Our Interview with Brenda Malvini of North Highlands: It's what every girl listens to after their first time!

North Highlands was a band I fell in love with towards the end of 2011. Their album Wild One is a perfect blend of sophistication, emotion and sensual chord progressions that have often left me standing shirtless in front of an open refrigerator contemplating the meaning of life and expiration dates on dairy. Brenda Malvini drops haunting and aching vocals over beautiful indie pop that is enough to make a man question everything he once held dear and walk away from a 6-figure salary to walk the earth in search of a soul mate. Just ask my friend Del.

I recently sat down with Brenda to discuss the band, solutions to the facial hair pandemic sweeping the malls and causeways of our country, songs about the loss of virginity, Iron Maiden and my friend Del.

Oh and she was totes hitting on me the whole time.

Enjoy.

SYFFAL: I have decided to model myself after conservative talk radio and make sure that our readers only process information that comes from our site. Since our readers are now devoted to the cult of SYFFAL (as well as free market economics) can you please answer the following:

Who are you?

Brenda: Jasper is the mom, Mikey is the pants, Andy is the cute little bro you always wanted for Christmas, Daniel is the cook (try his collard greens), and I'm the annoying baby sister who always needs to borrow money.

SYFFAL: It's better than being the annoying baby sitter that invites glue huffing boyfriends over for some heavy petting. If a member of your band grew a flavor saver (also known as a soul patch) would you forcefully remove them from the van or mock them behind their backs?

Brenda: I'm pretty sure it would be Daniel in this case- I guess we'd keep him in the van but only because he's a safe driver. We'd DEFINITELY freeze his underwear in that tiny Days Inn freezer every night on tour. You've struck a chord though, why are dudes STILL growing chin 'staches!? It's gross, make them stop.

SYFFAL: If I had the power to make them stop I wouldn't be here writing for some two bit website I started, I would be printing money. PRINTING MONEY BRENDA! Who does what in the band?

Brenda: Jasper drums, Mikey plays guitar, Daniel plays guitar, mandolin, and violin, Andy plays bass, and I play keyboard and sing.

SYFFAL: I described Wild One as follows:
Wild One is one of those albums that you heard coming out of the dorm rooms of the girls who were intimidating in college. It smells like clove cigarettes and sits Indian style in the courtyard reading thick books that were off your radar until you were in your mid-thirties. Wild One is smart, sensual, engaging, a sensational conversationalist and endlessly amusing. You know it will break your heart but you dive in anyway because that's what the Fuck life is about right?

Is that what you were going for when you were working on the album? If not what were you hoping to achieve?

Brenda: Haha, yeah sure, I was hoping the record would come together somehow and I'm glad it finally did. I mean, I'm intimated by that girl from college. The one all my guy friends fell for. I would've killed to be her. But sadly, I don't smoke, I'm way behind on music, I haven't finished most of the books I own, and all my clothes are hand me downs from my pal Laila. But yes, the album is about diving into it, even if you're still all bruised and battered from the last go 'round. I mean, what the Fuck else are we supposed to do? I'm always willing to have my heart broken- addictive isn't it?

SYFFAL: Can I have Laila's number? I met Joel, my partner in all things SYFFAL, back in 1997. We were attending the same Jr. College and were on the Black Weekend Planning Committee. Joel was dead set on bringing the band Stain'd to headline the festivities. I thought this was a bad idea but since Joel has the neck beard of a Muslim from Philadelphia I decided that he knew what he was doing. Not only did he blow the entire budget on Stain'd but he mistakenly hired Spain'd a latin speaking Stain'd cover band. Needless to say this didn't go over so well. Joel had to hide out in my dorm room for the next 3 weeks. It was during this time that we found out we both liked music and making dick jokes, the rest is history. How did you guys meet and when did you know you had something special?

Brenda: We all kinda met in music school but didn't fall in love until much later. Andy, I met on my couch the morning after a party a few years back. I woke him up said, "Hello Andrew, would you like to be in a band with me two years from now!?" So then in 2009, a friend of mine booked me a show at Market Hotel- which gave me about five weeks to get the band together. This is how it happened I think it was the first night of our first practice when we were working on this song called, "Collar Bones," when our five hearts became one. Didn't you realize that Wild One is like one huge dick joke?

SYFFAL: Fuck, I always miss the punch line! So, I feel naive admitting this but I had no idea that the song Benefits was about sex. It wasn't until I saw the video that I put the two together. This has me wondering if my radar has always been off. I am going to give you a list of songs, tell you what I think they are about and you can tell me if I am right or wrong. If you do not know the song just answer "Jim J. Bullock"

Iron Maiden - Run to the Hills (it's about genocide right?)

Brenda: Sad face...

SYFFAL: Natalie Imbruglia - Torn (about losing her virginity right?)

Brenda: HA! YES! It's what every girl listens to after their first time!

SYFFAL: Run DMC - Mary Mary (It's about trading in your cred for a quick buck right?)

Brenda: No Mary Mary! Run DMC says, Keep a healthy body!

SYFFAL: Justin Timberlake - My Love (It's about cocaine right?)

Brenda: Jim. J. Bullock

SYFFAL: Randy Newman - Short People (it's about Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman right?)

Brenda: You're killing me.

SYFFAL: With kindness! Do you still write about me in your dream diary? If so what was the last entry?

Brenda: December 19th, 2011:

Dear Dream Diary,

Yesterday we played hooky from work and sat in our jams on my couch all day long. We watched 8 hours of Law and Order and fed each other Peanut Butter Puffins until the sun went down.

Love,

Brenda

SYFFAL: Those were peanut butter? YOU KNOW I HAVE A NUT ALLERGY BRENDA! Brenda you turned my world on its ass when I realized you look like a sexy brunette version of Molly Ringwald. What celebrities to the rest of the band look like and can you make up the plot of a 80s teen movie using all of you are your celeb doppelgangers in the cast?

Brenda: Why do I always have to play Molly!?! Okay, Mike is definitely Richard Dreyfuss, Jasper is John Cryer, Andy is Val Kilmer, and Daniel is Michael J. Fox.

No, I'm not that good, but please mash up of these plots: Real Genius+One Crazy Summer+ Pretty in Pink+ "I want my two dollars" + Teen Wolf meets Mr. Hollands Opus

SYFFAL: Mike sounds hot, can I have his number too? I read somewhere that you guys named yourselves after your home town, whether this is true or not I don't know and I don't really care, but lets us that formula and try to rename bands based on what town they sound like they are from (doesn't matter what town they are actually from):

Belle and Sebastian:

Brenda: Boring, Oregon

SYFFAL: Atmosphere:

Brenda: Dickshooter, Idaho

SYFFAL: The Dandy Warhols:

Brenda: Howey in the Hills, Florida

SYFFAL: Joan Jett and the Blackhearts:

Brenda: Lickskillet, Alabama

SYFFAL: Slayer:

Brenda: Weiner, Arkansas

SYFFAL: Train:

Brenda: Cheeseville, Wisconsin

SYFFAL: Speaking of Train, I have a soft spot in my heart for that "Hey Soul Sister" song of theirs, my lady friend sang it to our daughter when she was an infant and every time I hear it, it brings back warm memories and causes me to well up a bit. What embarrassing song gets you by the short hairs and won't let go?

Brenda: I have no shame about this sort of thing. I wish I wrote this song for you though.

SYFFAL: BRENDA! Are you flirting with me, you know I am in a loving relationship with Laila and Mikey right? AWK-fucking-WARD!!!!  Our site started out as a small group of friends who loved talking shit about music and making fun of our friend Del. Can you tell us 3 bands, other than yourself, that you think we should be checking for and what you find to be the most hilarious thing about Del?

Brenda: Creepoid (Philly), Heavy Times (Chicago), Brain Idea (Chicago). The fur patch on Del's inner left thigh.

SYFFAL: Please promote anything that you would like to promote.

Brenda: Benefits isn't really about sex and we're going on tour March 10-25th! From NYC->Austin->Chicago!

SYFFAL: LIAR!