Farewell Letter From Jeff
Hello Canadian Music Lovers,
I’m writing today to discuss some big changes that will be coming to the Cups N Cakes Network in the near future.
It was announced on Episode 198 of our internet radio show this past Monday but for those of you who missed it…
I am leaving Cups N Cakes, the project I began close to ten years ago. For those who may not know, CnC started as an internet radio show that my best friend, Carey Newton, and I started as a way to get together every two weeks and share some laughs. A few years in it changed completely. We added a second show, the interview podcast “Inside The Artists Studio” and I began exploring writing by starting to do small album reviews. Eventually it became a chore for Carey and we also started running out of things to say so we decided it best if I go it alone. This was happening at a time in my life when my mental health had deteriorated to the lowest levels I’d ever experienced. After one particularly useful session with my therapist, I decided to explore the idea of doubling down on my passion project. Cups N Cakes grew exponentially after I made this decision and it gave me a purpose that I was lacking at the time. I was able to help a community I cared about deeply and it did eventually lift me out of (what had become) a three year rut.
Lately though, Cups N Cakes has become a chore for me. I’m in the best mental state of my life and find myself wishing I had more time for other things. As it stands right now, Cups N Cakes takes up anywhere between 10-20 hours of my week. For someone who works 44hrs a week (in Alberta 44hrs is a full work week), has a house to maintain, and most importantly has a marriage to maintain, Cups N Cakes is becoming too much for me. A big catalyst for this change was moving from an apartment to a house in 2020. For the first time in my life I have a garage which I’m turning into a woodshop (I’m a carpenter by trade). Having a yard has also been a fun and I've been getting a lot of joy out of gardening. I think it's time for me to explore these hobbies further and step away from the computer screen. I’m truly grateful for all the support you've shown for this little publication, it could have never gotten this recognizable without your attention. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!
So,
The big question…
What is next?
Well I am so proud to be able to tell you that the Cups N Cakes Network will live on without me! I just beam with pride when I think about that. I’m very excited to report that Sean Newton will be taking over the reins! Sean is the longest serving volunteer at the Cups N Cakes Network and has been doing the “Inside The Artists Studio” podcast for a really long time. I'm very excited to see what Sean will bring to CnC as chief editor and volunteer coordinator.
However, there will be some changes. While Sean gets his feet wet, the website will move towards only having written content with all video and audio programs coming to an end in the new year. I'm truly proud of the audio and video programming we've done over the years. The radio show has had six different hosts in its history as we march to episode 200. The interview podcast is nearing 130 episodes and over the years has welcomed big names in Canadian music like Cadence Weapon, Begonia, Charlotte Cornfield, Daniel Romano, Dan Mangan, and most recently, Chris Murphy of Sloan. The Vinyl Unveil YouTube show has continually urged music lovers to buy music while the Tasty Jams program will be ending its extremely fun run of video reviews at episode 35. While it saddens me to lose these great programs, it was necessary to facilitate a path forward that would see Cups N Cakes continue without me.
One last thing to cover, the big send offs! With the help of a bunch of generous humans, I’ve been working on a farewell tour through the prairies. It is happening in multiple cities and I will be at each event. The events are taking place as part of the Winterruption festivals and I cannot thank the organisers enough for letting me host events during their festivals.
The dates are:
Jan 26th - Regina at The Exchange
Jan 27th - Calgary at Last Best Brewery
Jan 28th - Edmonton at Rocky Mountain Icehouse
Jan 29th - Saskatoon at Amigos
I’ll be appearing at every one of these shows and in Edmonton, I’ll be doing a live taping of episode 200 of the radio show. If you live in one of these cities, I hope to see you there!
Thanks for the continuous support for so many years. (and many more to come!)
Jeff MacCallum
Founder of the Cups N Cakes Network
