Grace Weber Covers Warren Zevon’s “Reconsider Me”

Singer-songwriter Grace Weber was in a cover song mood recently, and whipped up a rendition of Warren Zevon’s “Reconsider Me,” just for us. We asked Weber about her connection to Zevon, her upcoming album Hope & Heart, and what it’s like to play The Apollo and The Oprah Winfrey show.

What lead you to cover “Reconsider Me?”

I’ve always been a big Warren Zevon fan, along with many of the other big singer-songwriters of the 60′s and 70′s. My manager brought up the idea to cover “Reconsider Me,” and the moment I listened to it I knew we had to cover it. Not only is the music and melody beautiful, but the words are so direct and honest, it makes for a very heartbreaking and honest song and I connected with it immediately.

I have a good friend who is going through a hard break up right now and the song immediately reminded me of their situation. It proves how timeless the song is and how timeless Warren Zevon is as a songwriter in general. I wanted to cover the song because I loved it, but also so I could learn a little bit about songwriting from Zevon as I tried to make the song my own.

Beyond his music, I’m also really blown away by his life and story. He seemed to be a pretty troubled guy, but I think that’s why his music and especially his lyrics are so compelling. He reveals his pain or his thoughts on the world in a direct and honest way and I think it helps other people cope with their own troubles. I think the more open and real and artist can be, the more timeless they become. And Zevon has of course become a classic and lasting songwriter. I’d like to keep learning about his music and his story, I definitely feel drawn to him as an artist.

Tell us a bit about your upcoming album.

This is my first solo album of all my original songs. I’m so proud of it and I think it really represents who I am as an artist and my pop/soul sound. We had Grammy Award winning producer, Mike Mangini (Joss Stone, Dionne Warwick, Tom Jones, etc.), produce the album and he did an amazing job helping bring my best self forward and creating this cohesive soulful vibe throughout the entire album. I’m really happy with the stories we told throughout the album as well, I think we have a nice mix of upbeat/fun tracks and deeper slower ballads. I’m just really excited to get it out there!

How did you end up on Oprah?

I submitted a video of myself singing “Natural Woman” to a contest Oprah was having called “Oprah’s Karaoke Challenge.” The prize was getting to sing on the show. After I submitted the video, I sort of forgot about it for a second because I thought getting chosen out of the hundreds of thousands of entrants was a bit of a long shot. But two weeks after uploading the video to her website, I was surprised by an Oprah camera crew who told me “You’re gonna be on the Oprah Winfrey show!” I sang on the show a week later and even now, I still can’t believe I actually sang on Oprah. It was an incredible experience (I got to hug Oprah!) and one that opened up a lot of doors for me. I feel really grateful to have had that opportunity. It was awesome.

What was it like playing the Apollo?

I sang on Showtime At the Apollo when I was 16 and I sang as a part of the talent show part of the show. I used to love watching Showtime At the Apollo when I was little and I just decided one night that I needed to figure out a way to get on the show. I started researching how to audition and started out in the regional Showtime at the Apollo competition in Wisconsin and then got invited out to New York for the televised show in Harlem. It was so much fun, but the fact that I could potentially get booed off the stage was a little daunting. They guy before me actually got booed off, the clown guy came on and everything and dragged him off the stage while I was waiting in the wings. But I went out there, rubbed the log, sang my heart out with “His Eye is on the Sparrow” and the crowd loved it and it went great. Singing for that crowd when they are supportive of you is amazing because they’re not afraid to cheer and shout their praises while you’re singing. It makes for a really exhilarating performance, one that feels totally connected with the audience.