Paste Session of the Day: Her's

In 2006, Paste Magazine began capturing video performances of some of our favorite bands and Daytrotter began doing the same with audio. We joined forces five years later, and have since combined to capture 11,545 performances (and counting)—at the Paste Studios in Atlanta and New York; at the Daytrotter Studios in Davenport, Iowa, and Rock Island, Ill.; and at venues across the country and even internationally. We pride ourselves on the quality of these sessions and still can’t believe the range of amazing artists we’ve been able to work with. Every weekday we’ll highlight a favorite session from this deep and ever-growing catalog. Enjoy today’s Paste Session of the Day below!

Gone too soon, and fondly adored by all—Paste had the honor of having the incredible band Her’s perform a live session at The Manhattan Center in 2018 for their Invitation to Her’s sophomore album. They embody the importance of what it means to do what you love and to have fun doing it with the people you deeply care for.

The two created Her’s after being close friends for two years in another band, and they were right on the brink of something truly magnificent when a traffic accident in Arizona killed them both in 2019.

The two started off as a rhythm section of a separate band when Audun Laading realized Stephen Fitzpatrick could also play guitar. “We got very close,” Laading said. “We were hanging out one night—we made an artsy little movie, and that was kind of the start of the band—two years into the friendship when I realized he was good at guitar.”

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They show their incredible chemistry both with witty banter within the performance, and in their chatter between songs. Their discography, while quite small, has a cohesive sound and lots of conversation between instruments with a call-and-response pattern across their albums.

Their impromptu riffs at the end of each song of their live performance credit their ability to move the music around to fit into the present moment. The instrumentation in the live session is quite close to their record—with only a computer, midi pad controller, pedal board, guitar, and bass to provide the band support. Fitzpatrick’s voice is quite unique, shining in his lower register with bass notes during “What Once Was,” the band’s “magnum opus,” according to Laading.

Truly a delight to witness, Laading sports his bass strap like that of a guitar, with the neck touching his shoulder rather than the bicep of his arm. His infectious joy radiates from his playing and dancing. While they took their music quite seriously, this perfectly imperfect performance shows a human quality to their sound. Their genuine love for music is the only takeaway, and that’s what mades them so damn good. Check out the band’s unforgettable full live session, following videos of individual songs below.

Her’s
Session Date: November 8, 2018
Location: Paste Studio, NY
Songs: “She Needs Him” | “What Once Was” | “Under Wraps”
Credits: Brad Wagner (video, host) Bob Mallory (audio)

Paste Session of the Day: Her’s