An Interview With The Pop Songstress, KAT CAPONE!

Known for her awe-inspiring, dynamic performances, NYC native Kat Capone holds nothing back whether on the stage or screen.

In 2013, Kat released her debut EP Summer 22, which immediately caught the ears of media giant Viacom. Her song “Find Me In the Music” was chosen as the theme song for VH1’s reality show: “The Gossip Game” and soon after Kat struck a licensing deal with the company and placed most of her project on various shows and commercials for the network. She is currently developing a workshop for teenagers to help build self-esteem as a part of her “Reflection Project” that she created after recording her song “Reversed.” Kat has also self-published a book in 2016 called “The 21-Day Glamour Guide” where she shares some of her beauty and health secrets.

Her latest single, “Pop” is influenced equally by Fergie’s “London Bridge” and the simple nursery rhyme elements of “Pop Goes the Weasel,” employing clever lyrics that are both sensuous yet seemingly innocent. With an EP coming in 2018, Kat is an artist you want on your radar!

Learn more about Kat Capone in the following All Access interview:

Happy New Year! Thanks for your time today! Where does this interview find you?

Thank You for having me! I’m in New York in my home office.

Overall, how do you think 2017 was for you and your music career? What are you most excited about for this year? Did you make any New Year’s Resolutions? Care to share them with us?

I took a small break in 2017. I moved twice and lost 2 childhood friends. So it was a difficult year and a difficult time to focus. Once I got back on my feet I started working on new music and new ideas. I’m most excited about releasing new videos and putting on a concert. Performing is my happy time. lol. My New Years Resolution is simply to spend more time with my friends. 

Growing up, did you always want to be a musician? Can you recall your earliest musical memory? Was there a time where you thought of doing something completely different?

Oh Absolutely! I knew from the very beginning this is what I wanted to do. My mom played a lot of Madonna and Michael Jackson around the house so I would put on shows whenever friends and family came over. I’d make them sit and watch me lol. I used to sign myself up for music classes and come home like “hey mom I need a guitar, I just signed up for lessons.” I never wanted to do anything else besides be an entertainer, honestly. I do have interests outside of music to include Architecture, Egyptology, Cryptology and Sacred Geometry, but my only passion is music. 

I always like to ask artists about where they came from and how that city or town has influenced them as an artist now. So how do you think your home has affected you and your music today?

New York has always been a major influence on me as an artist and as a person. I think in New York, we’re exposed to a lot more. And I think that plays a huge part in where my imagination can go when I’m creating. New Yorkers are also very assertive, honest and driven. My lyrics are honest and assertive and confident – even in the songs where I discuss not being confident. 

Let’s talk about your latest single, “Pop.” Where did the inspiration for this track come from? How do you think it compares with everything else that you have released?

It’s definitely different from what I’ve released before. It’s got that 50’s swing music style to it which I don’t normally do. And it’s a cheeky way of talking about sex which I also don’t normally do. But i’m growing up and my music is growing up with me. I was listening to Fergie’s “London Bridge” when I first got the idea. And I thought turning a totally innocent nursery rhyme into something sexual but still catchy is genius. So I wanted to do my own version and “pop goes the weasel” became my song of choice. 

When do you hope to release more new music and your forthcoming EP of new material? How different or similar do you think your future music will be to “Pop”?

My goal is to release new music by or before Spring. The songs on this project each live in their own world. They have their own elements to them but they’re still very much me. I think for now “Pop” is the only song I have with that particular groove. 

I would love to more about your self-published book “The 21 Days Glamour Guide” that you released in 2016. Where did the idea to write this come from? Have you already started thinking about your next book?

Whenever I have a video shoot or a show coming up, I follow the same 3 week routine. I created a regimen for myself that really works, every time and I’ve had friends ask me for the regimen. So I decided why not make it a bit more detailed and create a book about it. Most artists have an entire glam squad working around the clock to make sure they look and feel their best. I (for now) work alone. I can’t wait to have a glam squad though! Most women don’t have video shoots lol, but they do have weddings, proms,  birthday, vacations etc where they want to look and feel their best. So I created an at home simple guide to follow on how to get there in 3 weeks. And I’ve had people report back saying they lost weight in a week, their skin looks so much better, happy customers haha. I have started thinking about my next book actually. In the first book I mentioned my going to finishing school twice and some readers recommended I  do a book on what I learned there and how it applies to me now. Although I barely follow anything I learned, it’s going to be fun to write. It will be my twist on the rules.

Can you talk about the workshop that you are developing for teenagers to help build self-esteem as part of your ‘Reflection Project’?

Reflection Project is where I talk to a group of teenagers about self esteem. I spend about 2 hours with them. I assign fun projects that include writing letters to themselves, playing games and really getting down to why they feel insecure and why they have no reason to. Insecurity leads to bullying, depression, & suicide, so it’s a very important topic for me and important for me to work with teens who I know are already going through so much, they just need that reminder that they can get through it! 

Where are your first shows of 2018 going to be? Where can people see you play out live next?

I am hoping for an April show and a few more throughout the year! Hoping to have a few concerts. No announcements yet, but my website and social media’s will definitely keep everyone updated.

What do you think of social media today and the importance of it for artists now? Do you find that it’s hard to keep up with it all?

The most important part of social media for artists I feel is the being able to directly connect with fans and people who support you that you would never meet or talk to otherwise. When I was really little, and i loved Britney Spears, I had no way of reaching her directly to express my love and say how much I enjoyed a song or a concert etc, and people have the opportunity to do that now, so I think it’s great. Keeping up with it is a bit much lol. I do what I can where I can to make sure I’m keeping up on all platforms and responding and engaging. 

We are living in a crazy and at times rough world right now so I am curious how you think being a musician gives you the most joy in life today? How do you think that new music being created today is going to reflect these difficult times?

Whenever anything gets me down, I immediately turn to music. I try to find a song to get me through and if I can’t find a song then I’ll write it myself. There’s something about sound that is such a powerful medium, that when people are going through difficult times, music really does help to calm them down or put them in a different frame of mind. I don’t think there is much current music that is a direct reflection of our current experience. I think most people are trying to find ways to be happy and so the music we’re hearing is more lets dance and be merry music. I would love to see artists come together and create songs like “we are the world” to really talk to people and help humanity find its oneness, but I think we’re in a time where people use their social media platform to speak out rather than put it in music. 

Who are some of your favorite artists or rather, what musicians have continued to inspire you and your music? What musicians would you absolutely still love to work with in the future?

That would be a longgggg list and we’d be here all day. lol. I am so inspired by so many people. It’s actually very rare for me to say there is an artist who doesn’t inspire me. Everyone is so unique and creative in their own right and I think true artists are never inspired by just 1 or 2 people. When you really know your music and you open yourself to multiple genres and multiple artists, it creates a new space for your imagination to run wild. I would LOVEEEE to work with, (be it writing or a collab) Rihanna, Ed Sheeran, Demi Lovato, Cardi B, Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga just to a name a few. 

What do you hope your fans take away from your music? Do you find that a lot of your music has a greater meaning behind it? 

I hope they take with it the authenticity. I hope it gives people confidence that they can be their authentic self as well. I want people to feel good. I want them to dance, to be reminded of how great they are and to know that if they ever need a friend in those times of darkness, my songs will still be there with them. All my songs come from a real place. A place of heartbreak, a place of insecurity, also a place of assertiveness, and confidence and a knowing that theres a light at the end of the tunnel. Music saved my life, music gets me through long road trips, break ups, being in love, parties and trying to fall asleep, so I only hope to give others what music has given me.