| Gordon Withers - Jawbox on Cello: A Benefit for Cal Robbins |
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| Written by Jason Ferguson | |
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Gordon Withers Jawbox on Cello: A Benefit for Cal Robbins [self-released] For months, there was a donation jar right next to the cash register of my local indie record shop. A cute picture of baby Cal Robbins was on it, with a brief explanation of the young lad’s problem. Little Cal was diagnosed with Type 1 Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a phenomenally devastating condition that kills most kids who have it, and those it doesn’t kill, it leaves debilitated and unable to walk. Most of the treatment for SMA is considered “experimental,” and all of it is expensive. Unfortunately, Cal’s dad is in that most fiscally unrewarding career of punk-rock legend. J. Robbins, of Government Issue, Jawbox, Burning Airlines and Channels fame makes a decent living as both a musician and as a recording engineer. He’s even got insurance. But one thing he doesn’t have is the sort of funding required to treat – much less cure – such a monstrous disease. Thus, the donation jar at the cash register, which was one of many in indie record stores across the country. This CD is sort of a musical version of those jars. D.C.-area musician Gordon Withers put together a dozen of his cello-based renditions of Jawbox songs like “Reel,” “Spoiler” and “Desert Sea” and though they sound just like you’d expect them to, they nonetheless sound like nothing you’ve ever heard before. Again, cello versions of Jawbox songs ... that may be the most emo thing ever. Back to the donation jars: at some point recently, the jar on my local shop’s counter disappeared. Not because little Cal had been cured, but because some asshole had stolen it. Don’t be the file-sharing version of that asshole. |
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