She and Him

She & Him
She & Him at the Newport Folk Festival, 2 August 2008
Background information
Origin	Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Genres	Indie pop, indie folk, sunshine pop, doo-wop, rock, surf rock, R&B, jazz
Years active	2006–present
Labels	Merge, Double Six, Columbia
Associated acts	If All the Stars Were Pretty Babies, Monsters of Folk
Website	www.sheandhim.com
Members	Zooey Deschanel M. Ward

She & Him is an American musical duo consisting of Zooey Deschanel (vocals, piano, ukulele) and M. Ward (guitar, production). The band's first album, Volume One, was released on Merge Records in March 2008. The duo is augmented by session musicians Scott McPherson (drums), Chris Scruggs (pedal steel guitar, mandolin) and Mike Coykendall (bass, guitar). Their music incorporates folk, sunshine pop, surf rock, and the work of producer Phil Spector.

Deschanel and Ward met on the set of the film The Go-Getter, in which Deschanel had a starring role. Martin Hynes, the director, introduced them to each other and asked them to sing a duet for the film's end credits. They performed the song "When I Get to the Border" by Richard and Linda Thompson. The two bonded over a shared interest in albums produced by George Martin and Phil Spector, as well as certain Ralph Peer groups such as the Carter Family.

Ward heard Deschanel sing in the film Elf. He was surprised to learn that although she wrote songs she hadn't pursued a career in music. Deschanel commented in an interview with Venus Zine: "I always thought I would be able to sing and act, but at a certain point, it became difficult for me to share the music part. So I was writing a ton of music, but not really doing anything with it. I didn't really know exactly who to collaborate with until I met Matt, and everything seemed to fall into place.” Deschanel had actually done years' worth of home demos, but was shy about becoming a big-name celebrity. On a whim, she sent them to Ward. Ward called her a short time later, telling her that he would like to record her songs properly, and their band She & Him was formed. Deschanel said in an interview: "I always have loved music, ever since I was really little. I just loved to sing."