All Fans Are Encouraged to Join as the Extra Haim Sisters Member.
"Do you know when you'll be interviewing the band?" an inquiry reads. "I wanted to ask if I can be their extra sister."
There's just a single issue: The sender also wants to be the Haims' fourth member. Furthermore, we are in plentiful company. Several famous fans have openly coveted the honor.
It's clear something is happening. Sisters Este, Danielle and Alana launched their path performing shows at small eateries with their family. Today, they are repeated Grammy Award nominees.
In the tradition of the best bands, they're a tight-knit gang. Their videos repeatedly show them marching in harmony down the roads of Los Angeles. In concert, they play with such pure joy you inevitably think, "I'd love to be involved in that, too."
"The amount of times on tour that fans approached us and said, 'After your show, I picked up a drum kit'," says Alana, the youngest of the sisters. "That's the greatest honor. It is a prize in itself. We've done our job if we can inspire people to start a band."
"And thus everyone gets an invitation to be the honorary member of Haim."
Award Nod
The trio are connecting from a break, where they're recovering after an lengthy tour in promoting their fourth album, I Quit.
They're right now celebrating the news it's been in the running for a top rock honor at the Grammy Awards – with Haim the very first all-woman band ever in the running for the award.
"I follow the lists every year, so it sort of feels like The Truman Show when your name is called," explains Alana. "I needed to phone my sisters to say, 'Did we just hear this correctly or am I imagining things'?"
The significance of the honor is deeply felt by the trio.
"We really set out to make a guitar-driven album this time, so it's a huge achievement," continues Alana. "However we're just grateful for the pioneers that paved the way."
Emotional Upheaval and Humour
The record emerged from a time of personal change. All three sisters found themselves single, and the music inhabits that unique transitional period where you're happy to be free, but not quite ready to move on.
The lyrics follow endings and goodbyes. The sisters want love, but not the specific love they've experienced. You can hear them working out in the moment who they are becoming.
"I adore summary, yes," agrees Danielle. "I Quit is essentially a personal statement. You have to consciously practice shutting out the criticism and saying, 'I couldn't care less what people think'."
Refinement of Sound
That developed resilience demanded a new sound – more organic and direct than anything the band had done before.
For Danielle, who helped produce the album, that began with the drum sound.
"Percussion is such a specific thing, and I care so much about it," she emphasizes.
"'Journey of the drum sound' will be the title of our memoir," laughs Alana. "I've said it, our albums won't commence until we find the ideal drum sound."
Stories and Shared Laughter
The band's candor fueled the album's rollout, where the sisters shared some of their romantic tales.
Someone left Este over a health concern. Alana told a story of flying to celebrate New Year's Eve with someone, only to receive a high five at midnight.
"Experiencing these breakups, you just feel like there's only darkness," notes Alana. "Therefore to be able to share those stories and hear others tell you even crazier stories, it's therapeutic."
An Assured Future
It's not difficult sense a change in the band. Now, Haim are more assured of their standing in the music world.
They're top-billed acts, with hit albums and an worldwide following.
But Haim will always be their primary priority.
"My sisters and I have been playing music since I was little," says Alana. "It feels as if no alternative that we were meant to do. And I'm really fortunate we've made it and we're still going strong."