In 2004, just before my wife Kristen and I were expecting our first child, I set out to record a bunch of songs that I had written over the previous few years. I had a feeling that once we had a baby at home, the time just wouldn’t be there to work on my music.

I first approached this as an acoustic-only project that I would tackle by myself, at home with a four-track recorder. But on the train one night, I had a random conversation with a stranger sitting next to me who gave me the number of a producer in New York City. I put a call in to Mark Dann Recording the next day. At that moment I knew the four-track concept was dead and that I would be attempting something a little bigger and more time-consuming than I had originally planned.

The thought of going into the studio on my own was actually a little daunting. Up until that time, my only experience recording music was with my former band Sky Blues. Not only was the band together for eight years, but Greg de Sousa, Jon Rubin and Cliff Rubin were, and still are, great musicians and even better friends of mine. So there was a real comfort level when I would record with them. This would be a completely new experience.

Jump to over five years and two kids later, and the project is complete, entitled New Life. Eleven songs were recorded and mastered by Mark Dann in his NYC and Woodstock studios. Mark turned out to be a great choice; he’s a real professional with tons of experience. I was also thrilled to have had some outstanding musicians in the studio to play on these songs: Steve Holley (Paul McCartney & Wings, Elton John) on drums; Jon Rubin (Sky Blues, and now Skyfactor) on electric guitar/12-string acoustic guitar; Jeremy Baum (Shemekia Copeland) on piano/organ; Cliff Rubin (Sky Blues, and now Skyfactor) on electric guitar; Jon Loyd (Chris Barron & the Time Bandits) on piano; and Mark Dann himself on bass guitar. Each of them added something special to the songs and helped take the recordings to another level.

As everything was coming together, I began to ask myself what it was that I wanted to accomplish with this project. From the outset, I really didn’t have a goal other than to simply complete the recordings. Then it hit me that the time and effort that had gone into the project would have much more meaning if the proceeds from selling a CD went to a worthy cause.

A few years ago, two close friends of mine, Matt and Katie Pagen, received the terrible news that their two-year old daughter Cassidy was diagnosed with leukemia. I went to visit her in the hospital when she was very sick, and to see her in that condition was one of the saddest and most upsetting experiences of my life. It was at that time that I decided I wanted to raise money to help fight this horrible disease from which so many children suffer. Cassidy has had a difficult road to recovery and I am very happy to report that her treatments concluded this past August and that she is doing very well now. She is a wonderful little girl.

In honor of Cassidy Pagen, I am donating 100 percent of my proceeds from the sale of the New Life CD to the hospital in NYC where Cassidy was treated. The money will go specifically to the hospital for pediatric leukemia research. Hopefully with the money raised, we can all make a little difference in the lives of the children who are fighting this terrible disease.

Thank you for reading and for helping with this cause...enjoy the music!

-Marc Keslow