American Songwriter is happy to premiere “December,” a new song written, performed and produced by Seattle artist Lizzie Weber.
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Written in November of 2017, “December” emerged soon after Lizzie was married, and her husband was deployed for military service overseas. That separation caused her to reflect, as she said, “on the importance of togetherness, the value of the physical presence of our loved ones in our lives, and how that is truly the greatest gift.”
Born and raised in St. Louis, she
moved to Seattle in 2016. Of living there, she said, “I couldn’t be happier;
it’s a thriving city with one of the most diverse artist communities I have
ever been a part of.”
She started playing piano and writing songs at 14. A few years later she started playing guitar when her father gave her one. He also gave her another significant gift – when she was only six – her first-ever CD, and one which had a lasting impact: Alison Krauss & Union Station’s Everytime You Say Goodbye.
“I could recite that record start to finish and still can,” she said. “Everything about it was striking to me.” From there she started listening to more female contemporaries, including Jewel, Fiona Apple and Sarah McLachlan. Later came her love of Vanessa Carlton, Regina Spektor and Joni Mitchell.
“These women all had such a profound impact on me,” she said, “and
demonstrated such diversity in their work. I knew I wanted to strive to do the
same and make music that is dynamic yet emotionally powerful and intimate.”
These days Lizzie produces her own music, something she has grown to love. Recorded at the Unknown Studio in Anacortes, Washington, and engineered by Nich Wilbur, it took about twelve hours of tracking before it was mixed.
“It’s much less daunting to produce my own work than it used to be,” she said. “I was fortunate to collaborate with some dear friends and very talented musicians for this track. I performed guitar, piano and vibraphone but had Eli Moore on bass, Bill Panks on violin, Aleida Gherels on viola, Jeremiah Austin on Trumpet, Jeff Lacey on drums and Ben Meyer playing slide guitar. All of them legends.”
This story has a happy ending. Her husband came home safely from this and all of his deployments in his ten years of service. But getting through that time without him is something that she will never forget, and both informed and inspired this song.
“Spending the holidays apart was always the most difficult part,” she said. “I hope this song resonates with those who are going through the same thing this year.”
