Zooey Deschanel

[papa_levante]

blog.seattleweekly.com

October 14, 2010

​I had a chance to chat with singer/songwriter/actress Zooey Deschanel yesterday in preview of her set with She & Him at the 5th Avenue Theatre next week. Naturally, when chatting with the wife of Bremerton son/Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard, the conversation takes a ferry ride across the water. Maybe I'm just reading between the lines here, but it sounds to me like Bremerton's about to get some new neighbors. Here's what happened:

Have you been out to Bremerton yet to see [Gibbard's] hometown?

Deschanel: Yeah, it's really nice, very cute, very pretty. I like it. I haven't really spent any time in the town of Bremerton. I've only been basically to Ben's parents' house, which is very pretty. It's a nice area.

Ever consider making the move? I think the publicity of a Deschanel/Gibbard house in Bremerton would do more for the town than any stimulus package could.

Well, I think we're going to stay in LA.

You know, Quincy Jones is also from Bremerton. Maybe he could produce the Ben Gibbard/Zooey Deschanel record.

(Laughs) We're not going to make a record.

Never?

Well, no, because we're married. You wouldn't want your personal life to get in the way of your professional life, or your professional life to get in the way of your personal life.

 

[papa_levante]

zooeydeschanel.net

6TH MAR 2007 - P. S. ARTS BAG LUNCH

 

[papa_levante]

zooeydeschanel.net

21ST MAR 2007 - SCI FI CHANNEL 2007 UPFRONT PARTY

I hate this look, so I only posted 2 photos of it.

 

[STYLEOClDE]

Lol, this outfit is cute I think! Sort of reminds me of a gingerbread man for some reason...

 

[papa_levante]

Today, Zooey sang "God Bless America" at the Giants vs. Phillies NLCS game.

 

[papa_levante]

Snapshot review: She & Him ends 2010 tour in style at the Orpheum in Vancouver

communites.canada.com

 

[papa_levante]

10.17 - Treasure Island Festival - San Francisco, CA

popgoesrachelflick | popgoesrachel

 

[papa_levante]

10.17 - Treasure Island Festival - San Francisco, CA

flickr | Carl Pocket

Wish I could see what she's wearing underneath..

 

[papa_levante]

Q & A with She & Him
By Francois Marchand, Postmedia News | October 21, 2010

When Matt "M." Ward and Zooey Deschanel revealed their collaboration under the name She & Him in late 2006, it almost felt like the indie sphere was about to die of an acute case of cute.

To combine the two seemed like the perfect pairing: both shared a deep appreciation for the work of Phil Spector and George Martin, for the old sounds and harmonies of classic folk and pop songwriting, and when the duo's debut, Volume One, was released in 2008, it became one of that year's most appreciated and critically acclaimed albums.

Ward had already grown to indie-phenom status, thanks to his spellbinding solo work, years before his involvement with rootsy supergroup Monsters of Folk. Deschanel, the wide-eyed actress and singer who had revealed her smoky set of pipes in the Will Ferrell-anchored comedy Elf, already had a uniquely sweet style all of her own.

In the early stages of Ward and Deschanel's partnership, most of the press attention was devoted to Deschanel's status as a singer, in comparison with her movie career, and with so many other actors' ventured detours into the realm of pop music.

But by the time She & Him's followup record, Volume Two, had been released earlier this year, there was no doubting it: M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel were now "of She & Him fame" proper. Volume Two had taken the duo's debut album and amped up its pop recipe exponentially.

Ward recently spared a few minutes from his busy schedule to answer some emailed questions in advance of the duo's Vancouver show.

Q: Tell us a little bit about the process of going into the studio to make Volume Two. Was there ever any doubt Volume One (which hinted it was the first of, possibly, many recordings) would have a follow-up?

A: No. Zooey's pretty prolific, so I knew there would be another record around the corner. The process for Volume Two was the same as Volume One: Zooey writes the songs and then I'll arrange and produce.

Q: The production is much more layered this time around, with a greater "wall of sound" effect throughout. Did it feel like more of a challenge to record this way, or did it feel like you could take more risks after the success of Volume One?

A: I treat every record I've ever produced the same way: play the demos on repeat, listen to where the song is telling you it wants to go, and then do everything you can to stay out of its way.

Q: What were some of the influences that came into play for Volume Two? And how were the two cover songs selected?

A: We definitely have a love for older ideas in music. My biggest inspiration comes from listening to older records, older guitar styles, and older production styles. Zooey listens to all kinds of music, but she's mostly inspired by harmony singers and older girl groups from the last century. We're constantly covering other people's songs. Zooey suggested (Patience and Prudence's) 'Gonna Get Along Without You Now" and I suggested (NRBQ's) "Ridin' In My Car," so we tried them out and they took on a life of their own.

Q: Volume Two shot to No. 6 on Billboard upon its release. What did it mean to you as an indie act?

A: It's just good to see there is still a market for music I like to make.

Q: What do you see happening in the future, considering how much both of you are involved in other projects?

A: Our Vancouver show will be our last show of the year. We are going to take a break for the holidays after that.

Q: Will there be a Volume Three?

A: Yes, but we can't say when or what it will sound like, as we've just been focused on supporting Volume Two.

montrealgazette.com

 

[papa_levante]

Vancouver was blessed to be one of two Canadian cities that She & Him performed for, and I’m sure I’m not alone in hoping they’ll be back again soon.

SHE & HIM OVERALL REVIEW: A-

thefuturists.ca

 

[papa_levante]

Zooey Deschanel takes control in her music
Posted By: Andrea Warner
10/20/2010 12:00 AM

Her long dark hair, framing a pair of piercing blue eyes, has inspired the hipster-chic look of countless aspiring, awkwardly cute ingenues the world over. Her starring role in (500) Days of Summer can only be described — in part, at least — as a love letter to her innate adorableness. She’s married to indie-rocker Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie, and her parents named her after a J.D. Salinger character. She’s even the face of a U.S. ad campaign for cotton, for Christ’s sake. There need be no more evidence that Zooey Deschanel personifies “indie darling.”

And yet, there is. Deschanel — best known as an acclaimed actress with roles in Almost Famous, Elf, and Yes Man — is also one half of She & Him, the Americana-pop-folk duo she formed with singer-songwriter and guitarist M. Ward. The pair released their debut, Volume One, in 2008, garnering positive reviews and a sizeable audience for its mostly ’60s-inspired ditties about love and life. They’re now on tour supporting Volume Two, which was released in March of this year. And even though it’s two albums and almost three years later, Deschanel is still forced to correct people’s assumptions that Ward — who, in addition to recording under his own name, has been a part of indie-rock supergroup Monsters of Folk — writes She & Him’s songs. He doesn’t. This is Deschanel’s baby.

“People are confused because I don’t play on every song... but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t write them!” Deschanel laughs over the phone from her L.A. home. It’s a frustrated laugh, and she brings up the topic herself — evidence, perhaps, that this is a method of self-preservation.

“I guess I just have to take it as one of those weird things where I guess I’m flattered?” Deschanel jokes. “They think, ‘Wow, she couldn’t possibly have done this!’ I’ve talked to female friends of mine who are singers. A lot of times people will just assume the guys write the songs and the girls sing them — which, you know, Matt [Ward] produces the stuff and that’s a really important part of the process, and we’re all doing important things within the process, but I’m not just showing up and being a puppet. I am writing the music.

“And a lot of times people think I just write lyrics. I wouldn’t ever want to just write lyrics... I’m no Bob Dylan, you know what I mean? It’s not like [my] lyrics are amazing. It’s a whole package.”
Thanks to her lengthy acting career, Deschanel has built up a tough exterior that makes her capable of withstanding the cheap shots she’s required to take.

She claims she was nervous the first time she sent her music to Ward, but that she wasn’t really worried. “I thought the worst that could happen is that he doesn’t like them, and that’s not so terrible,” she says, matter-of-factly. When it’s suggested that plenty of other people might become wilting flowers when putting themselves and their music out into the world, Deschanel is firm in her conviction.

“If you’re going to be a creative person, you have to put yourself up for rejection a lot... You have to accept you’re not everybody’s cup of tea. And I think the more you work and the more output you give to the world and the more successful you are, the more people will hate you and the more people will love you. It’s very polarizing. Just being creative in general — people have strong opinions about you, and you can’t let that affect your view of yourself. You have to have confidence that’s unshakable at the core... but, you know, [you can’t be] so open that you just let it completely destroy you. It’s good to be a little tough.”

It’s that toughness, ultimately, that gives She & Him’s shiny, sincere sound enough substance to resonate with modern audiences. Deschanel’s lyrics have a hint of girl-power-style affirmation about them, a coy sense of humour that’s defiantly at odds with the innocence the songs’ melodies evoke.
The She & Him sound was largely influenced by Deschanel’s lifelong love of the Beach Boys. But her relationship to the classic American pop band goes beyond an affection for surfboards and brilliant harmonies — they were a lifeline to her native California throughout a childhood riddled with lengthy sojourns around the world, thanks to her father’s work as a cinematographer and director.

It’s telling that, though her music could have plenty of international influences, she ardently favours vintage Americana. “We’d listen to ‘Surfin’ USA’ just to hear — ’cause I’m from Pacific Palisades and it’s mentioned in the song. I was so homesick and we were so far away,” she recalls. “We didn’t have the Internet; it was the ’80s. There just wasn’t a lot of connection. We were in Yugoslavia and on this tropical island, and just places where there wasn’t even a hint... of the world we were from, just completely culturally the opposite. So, it was really important to me to just listen to this tape and hear the name of my hometown. I think to me, yeah, definitely travelling — more than it exposed me to other cultures, [it] made me realize how much I love where I’m from and how much I am distinctly Californian.”

Deschanel laughingly admits that she’s romanticized her home state to the point where nowhere else will do. But with one foot in Hollywood and one foot in the music world, there’s not much need for her to leave California. With the ongoing success of She & Him, and the self-chosen infrequency of her acting gigs, the inevitable question arises: Will the day come when music eclipses movies as top priority in her life?

“I’ve always been sort of a doer, you know? I just wanna do things. I don’t wanna sit around, I just want to do creative things,” Deschanel says. She talks for a few minutes about her love of movies — going to them and starring in them — but counters this by acknowledging that She & Him is a more satisfying creative experience. She likes the control she’s able to exert in the band, and working with a few trusted collaborators. She articulates her ambitions and restlessness, eventually winding her way to an answer that satisfies her. For now, at least.

“Doing movies, you’re compromising a lot,” she says. “Ultimately, an actor is meant to trust their director. Your job is to go on set and bring a perspective, but ultimately, the director’s the boss, and you have to be a real serious team player, which I can do, but it’s not my nature. If I had to choose, I’d probably choose writing music and performing music, because I’m doing all of it at once.”

thewriterlylife.blogspot.com

 

[kokobombon]

flickr | Carl Pocket

Wish I could see what she's wearing underneath..

ID on the coat, please

 

[papa_levante]

zooeydeschanel.net

2ND JUN 2007 - 'SURFS UP' L.A PREMIERE

 

[papa_levante]

Airbrushing... at its worst.

zooeydeschanel.net

 

[e-v-elina]

she looks so much better in real life than in those ads.

 

[papa_levante]

5TH JUN 2007 - HOLT RENFREW LAUNCH PARTY IN VANCOUVER

Not loving this.




zooeydeschanel.net

 

[papa_levante]

9TH JUN 2007 - THE 34TH STUDENT ACADEMY AWARDS CEREMONY

zooeydeschanel.net

Princess!

 

[Jenna-maria]

when I first time saw her wearing white shirt dress and black tights I did ran to shop and bought identical dress for myself and wore it about 6 months and almost every day...
I was obsessed with that outfit and wanted to feel like Zooey...
ok, now I sound like total wierdo

I feel nostalgic!

 

[m0del]

The airbrushing is terrible

 

[apriliciate]

Beauty Moment: Lunch with
Zooey Deschanel
by Catherine Piercy

In person, actress/singer Zooey Deschanel is as unassumingly pretty and inexplicably beguiling as any one of her characters. Within minutes of taking her seat at yesterday’s lunch on the rooftop terrace of the Gramercy Park Hotel—wearing a shrunken Boy by Band of Outsiders blazer, flared black miniskirt, and towering Chloé Mary Janes—it became clear why she was chosen as the new face of the British makeup brand, Rimmel. Yes, she is funny (“They make boats out of this stuff, how heavy can it be?” she says, when asked about the weight of her solid-wood platforms), but she is also truly obsessed with makeup.

“I need this!” she cries gleefully of having discovered the company’s transfer-resistant vermilion lip pencil earlier that morning. “When I wear red lipstick onstage, it usually ends up all over me,” says Deschanel, who arrived last night from Seattle, where she is touring the Northwest as one part of the indie folk duo She & Him.

Deschanel, who does her own makeup, is opinionated about color theory (“bronze tones look amazing on green eyes”), and issues practical advice with the confidential air of your childhood best friend: “Do your eye shadow first, then your foundation,” she instructs. “That way, you can clean up any mess without starting all over again.” As for how she gets stage-ready in a pinch: “I always use liquid liner in a Cleopatra wing on the upper and lower lids,” she says. And Rimmel mascara—“It’s so good I don’t need false lashes.”

vogue