Last Christmas, my very good friend John Knill (owner of Dream Maker Studio http://www.dream-maker-studio.com/) invited me to his home for dinner. He and his wife, Jackie, are excellent cooks, especially when it comes to Thai cuisine. I can’t remember if it happened before or after dinner but John gave me my Christmas present early. He said, “Marcus, I want to produce your next CD,” He told me that all I had to do was choose the songs and the musicians with whom I wanted to work. He said that as much as he had enjoyed the other CDs that I had recorded… he felt that I hadn’t yet had the opportunity to make the kind of CD that, he believed, I was capable of. And he wanted to make that possible. Needless to say, I was overwhelmed, speechless and quite grateful.

By the end of Spring I had come up with a list of tunes, an album concept and a working title, "Labour of Love". The title seemed to make sense because that’s exactly what the project is… friends working together to make a dream come true. In the process, John Lynch said that he wanted to be added to the team. He is an incredibly talented musician who has been one of the driving forces in the band "Killarney" for nearly 3 decades. He and John Knill have just completed an amazing CD project together, "Eyes Wide Open". And last but definitely not least, Gail Suderman came on board to lend her wonderful voice, musicianship and inspiration to the project. (Stay tuned. After "Labour of Love" is completed. Gail and I are going to join forces and record a "Duets" CD)

"Labour of Love" will feature songs that I have written of the past 30 plus years. Like, "Hiding Place", a rocking blues about finding shelter in the midst of life’s storms. Or "Holy City", A reggae tune commenting on the conditions of injustice and inequality in the world and an invitation to create something new. Also there is, "Do you Love Me," a love song reminiscent of early Motown that I composed while walking over the Burrard Street bridge in Vancouver BC. I had just finished working as a busker outside of the General Motors pavilion (Spirit Lodge) at Expo 86. I was hopelessly in love but not quite sure of where I stood with the object of my affections. Another of the songs that will be on the CD is "Carrie." I wrote this song while I was working in Germany as a missionary. One of my friends there had gone through a very painful divorce. In the process his wife moved back to the US and took their daughter, Carrie, away from him. I wrote the song in an effort to comfort him. The last song that I will tell you about is "The Test Of Time;" it is a collaborative effort between John Knill, Keith Bennett and myself about the indestructibility of true love.

Then the world changed

The plan was to resume recording of the “Labour of Love” when John and Jackie returned from their “Big Adventure” dream vacation to Africa and Asia… Unfortunately, on December 26, 2004 my dearest friends, John and Jackie Knill perished in the very tragic disaster that took place in South Asia.  I lost my friends in the Tsunamis that struck the small village of Khao Lak Thailand. 

The “Labour of Love” project is temporarily on hold.  However, John Lynch and I have vowed that, in honour and memory of John Knill, we will work together to finish the project. 

If you want to find out more about "Labour of of Love" you'll just have to wait until it's released.