It started as a joke.

The idea that what the world needed – more than another earnest indie rock band, another braggadocious rapper, another faceless EDM producer DJ – was Okilly Dokilly, a death metal band inspired by Ned Flanders, the Simpsons’ do-gooder sweater-and-polo-wearing neighborino.

“We were joking around imagining a scenario where a band comes on stage with fire and effects, and it’s just the heaviest show intro for a metal-ocalypse,” said Head Ned, the lead singer and founder who – seriously – will only identify himself as Head Ned.

“And then the band comes out and says, ‘How’s it going! We are –’ and then the band name would be something opposite or kooky or wrong or not that heavy of a band.

“So we would just throw band names out there, and one of the names was Okilly Dokilly, like, “How’s it going? We’re Okilly Dokilly!’ said Head Ned, who is not to be confused drummer Dread Ned, synth player Zed Ned, guitarist Shred Ned or bassist Bed Ned, who apparently likes to sleep in.

They’ll be offering that greeting, we surmise, when Okilly Dokilly comes to Southern California to play what it calls “Nedal” music on Saturday, Feb. 2 in Tustin, Tuesday, Feb. 5 in West Hollywood, and Thursday, Feb. 7 in Riverside.

“That’s kind of where it started, and then we’re like, ‘What if the lead singer was dressed like Ned Flanders and did death growls and all of that? What if we just went even further and made all the band members dress like Ned Flanders? And then all of the songs are Ned Flanders’ quotes?”

So they did it, starting out in their hometown of Phoenix in 2015 with a four-song demo, thinking they’d only play a few local gigs for laughs. What they quickly discovered, though, is that once you unleash photographs of five dudes wearing green sweaters over pink polo shirts with eyeglasses and mustaches – and follow that with songs composed of actual Ned Flanders sayings – things will go viral faster than you can say hi-diddly-ho.

Head Ned said the band gravitated to Ned over other Simpsons’ characters like Moe the bartender or Krusty the Clown because of the humor and incongruity between church-going Ned and the devil’s music they decided to play.

“Krusty the Clown’s death metal band? Oh god, that’d be horrifying,” Head Ned said. “We picked Ned just because so many of the things associated with death metal are the exact opposite of things associated with Ned Flanders. Like metal can be very aggressive and Ned Flanders is the opposite of that.

“Ned Flanders is very religious and you have a lot of metal that kind of hovers around Satan,” he said. “The irony of it was very pure.”

To write the songs that appeared on the demo and eventually the 2016 debut album, “Howdilly Dodilly,” Head Ned said he watched dozens of hours of “The Simpsons,” jotting down any Ned quotes that might work as lyrics.

“Either taking something Ned says that could be really heavy out of context, like the song ‘They Warned Me,’ or taking things that Ned said that are just sweet and innocent and putting them in death growl with blast beats behind them.”

“They Warned Me,” any respectable Simpsons’ fan will recall, is a line from the episode where Ned meets his Canadian doppelganger, who offers him a legal-in-Canada hit of “reefer-ino,” to which Ned replied, “They warned me Satan would be attractive.” If that’s not inspiration for a death metal song, what is?

“White Wine Spritzer” is another Okilly Dokilly song, the number for which they made their first video, and it comes from an episode where Ned goes to Vegas. Thinking he might go a little bit wild, he considers a daiquiri and then decides to go really crazy and order the titular drink.

“Just that idea of basing a metal song on this milquetoast kind of drink was sort of like, ‘Oh, that’d be funny to do,’” Head Ned said.

Okilly Dokilly encourages venues it plays to offer drink specials like white wine spritzers or Flaming Moe’s, the specialty of the house at Moe’s Tavern. And they’re also delighted when fans show up dressed as Ned – they call them Bonus Neds – or Sideshow Bob, Otto, or any other character.

The tour begins right as Okilly Dokilly drops a new single, “Reneducation,” its first new music since the debut album. A second full-length record is coming in March.

The title of the new album? “Howdilly Twodilly,” which Ned Flanders surely would approve.

Okilly Dokilly

Saturday, Feb. 2: Marty’s On Newport, 14401 Newport Ave., Tustin. Tickets are $12.

Tuesday, Feb. 5: The Viper Room, 8852 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood. Tickets are $12 in advance, $15 day of show.

Thursday, Feb. 7: Romano’s Concert Lounge, 3557 University Ave., Riverside. Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 day of show.

Note: All shows are 21 and up, and all either start or doors open at 8 p.m.

For more: Okillydokilly.com