Music: Time to Play 'For Callum'

"YOU'VE JUST got to put on that surgical mask and wash your hands a lot."

The sentence above is a simple statement. It's when it's put in context that it becomes heart-wrenching.

J. Robbins isn't talking about a medical procedure. The 39-year-old music producer is talking about the precautions he and wife Janet Morgan must take when either of them gets sick around their 16-month old son, Callum.

Callum was just seven months old when he was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). The genetic condition short circuits the brain's ability to communicate with the body's muscles and stifles development. A cold that would be a nuisance for most babies could be life threatening for Callum.

"When someone with SMA gets a cold, they generally haven't developed enough breathing muscles to cough stuff up, or get the infection to move," Robbins explains. "So it settles and [if] it gets worse, it becomes pneumonia."

Half of babies born with this condition don't make it past their second year.

Rather than wallowing in the horror of this statistic, Robbins and Morgan are aggressively fighting for their son's life. They're seeking treatment at places outside the medical mainstream—like the Columbus, Mississippi physical therapy center Futures Unlimited—that are already yielding positive results: "There's a growing sense of him inhabiting his body more," says Robbins.

And while this means progress for Callum, it also translates into "outside insurance coverage."

That's where "For Callum" comes in.

As those who attended the Dismemberment Plan's reunion shows at the Black Cat in April that benefited Callum can attest, the indie music scene has been rallying behind the cause. Shows have been held on Callum's behalf from New York to Minneapolis as those Robbins and Morgan have worked with over the years step forward to lend a hand. Zach Barocas brainstormed another way to help his former Jawbox bandmates: a benefit album.

He coordinated with Catlick Records President Dave West, and after making a lot of phone calls, pulled together "For Callum," which features 32 tracks from names like Mission of Burma and Jawbreaker. It's worth noting that Barocas had originally intended the CD to be a single disc, but the response was so strong it quickly became two. Catlick, Letterbox (the stationery shop Barocas owns with wife Kimberley Yurkiewicz) and The Cultural Society (an online project headed by Barocas) covered the production and distribution costs.

"A cure for Callum means a cure for many children," says Barocas. "The ripples of an effort like this cannot be underestimated. So if all you have to do to help is buy a terrific record, whose contributors represent the last twenty years of several kinds of rock music bound together by love and respect for Janet, J. and Callum, that seems a simple and easy move."

Former Jawbox bassist and DeSoto Records President Kim Coletta agrees.

Her latest release, "Play," is dedicated to Callum. "He's the sweetest, brightest kid," she says.

And to bring the effort full circle, some tracks on "Play," an indie-rock take on kids' tunes that benefits two youth music charities (Seattle's Vera Project and D.C.'s Patricia M. Sitar Center for the Arts), were recorded by Robbins.

One of those songs was "The Grizzly Jive" by D.C. faves Georgie James.

"That was actually the first time I recorded with J.," recalls James' John Davis. "I've known him for years and have always wanted to record with him."

Was Callum around for the sessions as an adviser?

Robbins laughs. "In general we've been trying to keep him away from loud noise. That's one thing about 'Play': It's definitely a pop/rock compilation and is a really up record. He was around when [Janet and I] did our vocals for the song on Zach's compilation [Channels' "Cast Away"], but it's not the same as a live drum kit."

Photos courtesy Robbins family, Zach Barocas, DeSoto Records