The Rattletraps: Hear the Guitar- and Vocal-Driven Band with Gritty Originals and Punchy Lyrics at Carrboro Music Festival

Like many area bands, members of The Rattletraps met while playing at local open mics. “Over time, we eventually started jumping on stage to play with each other, even if it was an original only known to the person singing it,” Nick and Paco jointly told The Carrborean, speaking here for the whole band.  

“That led to some actual rehearsals, and then what started as us messing around turned into a band.” This year, the band will perform at the annual Carrboro Music Festival on September 27. 

Band Members: Nick Parker (Vocal, Guitar); Paco Marvelli (Vocal, Steel Guitar, Guitar); David Moore (Drums); Cole Cook (Harmonica, Vocal, Tambourine); Bradley Rabowski (Guitar); Dan Barclay (Guitar, Auxiliary Percussion); Elijah Hasskamp (Bass, Vocal); Mitchell Barnett (Guitar); Sam Thorn (Saxophone); Jaxon Wilkerson (MC). 
Genre: Bluesy Southern rock, or “Southern Sleaze,” as coined by guitar player Mitchell. 
Venue: Fifth Season Gardening - 6:00 p.m. 
Links: Website / Instagram 

Nick, Paco, Dan, and Cole were the first members. New players were added, and at the beginning they were called The Beer Shirts, “but once we started playing with Dave on the drums and booking actual paid gigs, we figured it was about time to find a better name.” 

The Rat-L-Trap is a fishing lure that makes a lot of noise underwater, and that was the biggest inspiration. True to their name, the band has a big, muscular guitar sound, with a strong vocal component and lyrics that don’t pull punches. 

“A ‘rattletrap’ is also slang for a bad car that's always breaking down or a person who talks too much. We liked all those meanings because we thought they all applied to us (really loud even underwater, a lot of breakdowns, we talk too much), and we like to fish.”  

Tongue-in-cheek, they hope to be sued one day by the makers of the Rat-L-Trap. “Our first EP, The Natural Crawl, was a pun based on an actual line of Rat-L-Trap lures called Natural Craws.” 

Their current album, Cuff and Collar (August 2026), focuses on socioeconomic themes, politics, and “stories that we hear in parking lots and our own lived experiences.”   

“Auto Blues” is a grinding blues rocker punctuated by harmonica and guitar grit, and the repeated lyric “Push far as I/you/we can,” which shifts from running out of gas and groceries to a call for resilience.  

“What's Goin' on in There” is about Abu Ghraib (“So keep your mind blank/Keep your jaw square/Try hard not to think, what's goin' on in there”).  

The Rattletraps plan to go back into the studio at the end of the year and work on their next album. “The new album is shaping up to be a similar mix. We'll have “Killin' Spiders,” which is about the lynching of Wyatt Outlaw, the first black police officer in North Carolina, in 1870.” 

And other songs with stories about characters and their place in the world that serve as social commentary. 

“We're in that kind of southern Gothic tradition—not a lot of sunshine and rainbows. We've joked that some of the songs are bad trip music, although we had a blast last spring at Shakori and no one seemed too upset.” 

The band’s main lyricists are Paco, Nick, and Dan. Nick and Paco sing the songs they write the lyrics to, and they split up who sings the ones that Dan writes.  

“Generally speaking, the musical process is extremely collaborative.” With many members, the band works out songs by practicing and playing them at shows or jamming after a night out. “Songs can take a while to evolve, but everyone has their fingerprints on them.” This also includes different writing sessions between the guitar players and the rhythm section. 

What can Carrboro Music Festival audiences expect to hear from The Rattletraps? “A few new songs we're currently working on, a couple more we just debuted, and then songs off the new album. Like a lot of our sets, there'll be some more songwriter and country stuff, as well as some grimy rockers.” 

The band cites James McMurtry, Jason Molina, The Rolling Stones, classic folk and blues, and Dinosaur Jr. as influences.