Q-and-A: Getting to know Dallas band The Marfalites

They say they like playing “old venues” because it reflects their cowpunk honky tonk sound.

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Noah Caveny of The Marfalites

DALLAS — There is no shortage of quality country/rockabilly bands roaming the DFW music landscape these days. It is probably the deepest genre in terms of pure talent in North Texas, with new and exciting bands seemingly popping up each month. Don’t believe me? Try taking a walk around the bars and venues in Fort Worth. It’s nearly impossible not to find at least one intriguing country group rocking out nearly every night of the week.

However, few of those bands are gaining as much attention as The Marfalites are right now. Their music is a fresh take on a classic country sound. It’s got all the deep toe-tapping rhythm of Cash-era country music and the attitude of modern rockabilly. And people are starting to take notice.

Last month the band was a finalist in the “Best Dad Rock” category at the State Fair of Texas music competition, a battle of the bands that was limited to only those whose members included fathers.

“It was fun, and maddening,” said lead singer Noah Caveny. “There were only 15-minute sets.”

The Marfalites made the most of the time they did have, but it was really after the Fall Indie Fest in Grand Prairie at the beginning of October that Caveny started to notice a buzz surrounding his band.

“Yeah I guess the next morning after the [Fall Indie] festival I noticed that there was a bunch of buzz on Twitter about our performance. It’s really great to get that sort of feedback after such a fun show,” he said.

The Marfalites have been playing together under that name for about a year and a half now, but prior to that, Caveny was the voice behind The Truck Stop Junkies. We got a chance to talk to him about his past as a musician and what's in store for The Marfalites.

PegNews: How did you come up with the band name?

Noah Caveny: It’s a nod to Marfa, TX. I’m just enamored by that town. I was married there. It’s an unexplained phenomenon; we all have ties to that town and it’s just a common thread.

What is the typical Marfalites show like, from your perspective?

Well it’s always different. We have such a mixed crowd of people who come out to the shows: everyone from college kids to retirees. I like to think that we offer something for everyone. It’s like I say, if you don’t like our music, just wait til the next song.

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Noah Caveny of The Marfalites

Talk about the shows at the State Fair and Fall Indie Fest. Were those the biggest shows you’ve played?

No, The Truck Stop Junkies played as show at the Alamo Dome in San Antonio, but they were both fun. The fair was just crazy.

You are working on releasing the debut album from The Marfalites. How close is it to being a finished product? And where will you go from there?

We are in album design right now. Once we get that taken care of, we will start planning album release shows and tour dates. It’s all about checking boxes, ya know? There is nothing you can’t do if you are passionate about it. So we try to keep checking things off our list. Where it’s going to end up, I don’t know. But right now, I’m up for anything.

Describe your approach to songwriting.

Now you’re getting into my wheelhouse! It’s always different. I’ll come up with a stanza and a hook will come along, or vice versa. The song “Leaving Fayetteville” was written about a dream I had. You just never know when something is going to inspire you. But songs are fleeting things, the trick is capturing that feeling.

Any places around DFW that you especially enjoy playing?

Well, anywhere there is an audience is great. But yeah, Lee Harvey’s: Playing outdoors, there is always a big crowd, I like it there. City Tavern is fun too. Sons of Hermann Hall is great. I like old venues like that. It sort of reflects our sound.