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The secret to the success of The Chillbillies? Never taking themselves too seriously, according to drummer Teddy Phillips.

That may come as something of a surprise, given the pedigree of the individual members — all are accomplished businessmen with some measure of success in the music industry as well — but when it comes to performing as a unit, there are no delusions of grandeur, Phillips told The Daily Times this week.

“Everybody thinks we take it serious, but there are no egos involved,” Phillips said. “The seriousness of what we do amounts to showing up and saying, ‘Yeah, I guess we’ll play tonight.’ It’s not a big deal to us — we’re doing it because we like it, and because we want to put smiles on people’s faces. Everybody’s been there and done that over the years, so we’re not doing it to make a living.”

Such a devil-may-care attitude has ensured the longevity of The Chillbillies in the East Tennessee market, where similar good-time party bands such as The Hip-Twangers have come and gone over the years. Such bands cater to crowds like the one that will gather Saturday at New Midland Plaza for SlimFest 2007 by performing a rich mixture of popular covers, sprinkled with a few original songs.

However, Phillips pointed out, such popularity soon turns into overwhelming demand.

“There’s a big burnout factor with a lot of guys — they’re out there doing it, and it starts out as fun, and then they try to make a living at it,” he said. “Us, we do about a hundred dates a year, everything from primarily private functions to corporate functions to some big stuff, like opening for Jonny Lang (at The Tennessee Theatre) and Hank Williams Jr. (at Smokies Stadium in Sevierville) and Dr. Ralph Stanley and Exile (at this year’s Strawberry Jam Festival in Greenback).

“We have a real unique thing with this band. We’re able to be very versatile in what we do, thanks to the different roots of the different players. We brand everything we do as ‘rhythm, boogie and blues,’ and I’d say that says it all. It’s a Southern rock meets R&B kind of thing.”

Combined, the individual members bring more than 100 years of experience to The Chillbillies. Phillips and member George Massengill have performed in one capacity or another for more than 30 years; former University of Tennessee and National Football League veteran Tim Irwin played with various bands on the side throughout his football career; bassist Larry Patton is an accomplished Nashville songwriter and sideman; guitarist Victor Hill was bandleader for country star Lorrie Morgan for a decade; and sax player Don Taylor has toured with Southern rock icons Lynyrd Skynyrd.

In fact, it was Taylor’s association with Skynyrd that led to one of the wildest moments in Chillbillies history, Phillips said — opening for Hank Williams Jr. at Smokies Stadium.

“We played in front of 7,000 people, and we started out with our normal Chillbillies routine, playing a lot of original stuff,” he said. “Then we got Artimus Pyle, the drummer for Lynyrd Skynyrd, to come up there with us, and we closed the show with a Lynyrd Skynyrd medley. The place went absolutely crazy. That was one of the wildest things we’ve done on stage, and just a very good time.”

Saturday, the band joins Alcoa R&B outfit Smooth Groove on the lineup for SlimFest 2007, an annual birthday bash organized by local businessman Steve “Slim” Stilts as a benefit event. This year, proceeds from raffle tickets sold at the concert will go to the Bud Allison Chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police and the New Hope Children’s Advocacy Center. Last year the festival, held in a roped-off parking lot off Gill Street, raised $30,000 for the FOP’s “Shop With a Cop” program. A reverse raffle will offer prizes such as a 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt, a diamond necklace, a Gibson guitar and a trip to Orlando, Fla. WIVK-FM deejay Gunner will emcee the event.

And with The Chillbillies on stage, it’ll be difficult for anyone in attendance not to have a good time.

“We keep everybody involved — we jump on them and stay on them,” Phillips said. “It’s not an ego thing, but we’re having more fun than they are. It’s that no-fear zone, as we call it — you dive off into it, find out where the hot button is and what’s working, and you stay with that. And at the end of the night, everybody is pretty well satisfied.

“I think it’s the energy that connects with the audience. Anything goes up there — we don’t have a certain song list or read sheet music; everything is purely off-the-cuff. It’s like a football team running the no-huddle offense — we go up and script it as we go along.”