Dr. Mark Hill to play Mickey Finn's

Mark Hill begins by talking about an emergency surgery he performed earlier in the day.

A man was using a power circular saw, Hill explained, and the saw slipped. The surgery was a success. He adds, "I'm sure he'll be more careful next time."

Being a surgeon at Condell Medical Center in Libertyville and saving lives is Hill's full-time job.

What he finds just as fulfilling is playing rock and roll music with his friends - dressed in scrubs.

Dr. Mark and the Sutures is a Beatles and Eagles cover band that does mostly charity gigs. They've been the opening act for the likes of Tim McGraw and Martina McBride, and they've performed on radio stations like WCKG and US99.

For Hill, the band feeds a lifelong love of music to help others.

"We do this for the love of the music, to give pleasure to others," said Hill, of Highland Park.

He learned to play music as a boy from his father, Bert Hill, who was a jazz musician. While the younger Hill spent high school memorizing lyrics and thinking about music, he felt peer pressure to go to college. His adviser suggested chemistry as a major because that was his highest score on the ACT.

At Miami University in Ohio, Hill had a science class taught by Professor Ronald Pfohl, who became his mentor. Pfohl suggested Hill pursue medicine to blend his loves of science and people. Hill later founded the university's premed honor society.

He never lost his interest in music, and even continued working as a paid wedding singer to help pay the bills while in college and medical school.

"If I ever hear songs like 'Close to You,' I'll just die," Hill said.

During his internship in medicine at Harvard, and years later when he opened his practice in Chicago, Hill said he was a "closet rock and roller."

"When they asked what music I listened to, I would say classical," he said. "In those days, rock and roll was not the norm among surgeons."

Rock and roll, he thought, wasn't the image patients wanted in their surgeon.

His music career started quietly in 1987 when a neighbor who heard Hill playing music on his porch asked if he would put together a band for a block party. Hill got together some guys like himself, who also had other professions but enjoyed music as a hobby.

"We all have vocations while we wish this was our vocation," said band member Dave Steffen, a Deerfield resident who works as a plant manager at a paper company.

Their show was a hit, so much so that police arrived to investigate loud music. One of the officers was surprised to recognize Hill, who had recently removed the appendix of one of the officer's children.

"He could not believe it was me," Hill said.

What followed were requests for repeat performances. Hill said the band decided they would only do shows for medical benefits, charities, service organizations and community events. They would never charge a penny to play.

Joining Hill and Steffen are Chris LeSueur of Chicago, Ted Rawlings of Long Grove, and Hill's 23-year-old son, Adam.

"People can remember what year they saw the band based on Adam's height," Hill said.

The band has performed to benefit area charities that support cancer, autism and Misercordia, to name a few. Hill said they play for people who may not get a chance to see live music. Because of their service to Highland Park, the band recently was presented with a mayoral proclamation.

"That is what you do to give back for the gift of music," Steffen said.

But even as Dr. Mark and the Sutures gets more attention, Hill doesn't talk about it much with patients. He is still concerned about how he is viewed by his patients. Still, the band has taught him some important life lessons.

"I am surprised that it has clearly, clearly made my relationships closer with my patients," Hill said.

The band has no plans to put out a CD. There is no Web site or business cards. But going 21 years strong, Hill said they enjoy the music and performing together.

"We live by the motto. When it stops being fun, I quit. So far, it hasn't stopped being fun," Hill said.