Inspiring Conversations with Allie Capo of Capo Vintage and Allie Capo Music

Today we’d like to introduce you to Allie Capo.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Hi, Allie Capo here. I am a singer/songwriter and guitarist of Allie Capo Music. I write and produce my own music. I also have my own clothing brand “Capo Vintage”. My brand is where I design original clothing apparel as well as reconstruct thrift store pieces into urban fashionable wear. I have always been creative since I was a child. I started leading songs in the choir at the age of six, I was a dancer and I loved the art of all sorts.

I am from Raleigh and I graduated from North Carolina Central University back in 2015 with a bachelor’s in mass communication. While I was a senior in college, I wrote for the campus newspaper with the position of Arts and Entertainment editor. There I would cover arts and creative events in the Durham community. By going to these different events, I was able to network and meet a lot of artists and creatives in the community.

This is how I transitioned into being a singer-songwriter. After graduation, I began to go to local open mics where I would sing and showcase my talent. From there I was able to create a name for myself and then was able to land a number of singing gigs through the city.

I have had the honor to perform in different shows and festivals such as art of cool, earth girl festival, Weddings, The Carracks annual fundraising event, and more. For about a year, I performed with a band and oftentimes I would perform with the members of the band “Tha Mats”. They are a group of amazing artists. After performing with a band for some time, I taught myself how to play the guitar and eventually learned how to run my own setup as a singer/songwriter guitarist.

I now sporadically take on busking gigs by bookings through sonic pie productions in Durham and Chapel Hills’ Downtown Music Series on occasions. Here’s how I created my clothing brand capo vintage. Back in college my friends and I really lived the starving college student life.

In college, I was the president and the Misses of a modeling troupe called Bon Vivant. We would often go to the thrift store to collect clothing pieces for the fashion shows we were a part of. Over time, I collected some really nice pieces. After graduation, I had the idea to host a pop-up shop where I would sell my clothes. This event became well known throughout the community. Here, I would invite other apparel and art vendors to come out and sell their clothes.

I would also invite singers, rappers, spoken word artists to come out and showcase their talents. I hosted these pop-up shops from 2015-to 2018 and I met some amazing artists along the way. I currently still sell my Capo Vintage pieces and my business is going strong.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not necessarily a smooth road but there is beauty in the process. I have learned so many things! The number one thing I learned is to not have too high of expectations of people. The right people will support you. I created a whole team of supporters and friends just by starting my Capo Vintage Pop Up community events.

I created another support team just by being an artist. I took the first steps and my community then came to me. I will also say trust the process and do not give up. Every failed attempt is just a learning experience. I will also say do not let fear of rejection hold you back from sharing your art.

Your art and your craft are not for everyone and that is okay. The right people that you are called to will support and appreciate your art. Keep going, never give up, and believe in yourself.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Capo Vintage/ Allie Capo Music?
Capo Vintage is an urban apparel line. I originally created my clothing brand by going to the thrift store, finding both male and female clothing items. I would then reconstruct and upcycle the clothes to give them a more trendy urban style to resell. I did this for about 4 years.  Within the last 2 years, I have been sewing more and making more original pieces from the fabric stores and this has been super exciting.

I believe being a seamstress sets me apart from others and is able to have a creative eye when it comes to clothes. I believe sewing is somewhat of a dying art. I believe more young people should develop this skill. Also, I am proud of my music Allie Capo Music. What is interesting about my music is that I dropped an acoustic EP at the end of 2020. I literally recorded, produced, mixed, and mastered the entire project on my mac book pro.

Two of my songs were also accompanied by Bassist Steven Deshay and distribution was handled by David Binanay. I was just really proud of myself for learning the computer software, then recording my guitar line and then my vocals. I have always had a level of determination that when I wanted something to be done, NO was never an answer. If I had to figure out how to do something myself, I was just determined to get it done.

You can find my music on all platforms if you google “Allie Capo Music” and Capo Vintage, you can follow me on Instagram and Facebook.

The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
Yes, I have learned the importance of self-care, being aware of your emotions, and how to be in tune with your present moment. For self-care, pay attention to your body. Allow yourself to rest because if you don’t your body will make you rest. So take a self-care day as intake on a hobby or do something that brings genuine joy to yourself. Engage in an activity that will aid your mental health, like hiking, running, working out, reading a book, gardening, etc.

The second one I have learned is to be aware of your emotions. I believe a lot of humans have an unhealthy relationship with our negative emotions. When we feel feelings of sadness, frustration, depression, etc. We are quick to suppress them and not allow ourselves to those emotions. With the pandemic, those emotions have been elevated even more. One thing I have learned is it is okay to embrace those emotions and allow yourself to sit in them and feel them. Let the emotions run their course and then release them.

It’s okay to not be okay. It’s okay to not always be a that strong person for others. The last thing I learned was to live in the present and be grateful for the things you have TODAY, RIGHT NOW. Oftentimes, we get caught up in “If I just release this project, then I will be happy, or when I get that house then I will be happy”. I have learned the importance of doing an inventory of the things that I have currently been blessed with and learning to be content and grateful for them.

And also of course to keep God first and trust him in all things.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @allie_capo, @capovintage_
• Facebook: Allie Capo Music
• Youtube: Allie Capo
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/allie-capo

Image Credits
Luiz Moreira @luizmoreira_, @theslimcreative, and @Darnellphotography_ctm