Today, renowned rock cellist Gordon Withers releases a pair of covers for purchase — “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 percent of proceeds from the sale of the effort go to The Southern Poverty Law Center. Art was provided by Nathan Shumaker (of The Burning Paris).

Order the effort here.

“My non-musical work has largely involved serving the progressive nonprofit sector,” Withers says. “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. Read more at The Nonprofit Alliance: https://tnpa.org/this-isnt-about-splc-its-about-all-of-us/.

“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.”

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.

Art courtesy of Nathan Shumaker.