raised in a church — like the Catholic Church or Baptist — I was raised to want to be a Beatle,” Fallsgraff said.

Although he never writes a song with the band’s parts in mind, Fallsgraff, the lyricist and chief songwriter, said on its latest album, “‘Love Sincerely’ Writes the Writer,” the group focused more on incorporating every instrument. The new album shows more of a group effort with more percussion and fuller vocals, Kilmer said.

“We like to throw in things that normally you don’t hear from the average singer/songwriter, especially on the album,” Zajac said. “We like to branch out from just the acoustic and vocal kind of thing.”

At its shows, Daddy’s Gonna Kill Ralphie said it likes to have fun on stage with a sound and a set list that isn’t so lighthearted all the time. Everyone from grandparents to college students has enjoyed its music, Zajac said.

“I feel confident in the show that when we go out we’re putting forth music that people actually would like to hear and would like to hang out and listen to,” Zajac said.

Daddy’s Gonna Kill Ralphie is playing tonight at 11 at the Blue Gator, 63 N. Court St. There is no cover.
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