Count Kellam: A JWF Impact Story by Claire Levine

Count Kellam was living in Georgia when he heard that one musician friend and then another were moving to Oregon. When a third friend said he had moved to Portland and was designing a recording studio, Count knew it was time to leave Atlanta and join his friends.

It was the music community that drew him west, and it was the music community in the form of the JWF Musician Health & Services Program that helped him through a rough patch in 2022.

Count started in music as a singer, songwriter and guitar player. He later fell in love with sound production. While he still creates his own music, he has focused his energy recently helping other musicians get the best sound out of their performances, either live or in the studio.

His job is a physical one – from moving heavy gear to bending over mixing boards for hours at a time. So, in April, when pain throughout his upper body made it impossible for him to raise his arms to his head, he not only worried about his health – he also was concerned about his ability to keep working. Quickly, the pain spread to his wrists, his legs and his feet. 

“I felt like I aged 40 years overnight,” he said.

While Count’s condition initially stumped his doctors, it was once again the music community that helped out. A friend’s bandmate had experienced similar symptoms and had been diagnosed with polymyalgia rheumatica, a relatively rare inflammatory disorder. 

Because PMR usually occurs in people older than 50,  Count’s doctors didn’t think of it immediately. By the time he got a PMR diagnosis and started treatment, Count already had lost weeks of work and income.

Over the years, Count had provided sound support for many fundraisers to help the JWF or individual musicians. Yet it took a friend reminding him that the JWF Musician Health & Services Program was established to help people precisely in his situation. “It never had occurred to me,” Count said.

He received financial assistance from the Musician Health & Services Program in May, mid-way through his two-month ordeal. It paid Count’s rent so he could remain in his home, and it paid for out-of-pocket care that speeded his healing. 

The grant “bought me a full month of breathing time, just to heal and not worry about trying to work.” 

Today, Count estimates he is “95 percent back” (he’s still aware of mild pain from a back injury, but it’s not slowing him down). 

Count is eager to remind other musicians about the JWF’s service – and to remind music fans of how much their contributions mean to the entire community. “They (the foundation) came to me and reminded me they were there to help. Anybody involved in music entertainment has access to this.”

Like more than 150 musicians, Count also received a $500 check from the JWF’s Covid-19 Oregon Musicians’ Relief Fund in 2020 - a short-term program the JWF started to help musicians in the community who lost work during the Covid shutdown. It made a big difference while he waited for the long-awaited state unemployment check.

“Unfortunately, artists often feel like they’re on their own, no matter what’s happening in their lives,” Count said. So having an organization like the JWF that can help with cash, as well as advice about other sources of help, is invaluable to the music community. 

“Everybody I worked with at the foundation, every volunteer, was so passionate about their involvement and what they were doing. They all genuinely love being able to offer help.

“And they have the fortitude to stick with it because of the donors who want to be part of it, too.”

Count said, “People sometimes forget how much they need art and music around them. And when people get injured or sick, we need the JWF. They are great about helping out, and they are great about putting on fundraisers for individuals, giving people a chance to see a show and help out at the same time.

“I found myself in need of assistance, and they were there at the drop of a hat.”