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Zooey Deschanel and Matt Ward are surprisingly unassuming. The pair sits in the front corner of the lobby in New Yorks Bowery Hotel, picking at the remains of their breakfast. Deschanel, the She in the duos group She & Him, is clearly more comfortable - or perhaps just more accustomed - to press days. While she sits upright in one of the lobbys grandiose plush chairs, casually adorned in a charming dress and cardigan, he slouches and fidgets, clad in a winter coat and jeans. Besides their manager, publicist and a few hotel staff, the lobby is empty, and the two musicians dont draw any stares from the loud girls behind the front desk.

things Im excited about, and this is really fun and exciting for me. And I love working with Matt. Its just a pleasure. So Im excited to do this. In terms of balancing other things, you either have to schedule things when you have more time or be more organized. I choose to do less. Lest that send waves of panic amongst Deschanels fans, who may fear that between her musical career and recent marriage to Death Cab For Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard Deschanels face wont grace the silver screen any time soon, it should be noted that Deschanel recently wrapped a new film, Your Highness, with

Its clear from Deschanels jovial rapport with Ward and the glimmer in both musicians eyes when they discuss their sophomore effort that doing this right now is the best possible thing both could be doing. Ward, who tersely declares, I am totally focused on She & Him right now, just finished a stint supporting a new album with his musical collective Monsters of Folk and released his sixth solo studio album, Hold Time, last year. Somewhere between these endeavors, Ward and Deschanel found time to make Volume Two, which succeeds She & Hims 2008 debut Volume One. Deschanel (who writes the songs) sporadically sent Ward (who arranges and produces the music) demos throughout 2009, and the pair took quick trips between her hometown of Los Angeles and his hometown of Portland to record. Over the course of a whole year, in small spurts, we were recording the record, Deschanel explains. We would do a couple days here and a couple days there, each month. We kept adding things until the end. Matt was adding strings. It had a long gestation process. The songs were just crying out, Ward adds. They wanted production. The little songs wanted to be heard. And then they needed to be heard. The record itself, which offers 11 original songs and two covers, is an obvious continuation of Volume One, showcasing Deschanels dulcet singing voice and the duos predilection for an older sound. Indeed, much of the album resonates with the tone of music from decades past, and the choice of both covers - NRBQs Ridin in My Car and Skeeter Daviss Gonna Get Along Without You Now - suggests a particular fascination with the 60s. Both Ward and Deschanel, who says, I feel like we have similar tastes, note that this desire to play the songs of others and draw inspiration from classic songs may be derived from how both learned to play music in the first place. I think were hardwired the same way when it comes to music, Ward says. We like a lot of the same things. Were both really inspired by older music. I started playing music by covering old songs. I imagine it was the same for Zooey. I learned to play piano by playing from a jazz fakebook, Zooey replies. I would just go through, starting at the first page, and play through each song. I took lessons as a kid, but I was always playing by ear. So the most grounding thing I could do was make myself play these songs from a book. If

theres a song I like, I want to play it. We love covering songs. Theres something really nice about a) covering a song people dont know and reintroducing people to it or b) covering a song people know and love to hear. When you play live, people love to hear something they know in a way they might not have heard it before. It is perhaps the seamlessness between these covers, which the pair have also recorded for a few movie soundtracks, and Deschanels originals that have fans confused as to whether She & Him even have anything besides covers. Ward mentions, almost happily, that many people have thought She & Him were a cover band and had absolutely no idea that Deschanel can write a song at all. But tracks like Volume Twos affecting closer If You Cant Sleep reveal that, in fact, Deschanel is as good a songwriter as she is an actress - and shes much more willing to discuss her methodology when it comes to music. I remember when I was a kid I would just wander around my parents yard all the time and I would sing to myself, she says, as Ward laughs. You just sort of walk around, you sit, you play with the grass. That kind of time, for me, is the kind of time I need. Doing nothing, not bothered. Letting your mind wander. Thats when I come up with ideas. So thats precious time in my mind [But] you cant force it. You can a little, but not overtly. I feel like I write music best when I have to be somewhere.

Deschanel is certainly recognizable, particularly as her last big film, the acclaimed (500) Days of Summer, was considered a contender for a Best Picture Oscar nomination and received two Golden Globe nods. Shes ubiquitous in the media, first known for her role in Cameron Crowes Almost Famous and later for her quirky sensibility in films like Yes Man, Elf and The Happening, often garnering attention for her vintage wardrobe and immaculate hair. But if you ask Deschanel now, as she sits alertly in the Bowery Hotel, it almost seems like shed rather just be recognized as a songwriter and musician. This is my thing Im focused on right now, Deschanel says, after bantering with Ward about their second album, entitled Volume Two. I try to do less and less. I like to focus on the

Natalie Portman and James Franco. The movie is scheduled to come out in October, and it was recently announced that Deschanel is developing and producing (and likely starring in) an HBO series based on Pamela Des Barres famous book, Im With the Band: Confessions of a Groupie. I have one thing in development that Im working on and producing, Deschanel says. I dont have an acting job right now. I dont really want one. To be honest, its very disruptive and distracting. Its a great job, Im not knocking that, but I love doing this and its very exciting for me to be able to focus on this for a while right now. Its always difficult when youre bouncing around the country. Its hard to focus on a film if your hearts somewhere else. So Im just doing this right now.

Zooey - Walter printed dress Chloe patent belt

Matt - Eubiq plaid shirt

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piano so theres a possibility that something will come out. Thats the extent of forcing. I cant make myself do it. For Ward, who says he listens to Deschanels demos lots of times, the process starts when he evaluates what shes written and decides how best to arrange and record it. Sometimes, as on Sing from the album, he adds his own gravelly voice to supplement Deschanels sweet croon. The most important thing is knowing first whether a song is ready to be recorded and then when its finished and ready to grace the publics ears. Its something you feel, Ward says about knowing when a song is done. Its hard to put into words. You have an idea in your head of how it should sound. Zooey sends me demos, and certain songs just sound finished to me. Those are the ones I feel are ready for production and ready to be taken to the big studio. Theres other songs, that we all write, that just need more time When I listen to my own demos theres just a trigger in my head that says, This songs not finished. I think we all have that feeling. You can also realize its not finished in the studio. Zooeys just an incredible singer and she can make a song thats not my favorite song in the world still sound great. And shes also an excellent songwriter. I just gravitate towards the songs she writes that for some reason feel finished to me. I dont know how or why they sound finished to me. This sort of back-and-forth flattery is frequent between Ward and Deschanel, who both appear gracious and humbled when the other compliments their talents. It was hard to know what the intention and future was for She & Him when Volume One appeared with little prior announcement. Fans knew Deschanel could sing in the movies, but no one could have predicted that her partnership with Ward, whom she met while both were working on the soundtrack for The Go-Getter in 2007, would yield such interesting, almost inevitable songs. As for how many volumes there will be? As long as Matt will produce the songs that I write I will want to work with him, Deschanel says, smiling. The feeling is mutual, Ward agrees. When I first heard Zooeys first few demos, I said to myself, There needs to be many, many volumes. I see this going into the forties or fifties. Maybe even a million. Some posthumous. Its a morbid thing to think about, but there will probably be She & Him records from beyond the grave.

Its hard to focus on a film if your hearts somewhere else . So Im just doing this right now . -Zooey
When I first heard Zooeys first few demos I said to myself There needs to be many many volumes. I see this going into the forties or fifties. -Ma tt

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