Keeping the show on the road

Here's a fascinating article about Nathan Clark George, the folk musician who was featured on Pull Up a Chair (from Franklin Springs Family Media).

Keeping the show on the road

Four years ago a young Illinois couple put their faith in God, loaded their two children into a recreational vehicle and headed out onto the open road.

Opting for the vagabond lifestyle was Nathan Clark George's way of pursuing a budding musical career without sacrificing family life. There are now five children, another is expected in June, and George and his wife, Patsy, are still motoring right along.

"I was working as a recording engineer, pushing buttons for other bands," George said recently during a stop in Charlottesville, where he performed at Jefferson Park Baptist Church. "I was playing music on the side and starting to get invitations from out of state.

"I very quickly realized I didn't want to travel away from my family constantly, and I really didn't like road food. So the motor home made sense.

"I don't know if it makes complete sense, but it made sense for us, and it has been an adventure. When it came time to actually do it, it was exciting for both of us, and Patsy has been very supportive from the beginning."

George's music, as well as his family's lifestyle, is the subject of a recently released DVD from Franklin Springs Family Media. The 90-minute documentary, "Pull Up a Chair," features a 30-minute segment of five days in the family's life as they travel from Colorado to Kansas, followed by an hour of George performing in concert.

The film presents both the joys and disadvantages of life on the road. If the documentary had been made during the family's first year of travel, there wouldn't have been nearly as much joy.

"The first half of the first year was a complete disaster," said George, who writes and sings inspirational, folk-style songs that work equally well in churches or coffeehouses. "I was only getting enough gigs to allow us to eat and that was it.

"There was a moment in south Florida when we literally had only $100 in our pockets, and we didn't know how we were going to get home. I thought, 'What have I done? What am I doing?'

Read the rest of the article here.