Like peanut butter and chocolate, banjo and slide guitar, or a shot of tequila with lime, She and Him prove that sometimes, putting two good things together can make one great thing. Singer-songwriter M. Ward and actress Zooey Deschanel have paired up since 2008 to make sunny, California coast tunes inspired by 70's AM radio. M. Ward, musician, songwriter, producer and collaborator, took a few minutes last week for to speak with The Pitch about what happens when two musical minds meet.
M. Ward: You meet a lot of talented people when you're making music for a living. Adding textures to records is half the fun to production. Getting to work with your friends who have great talent is one of the greatest things about what I do for a living. I've been very fortunate to come into contact with a lot of very talented singers and musicians. I'm much more interested in working with other people rather than investing in the newest, latest gadgets in the recording studio, or updating my software for every new record. I'd much rather work with talented people.
More after the jump.
The Pitch: Do you find others helpful in the creative and production process?
M. Ward: Absolutely, yeah. It's a huge part of the production. I'm not really interested in the sound of me playing all the instruments. I did that growing up on my four-track, and I learned later on that the best recordings happen when you have chemistry with the other people in the room. I love the chemistry that is happening on She and Him records, and we have a great time playing live, too.
Zooey writes the music for She & Him, and I produce and arrange. Together, we work in the studio and record. Zooey's a great piano player, so we use alot of her piano and her vocals.
Do you often seek out specific artists to work with?
Usually, it ends up happening organically. You know, I'm not asking my agent to hook me up with someone. It almost just happens through friends or friends of friends just like any other community gets established.
She and Him will be making their Kansas City debut at the Uptown on August 30, right?
This is definitely She and Him's first show ever in Kansas City, and we're excited to go out there. Mike Coykendall (bass, backing vocals) is from Norwhich, Kansas, he's been recording most of my last few records, and recording most of the last two She and Him records. He lives in Portland now, and he'll be on tour with us. He's looking forward to coming back to Kansas.
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