All Fans is Encouraged to Be the Extra Haim Bandmate.
"Any idea when you're speaking to the Haim sisters?" a text arrives. "I was hoping to ask if I can be their newest bandmate."
There is only a single issue: The sender also longs to be Haim's newest recruit. What's more, we are in plentiful company. Multiple famous fans have openly begged for the position.
It's clear a special quality is at play. Sisters Este, Danielle and Alana started their musical journey doing sets at local delicatessens with their parents. Presently, they stand as multi-time Grammy contenders.
Like all the best groups, they're a inseparable unit. Their music videos repeatedly feature them marching in harmony down the avenues of Los Angeles. In concert, they perform with such pure exuberance you find yourself thinking, "I want to be part of that, too."
"The amount of times on tour that fans told us and said, 'After your show, I picked up a drum kit'," says Alana, the most junior of the sisters. "That is the greatest honor. It is a prize in itself. We've done our job if we can inspire young girls to make music."
"And thus everyone gets an invitation to be the fourth member of Haim."
Award Recognition
The group are speaking from home, where they're taking a pause after an major tour in for their new album, I Quit.
They're presently reeling from the news it's been in the running for best rock album at the Grammy Awards – with Haim the first all-female band ever in contention for the award.
"I follow the nominations every year, so it kind of feels like a surreal movie when your name is announced," explains Alana. "I immediately called my sisters to say, 'Did I hear this correctly or am I hallucinating'?"
The importance of the honor is deeply felt by the trio.
"We really set out to make a rock record this time, so it's a huge milestone," continues Alana. "Yet we're just thankful for the women that inspired us."
Emotional Upheaval and Laughter
The album came out of a time of transition. All three sisters found themselves single, and the music explores that unique in-between place where you're relieved to be free, but not yet ready to let go.
The words track breakups and farewells. The sisters want love, but not the specific love they've had. You can hear them determining in real time who they want to be.
"I adore description, yes," responds Danielle. "I Quit is like a slogan. You have to actively work on blocking the criticism and saying, 'I don't give what people think'."
Refinement of Music
That developed toughness required a fresh approach – more unpolished and powerful than anything the band had done before.
For Danielle, who worked on producing the album, that began with the percussion.
"Drums are such a detailed thing, and I care so much about it," she says.
"'Journey of the drum sound' will be the subject of our memoir," quips Alana. "Our motto is, our albums cannot begin until we find the ideal drum sound."
Experiences and Collective Laughter
The trio's honesty shaped the album's rollout, where the sisters shared some of their romantic horror stories.
A former partner left Este over a medical consideration. Alana recalled a story of travelling to spend New Year's Eve with someone, only to receive a friendly slap at midnight.
"When you're going through these heartbreaks, you just feel like there's no light," explains Alana. "Therefore to be able to share those stories and hear others tell you more outrageous stories, it's therapeutic."
An Assured Future
One can easily sense a evolution in the band. These days, Haim are more certain of their place in the industry.
They're major draws, with successful albums and an worldwide audience.
Yet the band will forever be their primary focus.
"Me and my siblings have been playing music since I was little," says Alana. "It feels as if no other path that we were supposed to do. And I'm really grateful we've gotten here and we're still making music."