COUNTRY MUSIC Are the Hillbillies on their way to stardom?

The country group from Pittsburgh is on a rise to fame.
By JOHN BENSON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Chris "Abby" Abbondanza, singer and guitarist of the Poverty Neck Hillbillies, recently woke up in Nashville tired and slightly confused.
Having spent the entire previous day shooting a video for the Pittsburgh-based band's new single "Mr. Right Now," Abbondanza knew another similar long day awaited the group. However, he also realized that this is what life is like for a country band seemingly on the fast track to national recognition.
"Ever since we signed our deal, everything has been a little blitzed," Abbondanza said. "It's happening really fast."
Having thoroughly saturated western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio with its country-meets-rock style, which has attracted legions of fans who have bought more than 30,000 of the band's CDs, the Poverty Neck Hillbillies recently signed with Cleveland-based label Rust Records.
Soon the seven-piece found itself in the studio reworking previous material for its brand-new self-titled album, which came out Tuesday, and preparing for six months of nonstop touring. Normally you only get one shot at stardom. Make no mistake, this is the Poverty Neck Hillbillies' shot.
"Yeah, it's been a quick rise," Abbondanza said. "But we're kind of a go-after-it band, so we don't sit back and wait for somebody to guide us. We kind of take things in our own hands, and we feel the label we're on right now, Rust Records, they have the same ambition we do. So, we're hoping to make this happen fast."
The hype
The feeling in the Poverty Neck Hillbillies camp is that it's a great time for independent record labels -- such as Rust Records, which has ties to Sony -- to find success at radio. At least, that's the hope for "Mr. Right Now" and the double-disc album, which includes a CD and DVD featuring concert material and a documentary.
Abbondanza added that the concert performance is intended to sell new fans on the band's powerful live show. This is something Mahoning Valley followers already know about, considering the Steel City act has made Youngstown a second home of sorts over the past few years.
The fun continues Saturday at The Cellar in Struthers with the Poverty Neck Hillbillies "Beach Bash 2006" -- an outdoor show -- acting as the band's CD release party.