POVERTYNECK HILLBILLIES Group's got a name that sticks

This high-energy band drew 45,000 fans for a Jamboree in the Hills festival.
By JOHN BENSON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
The Povertyneck Hillbillies may come from the hills of Pennsylvania, but these seven country music players are anything but yokels.
"We're a little bit off to the left," said Chris "Abby" Abbondanza calling from his home in Uniontown, Pa. "We're not down the middle, but we have our own unique sound. A little bit of Southern rock kind of feel, but yet we have a little bit of a country twang to it too."
Saying this band is a little off to the left is quite the understatement. After all, it's not your daddy's country music band that often covers the high-octane explosion of Kiss' "Rock 'N' Roll All Nite" on stage or digresses into its own reworked version of alt rock band Tonic's mid-'90s hit "If You Could Only See."
For the group's recently released sophomore album "Don't Look Back," the outfit continued its unpredictable and obscure ways by covering one-hit-wonder Fastball's single "The Way." What in the wild, wild world of country music is going on?
Their attitude
"We don't like anybody telling us how to do our music," Abbondanza said. "[Like] we can't do this song because it's too poppy or it's too country or too Southern rock. We have a song on the new CD called 'The Hillbilly Way' and that's kind of in the whole theme of hillbilly state of mind -- 'If you don't like what I'm doin', what can I say/Hey, the only way I know how to do it is the hillbilly way.'"
It appears as though their way is the right way. Five years after forming, Povertyneck Hillbillies is quickly becoming the regional country band to see.
In fact, over 45,000 showed up midday last month during the Jamboree in the Hills festival in Wheeling, W.Va., to catch the band's high-energy set. So far, the group has gained national radio airplay with singles "Mr. Right Now," "Born to Be Free" and "Hillbilly State of Mind."
Having opened for the likes of Vince Gill, Mark Chesnutt and Lynyrd Skynyrd to name a few, Povertyneck Hillbillies appears to be on the cusp of something big. Still an independent act, the band recently signed up with Wal-Mart and Eat-n-Park to sells its CDs.
One of the biggest things the outfit has going for it is its unique name, which once you've heard, you have a hard time forgetting.
"Usually the first thing you get is, 'Poverty what or redneck what?'" Abbondanza said. "The name sticks. Usually when they hear the name, they think it's a bunch of older guys that are just playing bluegrass-y kind of music. We dress modern, and it really throws them off, but when they see us once, they remember us."
Appearing in Cleveland
The group knows its bread and butter comes from its touring, which includes a Friday date at the Taste of Cleveland festival, opening for LeAnn Rimes and a Sept. 9 show at The Cellar.
The upcoming Northeast Ohio shows offer fans and interested country music followers the chance to experience the Povertyneck Hillbillies set, which aside from a few potent covers, is heavy on original material.