One aspect of the music industry that always amazes me is that the bands we see and the music we hear is made by normal, everyday people with absolutely extraordinary talent. Seeing these artists live their lives and face the same challenges we all do makes them even more real and the music they make all the more meaningful. Last week I had the awesome opportunity to meet up with hit band Junior Doctor. Not just the band, but more specifically Megan Hartman, wife of lead singer Mark Hartman, and their family, Markie (8), Topher (6), and Johnny (1). Megan brought me into their RV and showed me what a day in their life was like; a glimpse at the more “normal side” to their extraordinary journey.
Junior Doctor, a pop/rock band hailing from Cocoa Beach, FL, has been together since 2004. Their continued success means an increasing number of tours, some keeping the band away from their families for up to 10 weeks at a time. It wasn’t until their son Markie became injured and rushed to the hospital while Mark was thousands of miles away that they all decided it was time for a change. Mark prayed for a solution and that’s when opportunities started to fall into place; a family friend offered up their RV for Junior Doctor and family to tour together (that’s 4 men, 1 woman, 2 boys and a baby). Not an easy task, but if you ask Megan, she smiles and will tell you how they are beyond blessed.
A typical day on tour, Junior Doctor played a late night show in Greensboro, NC. The next morning they woke up and started the long drive to Vienna, VA. Traveling time is spent homeschooling and studying Bible lessons Megan put together for her family. Arriving around 5pm for sound check and load-in, the band rushes off to get everything set while Megan dresses the boys. She uses the next few minutes to vacuum, clean, do the dishes - basically anything that needs to be done to keep the “house” running. At 6:30 everyone comes back together for a quick meal before rushing back to the RV, grabbing sound cancelling headsets for the kids, and making it just in time for the 7:30 show. The boys watched their Dad on stage as baby Johnny fell asleep. After Junior Doctor’s set, Megan, Markie, Topher, and Johnny head back to the RV for a little sleep before waking up the next morning to do it all again.
It was truly awesome to see how the Hartmans live their life. While watching them, even I was exhausted by the hundreds of hoops they have to jump through every . single . night; Megan, on the other hand, just smiled as she did all night long and said that nothing seems like a chore when it means they get to be together. Mark and Megan are beyond committed to each other, to their family, to Junior Doctor’s music, and to their faith. Thank you Junior Doctor for sharing not only your extraordinary talent but also your extraordinary story. Sincerely – hr
For more information on Junior Doctor, visit their webpage http://jrdrmusic.com and Megan’s blog http://homeiswherethehartmansare.blogspot.com for her absolutely inspiring side to their story.
