Youngstown band creates phenomenon all to itself

The group has a rich tradition in Mahoning and Trumbull counties.
By JOHN BENSON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Decorum and decency prohibit this newspaper from calling The Fillbillys by its real name.
You see, the Youngstown band creatively transposed the first letter of the word hillbillies with the first letter of a curse word that begins with an F and, well, perhaps you get the idea. All you need to know is that The Fillbillys is a phenomenon all to itself.
"We're more or less like your redneck-trailer-park-trash-looking rock'n'roll band," said bassist Garry "Edsel J. McGillis" Palcisco. "Like a bunch of hicks, we dress like hill jacks. We wear outfits. This ain't our normal garb."
Rich history
Dressed appropriately for a Larry the Cable guy look-alike contest, The Fillbillys has a rich history in Mahoning and Trumbull counties. Prior to forming the band nearly two years ago, singer Jimmi "Elvis McCoy" Migliozzi, guitarist Ronnie "Cletus Moon" Williams and Palcisco were in the popular rock act Lazarus.
"We thought, let's just go out, have fun and see what we can do with it," said Palcisco, a 1983 Howland High School graduate. "It just sort of snowballed. It's really a gimmick band. We play everything from the '70s to today. We do both covers and originals."
While its cover tunes range from Bad Finger and early Lynyrd Skynyrd to The Killers, Shinedown and Hinder, it's the band's original material that has its members excited about the recording of an upcoming debut EP, "Hicks, Chicks and Lunatics," which is due out next year. Tracks in the mix include "Two Far Gone," "Fit to be Tied" and "Hard Way." Palcisco said the tunes are party rock with a blues groove and a southern fried rock sound.
"We're basically just doing something as a cover band to grab attention," said the Champion resident.
Attention-getter
If their band name or "Git-R-Done" garb doesn't get your attention, perhaps drummer Dustin "Tator Jenkins" Isaac's skins will. Onstage, the percussionist literally sits in the bed of a Ford F-150 pickup truck, which includes a quarter panel and an actual wheel. Keyboardist-guitarist Walt "Rev. Jerry Lee Hatfield" Stec rounds out the band, which averages roughly 30-40 dates annually.
With tongue in cheek and a wink to all of the fair ladies in the audience, the members of The Fillbillys dreamt up their own back story, which honestly we're just too tired to even recap.
"We're not making fun of anybody," said Palcisco. "It's more to get people's attention and we're just doing it for our own pleasure and to see how the people in the Trumbull and Mahoning county areas like it."
So do they?
"I think anybody and everybody enjoy it," he laughed. "It's a good time. People really seem to dig it."
Judge for yourself when The Fillbillys play Friday at Leon's Sports Bar in Howland.