By Betsa Marsh

It's like one of those flashes of fantasy on TV's "Scrubs." Five guys on stage, wearing surgical scrubs, flailing at guitars and drums, and singing "Help!"

The funny thing is that they're pretty good, good enough to open for country music stars Tim McGraw and Randy Travis and keep the hungry hordes at Taste of Chicago from chomping the stage. Good enough to stay together for 19 years.

It helps, of course, that Dr. Mark and the Sutures play about six gigs a summer and never charge a cent. It's all about charity and the sheer joy of rocking.

Besides, every band member has a day job. Dr. Mark is Mark Nolan Hill '73, MD, FACS, professor of surgery at Chicago Medical School. The other members work in paper, printing, and industrial fire cleanup. And that young guy blistering the lead guitar? He's Adam Hill, Dr. Mark's son, a Miami senior in electrical engineering and a DJ and chief engineer at WMSR.

Adam is now the third generation of Hill men to blend science and music together like a DNA helix. And the second to discover that Miami sets a good foundation for the complex spiral of life.

Adam's grandfather, Bert Hill, began the multifaceted dynasty, falling in love with jazz guitar and playing with such legends as Les Paul and Wes Montgomery. He became an electrical engineer and when his son, Mark, came along, taught him guitar and science in equal measure.

By 13, Mark joined the Musicians' Union and had an agent, playing guitar and singing around Chicago. "I was the original wedding singer," he says.

Determined to be a rock star, Mark spent every study hall at Skokie's Niles East High School memorizing song lyrics. "If they'd voted on the kid least likely to succeed, that would have been me."

Breezing through high school academically, Mark sidelined his rock dreams and caved to pressure as his pals headed to college. His counselor suggested Miami because it offered "a broad general education, a nice campus, and nice people."

Mark arrived in Oxford to find chemistry and zoology marked as his majors because they reflected his highest test scores. He plopped down in a front-row seat of Ronald Pfohl's Zoology 101 class and discovered his destiny.

"I asked a question and Dr. Pfohl told me to come to his office that afternoon, and he'd answer it. It was the beginning of a long-standing, major relationship in my life — he was my second mentor, after my father."

Soon Mark entered Pfohl's developmental biology lab, building his marine life studies into "a fairly thick thesis," recalls Pfohl, professor emeritus of zoology. "He also gave a few lectures for me, the only undergrad to do that. He was one of the brightest students I've ever had.

"Mark was relentless in pursuit of anything he was after," Pfohl adds. When Mark interned at Woods Hole Marine Biological Lab in Massachusetts, the professor says, "He undertook one problem, spending two full days in the library without sleep until he solved it.

"I recall with humor the day he suggested he share my office with me."

Pfohl proposed medicine to Mark, and Mark, in turn, morphed his new interest into Miami MED, creating the University's pre-med honor society.

But there was always time to rock 'n' roll, playing for $10 at frat parties. He used his "wedding singer" money from his teen years and college to pay for Miami and most of med school at Northwestern. He completed his internship and residency at Harvard.

When Mark and wife Lori welcomed Adam into the world in 1984, the proud papa bought the boy child-sized instruments, not toys, for every special occasion. Grandpa Bert taught Adam guitar from the time he was 5 until the child knew all Grandpa did. Adam turned to other teachers for music theory, rock, and blues.

While Adam was learning his G7 and D chords, Mark was spending less time with his guitar. That changed in 1987 when a neighbor asked Mark to revive his music, get some friends together, and play a block party.

Soon, Mark formed his own band, pulling in friends and family of friends who played as hobbyists. True to his teen obsessions, the group would specialize in Beatles and Eagles.

"You're 3 and your dad has a Beatles band. That's cool," Adam says.

But what to call it? They tried Dr. Mark and the Varicose Veins. Dr. Mark and the Hemorrhoids. Finally, Dr. Mark and the Sutures did manage to "Come Together," as the Beatles might say.

The band dedicates itself to free gigs at medical benefits and community fundraisers. They play across the region in the summer and even ventured to Arizona for the Country Thunder show, opening for Tim McGraw.

With family commitments and work and school schedules, members mail charts among themselves and maybe squeeze in one acoustic rehearsal before a gig. "Sometimes our shows are our rehearsals," Mark says. "It's much harder to get the guys together for rehearsal than it is to take out a gallbladder."

Close at hand was Adam, always ready for a jam session. By 10, he joined Dr. Mark and the Sutures on stage — his amp unplugged. By 13, the sound was up and by 16, "He took off, surpassing me technically," Mark says. "It skipped a generation — he's an incredible lead guitarist, like my father."

"Dad doesn't really like the technical stuff," Adam assesses. "He likes the singing and performing more."

And Adam's singing? "I don't think he has vocal cords" is his dad's verdict.

Adam, now 21, prefers to play in the background, tackling the Beatles' psychedelic canon in "I Am the Walrus" and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." "And ‘A Day in the Life' — that's extremely complicated to play live," Adam says.

After reveling in a strong arts program at Highland Park High School, Adam knew he loved music but had "absolutely no idea about college. I didn't want to go to Miami because my father went there, and I told him straight up. Then I started to think about it."

Sofapunch. Marking Twain. Spencer Charlie. These are a few of the hot, local bands playing in uptown Oxford right now. At least that's what the student magazine, Miami Quarterly, says. So what was the name of your favorite campus band when you were in college? Better yet, if you played in a band, write and tell us your band's name and what songs you performed. If you want to brag about your ragin' "Hotel California" guitar solo, throw that in too. As for those of you still in a band, don't be shy. Tell us. Share your tunes and titles with us at Miamian, 208 Glos Center, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio 45056; Miamian@muohio.edu; fax: 513-529-1950. Self-appointed judges that we are, the Miamian staff will use this as an excuse to get together over coffee and Cokes to pick our top five favorite names, which we'll share with you in an upcoming edition of Miamian. Write in and rock on.

Mark, a formidable cheerleader for Miami who returns to campus regularly to speak, desperately wanted Adam to attend his alma mater. "But I had to keep my mouth shut."

Adam toured four or five schools, narrowing his choice to Lehigh or Miami. Finally, he went with Miami because "it has a reputation for professors who care for undergraduates and who are there for one-to-one help. It just felt right."

His major at the time? "Not a clue."

Adam never doubted his passion for music, playing guitar in Miami's jazz band and drums in the marching band and the percussion ensemble. When another freshman approached him about a show on WMSR, he went along on a lark. Soon he was hosting "Sharing the Groove," a show based on "whatever CDs I grab going to the station."

From his first day on campus, Adam knew he could rely on Pfohl to call him, invite him for meals, and even help him move. "It's a real nice thing, having another person who's looking out for you."

Home after his freshman year, Adam signed on with Gand Concert Sound, which stages live music festivals. "I hadn't thought about audio engineering as a career, but then it clicked. I could combine science with music. I started asking around and met one of the pioneers of audio engineering, Jim Cunningham. He said he started in electrical engineering."

Suddenly, Adam came full circle to his grandfather's path — engineering and music. Major decided, he slogged through theory classes to reach his current reward: designing and building electronics.

As he wrapped up his junior year, Adam was looking forward to another non-stop summer on the concert circuit. "I had four days off last summer, but it doesn't feel like work to me." Then, after his final year at Miami, on to graduate school for a master's of science in audio engineering. This time, the search is narrowed for him: only the University of California, Santa Barbara and the University of Miami offer the degree in the United States. "That would be funny, going to both Miamis."

England beckons too. "A lot of the schools for this degree are in London," he says.

Course demands have cut into Adam's performance time, leaving only enough for his DJ work at WMSR and his new post as chief engineer.

After his master's, Adam foresees his early career: Touring with a band, then studio work. "I'd like to record some albums with bands, then maybe design equipment."

And always, play guitar. "I'd love to have a band as a hobby. I can't see anything that would stop me playing."

Meanwhile, he'll rock with Dr. Mark and the Sutures. "There's nothing that I enjoy more than playing with my son," Mark says warmly. "He considers me an absolute nerd, while everyone else in the band he thinks is sorta cool. It's a unique opportunity for us to share our love of science, music, and Miami."

And before it all gets too mushy, as Adam complains when his dad sings "The Long and Winding Road," there is always the Dr. Mark and the Sutures signature finale.

"This is a family band, and a lot of the audience has watched Adam grow up," Mark says. "We always end the shows with "Get Back," which was Adam's favorite song when he was a little boy. And, since we wear scrubs, I have the itty-bitty scrub suit Adam first wore onstage, and I pull it out of my pocket."

"I'm used to it," sighs Adam. "I go along with it." As the Beatles say, "Let It Be."

Betsa Marsh is a frequent contributor to Miamian.

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