Povertyneck Hillbillies
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The Hillbilly Way or THW are an American
country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
band formed in and around
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
in 2012 and originally consisted of Chris "Abby" Abbondanza (
lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...
), Dave Cramer (
keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...
), Ryan Lucotch (
drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
), Jeff Volek (
bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
,
accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...
), David "Junior" Guthrie (
electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...
), and Bob "Crafty" Crafton (
steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...
). The band originally started as a Reunion to their previous band name The Povertyneck Hillbillies. Under their previous name, The Povertyneck Hillbillies, they released a total of three albums: the independently released ''Hillbilly State of Mind'' and ''Don't Look Back'' in 2002 and 2004, followed by a self-titled effort in 2006 on Rust Records,
Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...
. Although these three albums produced no chart hits, they sold more than 10,000 copies nationwide and their video for the song "Mr. Right Now", went to #2 on
Great American Country Great American Family is an American cable television network. Owned by Great American Media, it broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming, including television series and made-for-TV movies. It was originally established in ...
, GAC, for 15 weeks. The group toured all over the continental US during this time under "The Dale Morris & Associates", now called
Paradigm Talent Agency Paradigm Talent Agency is an American full-service entertainment agency with offices in Los Angeles, New York, London, Chicago, Toronto, Monterey, Nashville, Berkeley and Austin. Paradigm Talent Agency has more than 200 agents representing cl ...
and were marketed by AristoMedia. They also attended the
CMA Awards The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards or CMAs, are presented to country music artists and broadcasters to recognize outstanding achievement in the country music industry. The televised annual presentation ceremony f ...
and were featured in magazines such as
Country Weekly ''Nash Country Weekly'' was an American lifestyle weekly magazine about country artists and their music. It was in circulation between April 1994 and May 2016. The publisher, Cumulus Media, now maintains the site ''Nash Country Daily''. Overvie ...
and
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
. In 2008, Higbee, the founder of "The Povertyneck Hillbillies", issued a press release indicating that the band would be on hiatus indefinitely. Higbee then went on with his own band called "The Chris Higbee Project", while Abbondanza began a solo career, and "Junior", Ryan, and Jeff formed a band called "The West Virginia Push", A.K.A. "Junior & The Push". In 2012, the band reformed under the name of The Hillbilly Way, and had a kickoff concert August 25, 2012, at
CONSOL Energy Park Wild Things Park is a 3,200-seat multi-purpose baseball stadium in North Franklin Township, a suburb of Washington, Pennsylvania. It hosted its first regular season baseball game on May 29, 2002, as the primary tenants of the facility, the Wa ...
, home of the
Washington Wild Things The Washington Wild Things are a professional baseball team based in Washington, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The Wild Things are a member of the Frontier League, an independent baseball league which, as of 2020, is an official Partner Le ...
minor league baseball team, in
Washington County, Pennsylvania Washington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 209,349. Its county seat is Washington. Washington County is part of the Pittsburgh, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county i ...
. The band now consists of Chris "Abby" Abbondanza, Jeff Volek, David "Junior" Guthrie, and Keith Kleinhampl.


Biography

The Povertyneck Hillbillies were founded in 2000 in the borough of
Dawson, Pennsylvania Dawson is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 352 at the 2020 census, down from 367 at the 2010 census. Geography Dawson is located in northern Fayette County at (40.047892, -79.658659), on the north ba ...
by fiddler Chris Higbee. After multiple band members he met future lead vocalist Chris "Abby" Abbondanza, they met and befriended each other after discovering common musical interests. Through the help of other friends, the two musicians found five more members who would complete the band's lineup: guitarist David Guthrie, keyboardist Dave Cramer, bass guitarist Jeff Volek, steel guitarist Bob Crafton and drummer Ryan Lucotch. The seven-piece band then assumed the name The Povertyneck Hillbillies. Povertyneck was a name derived from a small area near
Dawson, PA Dawson is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 352 at the 2020 census, down from 367 at the 2010 census. Geography Dawson is located in northern Fayette County at (40.047892, -79.658659), on the north ba ...
known to locals, near Higbee's grandfather's farm. In the 2000s, the band began touring throughout Pennsylvania, playing at various bars and clubs to help develop a fanbase. Eventually, they were discovered by members of the
Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
, a franchise of the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
, who chose the band to play "
The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the b ...
" at a halftime show for the team. Eventually, the Povertyneck Hillbillies were chosen as the Steelers' official band. By 2002, the band had released its debut album, ''Hillbilly State of Mind''; a second album, ''Don't Look Back'', followed two years later on Cort Records. Although neither album produced any chart singles, the albums sold more than 10,000 copies nationwide; as a result, they were named by the
Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The objectives of the organization are to guide and enha ...
as one of the top-selling independent country acts of 2005. Crafton was forced out of the group by Rust Records in 2006, allowing them to be signed to Rust Records and released their self-titled third album. This album produced non-charting singles in "Mr. Right Now" and "One Night in New Orleans", the latter of which was previously recorded by
Blackhawk Black Hawk and Blackhawk may refer to: Animals * Black Hawk (horse), a Morgan horse that lived from 1833 to 1856 * Common black hawk, ''Buteogallus anthracinus'' * Cuban black hawk, ''Buteogallus gundlachii'' * Great black hawk, ''Buteogallus uru ...
. The Povertyneck Hillbillies left Rust in 2007. On January 14, 2008, Higbee announced that the band had "decided to take a break of indefinite length." According to his press release, "Abby, Jeff, Junior and Dave have chosen to stop performing with the band.


Reunion

On April 9, 2012, it was announced by Chris "Abby" Abbondanza, on WOGI Froggy Radio, that The Povertyneck Hillbillies would be hosting a reunion concert on August 25, 2012. The concert was held at CONSOL Energy Park, in Washington, Pennsylvania. The line up consists of all of the previous members, with the exception of Chris Higbee, who was replaced by guest fiddle player John Parrendo, who later joined the band. Abbondanza stated that numerous requests to Higbee to join the show have been declined as the relationship has been changed indefinitely . The band is now known as THW which is short for The Hillbilly Way, which was one of the songs they performed while they were with The Povertyneck Hillbillies. The band then released a self-titled 4 song EP on the night of the concert, containing the single "My Kinda Sunday Drive", that is part of the 4 song EP. "My Kind of Sunday Drive" has received moderate airplay in the local Pittsburgh country music market, mostly on
WOGI WOGI (104.3 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a Froggy branded Country music format. Licensed in the Pittsburgh suburb of Moon Township, Pennsylvania, United States, the station serves the Pittsburgh Media Market. The station is currently ...
, known as "Froggy Radio", on frequencies 94.9 and 104.3. The band also released a second single from that EP, "Fear of Greyhounds", later that year.


Present

In May 2014, it was announced that Dave Cramer (Keyboard) and John Parrendo (Fiddle) had quit the band. Dave stated on his personal Facebook page that he chose to leave the band due to wanting to spend more time with his family. Bob "Crafty" Crafton and Ryan Lucotch also left the band in 2015. THW has re-organized since then, and now consists of Chris "Abby" Abbondanza on lead vocals and acoustic guitar, Jeff Volek on bass guitar and backing vocals, David "Junior" Guthrie on lead guitars and backing vocals and Keith Kleinhampl on Drums, percussion and percussion programming. During 2016 to 2018, THW was signed to the Pennington Entertainment management group out of
Nashville, TN Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
. Under Pennington, they recorded the singles Best Night of Our Lives, and Damn I Just Wanna Kiss You. They made a video for Best Night of Our Lives, which was directed by Ford Fairchild. Damn I Just Wanna Kiss You was released in 2018 and went as high as #42 on the
Music Row Music Row is a historic district located southwest of downtown Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Widely considered the heart of Nashville's entertainment industry, Music Row has also become a metonymous nickname for the music industry as a w ...
charts. THW has just released the single " Lonely Girl" for 2019. Their music can be found on all music streaming sites.


Discography


Albums


Singles


Music videos


References


External links























{{DEFAULTSORT:Hillbilly Way Country music groups from Pennsylvania People from Fayette County, Pennsylvania Musical groups established in 2000 Musical groups disestablished in 2008 Musical groups reestablished in 2012