All Fans is Welcome to Join as the Fourth Haim Member.
"When are you speaking to Haim?" a message arrives. "I was hoping to ask if I can become their newest bandmate."
There's just a key snag: The sender also desires to be Haim's newest recruit. And we're far from alone. Multiple high-profile supporters have openly begged for the role.
It's clear a special quality is at play. The siblings Este, Danielle and Alana started their path playing gigs at small eateries with their family. Now they're repeated Grammy nominees.
In the tradition of the greatest groups, they're a inseparable gang. Their music videos often depict them striding in harmony down the streets of Los Angeles. During performances, they play with such pure joy you can't help but think, "I'd love to be a piece of that, too."
"The amount of times on tour that audience members approached us and said, 'Watching you live, I got a drum kit'," remarks Alana, the most junior of the trio. "That is the biggest compliment. That is recognition in itself. Our mission is accomplished if we can encourage others to form a group."
"Therefore everyone is invited to be the honorary Haim sister."
Grammy Nod
The trio are connecting from a break, where they're taking a pause after an extensive tour in support of their fourth album, I Quit.
They're right now processing the news it's been shortlisted for a top rock honor at the Grammy Awards – with Haim the very first female band ever in consideration for the trophy.
"I follow the lists every year, so it almost feels like The Truman Show when your name is read out," explains Alana. "I had to call my sisters to say, 'Am I hearing this right or am I dreaming'?"
The significance of the honor isn't lost on the band.
"We deliberately set out to make a rock record this time, so it's a major achievement," says Alana. "Yet we're just appreciative for the female artists that paved the way."
Heartbreak and Laughter
The record emerged from a period of transition. All three sisters found themselves single, and the music captures that odd transitional period where you're happy to be free, but not yet ready to start anew.
The themes detail departures and goodbyes. The sisters want love, but not the specific love they've got. You can hear them determining in real time who they aspire to be.
"That's a perfect way of putting it, yes," responds Danielle. "I Quit is like a mantra. You have to actively work on ignoring the outside opinions and saying, 'I don't give what people think'."
Refinement of Music
That recent confidence required a new sound – more raw and immediate than anything the band had done before.
For Danielle, who co-produced the album, that started with the percussion.
"The drum sound is such a detailed thing, and I care so much about it," she says.
"'Journey of the drum sound' will be the subject of our biography," laughs Alana. "I always say, our albums cannot begin until we find the right drum sound."
Anecdotes and Collective Laughter
The trio's honesty fueled the album's promotional campaign, where the sisters shared some of their romantic misadventures.
Someone ended things with Este over a medical concern. Alana recalled a story of travelling to spend New Year's Eve with someone, only to receive a casual gesture at midnight.
"Experiencing these heartbreaks, you just feel like there's no hope," notes Alana. "Therefore to be able to laugh at those stories and hear others tell you even crazier stories, it's therapeutic."
A Secure Path
One can easily sense a evolution in the band. Today, Haim are more confident of their position in the music world.
They're top-billed acts, with successful albums and an worldwide fan base.
Yet the band will forever be their top priority.
"My sisters and I have been making music since I was a young child," shares Alana. "It feels as if no other path that we were meant to do. And I'm really thankful we've gotten here and we're still kicking."