Hard workin’ hillbillies

Hillbilly State of Mind

PovertyNeck Hillbillies

A lot…

Hillbilly State of Mind

PovertyNeck Hillbillies

A lot of people from the city rag on people from the country, like people from the sticks aren’t civilized folks. Well that’s a bunch of bull, and there’s a lot of proof against it – just don’t go to my hometown of Fredericktown, Pa.

Some fresh, new faces in country music are taking center stage, and they hail from the sticks of Southwestern Pa., in good ol’ Fayette County, not far from Fredericktown.

PovertyNeck Hillbillies don’t play sappy country music about losing your dog and your girlfriend in the same day. Their music is filled with energy and emotion, and it rocks.

Along with front man Chris Abbondanza, who also plays acoustic guitar on the album, is Chris Higbee on fiddle, Jeff Volek on bass, Bob Crafton on guitar, Dave Cramer on keyboard and Ryan Lucotch on drums.

Anyone who has seen the Hillbillies play a live show can tell you that, after just one show, you’re hooked. And that’s their goal – to bring in those people who aren’t big country fans.

They made history earlier this year by being the first original country act to compete in the Graffiti Rock Challenge, bringing a little bit of country to the people of Pittsburgh, which is predominately a rock-music city. Not only did they compete, but they also made things interesting by tying in their semifinal night and creating a five-band final instead of the planned four-band event.

Their debut album, Hillbilly State of Mind, is a testament to their fresh success, and all of their hard work as a band. The album features 10 original tracks and Hillbilly covers of Tonic’s “If You Could Only See” and Lionel Ritchie’s “Stuck on You.”

The first single, “Mr. Right Now,” is a fun and energetic track that is a crowd favorite and is played on Y-108. The chorus sings out, “I might not be Mr. Right/Baby we could have some fun tonight/I might not be Mr. Right/ But I’m Mr. Right Now.”

The title track is another favorite about how times have changed, but the life you live is just fine. “We had bear in the mountains and deer in the woods /The corn grew tall just like it should /Friday night had a hillbilly ball /Picking and singing and carrying on. /Summertime in the pale moonlight /Me and my girl gettin’ it right /It’s a way of life and hey it suits me fine /Talking ’bout a hillbilly state of mind.”

There are some slower and more emotional tracks, but the Hillbillies love to have fun and show it in their music, and this debut is sure to help them move their way out of the sticks of southwestern Pa., and hopefully into the limelight of Nashville, Tenn.