In 2004 and 2005 Lytle recorded "Just Like the Fambly Cat", which was released as a Grandaddy album, although by then the band had decided to split up. The title is a reference to Lytle's desire to leave Modesto, a town which he complained "sucks out people's souls". Lytle created the album over a year and a half in his home studio in Modesto, "fueled by alcohol, painkillers for his body aches and ... recreational drugs", with only Burtch from the remainder of the band playing on it. At the same time as working on the album, Lytle created the EP "Excerpts From the Diary of Todd Zilla", which was released first.