The People Behind The Sound Cafe Journal

By Stevie Connor | The Sound Cafe Journal

I started it. But somewhere along the way, it became something bigger than me.

Every now and then, I look at The Sound Cafe and have one of those slightly surreal moments when I realise that what I started isn't quite mine anymore.

That might sound like a strange thing for a founder to say, but I mean it in the best possible way.

I created The Sound Cafe in 2020. I came up with the idea, gave it a name, built the foundations, wrote the stories, sent the emails, chased the interviews, worried about the website, wondered whether anybody was reading it and, on more than a few occasions, questioned whether I was completely mad for trying to build an independent music publication in the first place.

There was a time when if something appeared on The Sound Cafe, there was a very good chance I had written it.

Today, I can open the Journal and see names beside stories that I didn't write, voices I didn't create and perspectives that aren't mine.

And strangely enough, that may be one of the things that makes me proudest.

Because The Sound Cafe was never supposed to be just about me.

It started with an idea about music journalism, but what I really wanted was to create a place where good stories could live. Somewhere artists could be treated with respect, where music could be given context, and where the people, histories, cultures and experiences behind the music were considered every bit as important as the music itself.

The Sound Cafe now has more than 4,000 articles, interviews, reviews and exclusive stories in its archive. But numbers aren't what I think about when I look at it.

I think about the people.

The people who give The Sound Cafe its voice

One of the greatest privileges of creating a publication is discovering that other people believe in it enough to give it their time, their experience and their words.

That is what has happened here.

I remain the Founder and Editor-in-Chief, and I am still deeply involved in the writing, editing, research, interviews and, occasionally, the worrying about whether a headline is quite right.

But The Sound Cafe is no longer simply my voice.

It has become a collection of voices.

And that is a wonderful thing.

Stevie Connor

I suppose I have to start with myself, although writing about yourself is always a slightly uncomfortable exercise.

I am the Founder, Editor-in-Chief and Journalist, and The Sound Cafe has become a rather significant part of my life.

What began as an idea has become something I feel responsible for protecting. I care about the standards, the stories, the artists and the people who trust us enough to let us tell their stories.

But perhaps the most important thing I have learned is that being the person who starts something doesn't mean you have to be the person who does everything.

In fact, if you are still doing everything years later, perhaps you haven't built much of a team.

I've learned to let other people bring their own voices to the publication.

And I think The Sound Cafe is better for it.

Erin McCallum

Erin McCallum is our Sub-Editor and Journalist, and her contribution to The Sound Cafe has become increasingly important.

Erin brings her own perspective, knowledge and experience to the Journal, but what I particularly value is that she isn't simply writing to fill a space.

She cares about the stories.

Her Behind The Curtain work has become one of the distinctive voices within The Sound Cafe, and she has demonstrated that there is still plenty of room in music journalism for thoughtful writing that looks beyond the obvious.

I don't want every writer on The Sound Cafe to sound like me.

In fact, I would argue that the Journal would be a much poorer place if they did.

That is one of the things I value most about Erin.

Ken Wallis

Ken Wallis brings another perspective entirely.

His knowledge of Canadian blues and his long association with the music community give him an understanding that can't simply be acquired by reading a press release or listening to an album once.

There is history behind his writing.

There is experience behind it.

And that matters.

The Sound Cafe has always been interested in the stories behind the music, and writers like Ken help make that possible.

Anne Connor

Anne has been part of this journey from much earlier than The Sound Cafe.

She was there through Blues & Roots Radio, she was there when The Sound Cafe was being imagined, and she remains one of the people whose contribution I value enormously.

As a journalist and contributor, Anne brings her own perspective to the Journal, particularly when it comes to global music and the stories that connect artists and cultures across borders.

But there is another reason her presence matters to me.

She has been part of the journey.

Not simply the publication.

The journey.

And there is a difference.

Megan Routledge

Megan Routledge has become an increasingly important part of The Sound Cafe.

Her work as a journalist, combined with the correspondence and relationships she manages behind the scenes, has helped the Journal continue to develop its connections with artists and the wider music community.

Her writing brings another voice to the publication, and that diversity of perspective is exactly what I hoped The Sound Cafe would eventually become.

It isn't about having a room full of people who agree with each other.

It is about having people who care about the story.

And then there is Richard Flohil

This one is a little different.

Richard Flohil isn't simply another writer who happens to have joined The Sound Cafe.

Richard was there near the beginning.

A veteran of the Canadian music business, a journalist, storyteller and someone who has spent decades living and breathing the music industry, Richard was one of the people whose experience and advice helped me think about what The Sound Cafe could become.

I valued those conversations enormously.

Richard had been around long enough to know that the music business is rarely as straightforward as it looks from the outside. He understood the characters, the personalities, the politics, the strange moments and, most importantly, the stories.

He also understood the value of preserving those stories.

Richard contributed some wonderful pieces to The Sound Cafe before eventually stepping away and becoming listed as retired.

And then, wonderfully, he came back.

Today, Richard is once again part of The Sound Cafe as our Special Contributing Writer.

I can't pretend that doesn't mean something to me.

It does.

There is something particularly satisfying about having somebody who was there near the beginning return to be part of what the publication has become.

Richard brings something that cannot be taught.

Experience.

Memory.

Perspective.

And stories.

Lots of stories.

Having him back feels a little like reconnecting with an earlier chapter of The Sound Cafe while opening a completely new one at the same time.

And I couldn't be happier about it.

More than names on a masthead

Sometimes people look at a website and see the finished product.

They see the photographs, the headlines, the articles and the names underneath them.

What they don't see are the conversations behind the scenes.

The emails.

The research.

The interviews.

The editing.

The chasing.

The waiting.

The last-minute changes.

The decisions about what deserves attention and what doesn't.

And the occasional moments when you wonder whether anybody actually cares.

Independent publishing isn't always glamorous.

Most of the time, it is simply work.

But every now and then, you get a reminder of why you started.

For me, one of those reminders is opening The Sound Cafe and seeing somebody else's name attached to a story.

There is something genuinely satisfying about that.

Because I know what it means.

Somebody has chosen to give The Sound Cafe their time.

They have trusted the platform.

They have put their name beside their words.

And they have helped build something that didn't exist before.

That is an enormous privilege.

I started it. But we share it.

There was a time when I could have told you exactly what The Sound Cafe was because it was almost entirely my own voice.

I can't do that anymore.

And I don't want to.

Today, The Sound Cafe is shaped by the people who write for it, the artists who trust us with their stories, the readers who keep coming back and the many people behind the scenes who have contributed to its evolution.

That is what makes a publication.

Not a logo.

Not a website.

Not a social media following.

People.

The writers matter because they bring their own experiences and perspectives.

The artists matter because without their stories there would be nothing for us to document.

The readers matter because journalism without somebody willing to read it is simply words sitting on a screen.

And the people who have helped build The Sound Cafe matter because they have made it something much larger than the original idea I had in my head.

Seven perspectives. One shared belief.

That has become one of the things I like most about where The Sound Cafe is today.

We don't all come from the same place.

We don't all have the same experiences.

We don't all hear music in exactly the same way.

And we certainly don't all write in exactly the same way.

Good.

I wouldn't want it any other way.

The strength of The Sound Cafe isn't that everybody sounds the same.

It is that we share a belief that the best music stories deserve time, context and a human voice.

That is what connects us.

A little bit of pride

I don't often stop to congratulate myself on what The Sound Cafe has become.

There is always another story to write.

Another artist to interview.

Another page to improve.

Another idea that I think might make the Journal better.

But occasionally, I allow myself to stop.

And when I do, I look at those names.

Stevie Connor — Founder | Editor-in-Chief | Journalist

Erin McCallum — Sub-Editor | Journalist

Ken Wallis — Journalist

Anne Connor — Journalist

Megan Routledge — Journalist

Richard Flohil — Special Contributing Writer

And I feel proud.

Not just because I created The Sound Cafe.

But because other people have chosen to become part of it.

That is a different kind of achievement.

Anyone can have an idea.

The difficult part is turning that idea into something that other people believe in.

I think that is what has happened here.

The Sound Cafe started with one person and an idea.

It became a publication.

Then it became a community.

And now, increasingly, it feels like an archive of shared experiences, told by people who care deeply about music and the people who make it.

That means more to me than I can properly explain.

So to Erin, Ken, Anne, Megan and Richard:

Thank you.

Thank you for your words.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you for your trust.

And thank you for helping make The Sound Cafe something that I could never have created on my own.

I may have started it.

But somewhere along the way, it became something we share.

And I think that's rather wonderful.

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The Sound Cafe Journal

Where the story behind the music matters.

Find Out More About Stevie Connor HERE

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