Bad Copy

Earlier this month, renowned rock cellist Gordon Withers released a pair of covers. They included “Never Meant,” originally by American Football and “Calba’s Last,” originally be Ethel Meserve. The covers, which were mastered by Dan Coutant at Sun Room Audio, are offered as part of Sweet Cheetah Publicity/Records “Covers For A Cause” series and 100% of proceeds from the sale of the effort go to The Southern Poverty Law Center.

Withers is an American cellist specializing in post-punk, post-hardcore, and new classical styles. He has played with J Robbins (J Robbins Band, Office of Future Plans, J Robbins acoustic), Zach Barocas’s New Freedom Sound, ambient collective We All Inherit The Moon, and has contributed cello parts to countless recordings over the past three decades. He has released several solo albums of cello tributes and originals.

Withers shared the following about the dual release:

“My non-musical work has largely involved serving the progressive nonprofit sector. Recently, renowned civil rights organization Southern Poverty Law Center has been systematically targeted by the Trump administration, as retaliation for SPLC’s infiltration of white supremacist hate groups. The consequences of this indictment could have massive, chilling consequences for the entire nonprofit sector.

Since music and the arts are an excellent path to raise awareness and educate people, I chose to release this benefit single in support of SPLC. All proceeds after fees will be donated to the organization.

After seeing how strongly American Football fans embraced cello riffs of ‘Never Meant’ on social media, a full arrangement of the song felt inevitable. And the b-side, an equally beautiful track from the lesser-known ’90s emo/post-hardcore band Ethel Meserve, is a song that deserves more listeners. I feel the two tracks complement each other nicely. Both bands are on tour at the time of this writing (July 2026) — Ethel Meserve for the first time since the ’90s.”

Stream the duo of covers below and make sure to grab your copy here!