Everyone Are Welcome to Join as the Extra Haim Sister.
"Do you know when you'll be chatting with the Haim sisters?" an inquiry reads. "My request was to ask if I can become their fourth member."
However, there remains a key snag: The author likewise longs to be the Haims' additional sibling. What's more, we are not alone. A host of celebrated supporters have openly begged for the position.
It's clear a special quality is going on. The siblings Este, Danielle and Alana started their path performing shows at small eateries with their parents. Now they're multi-time Grammy nominees.
In the tradition of the most iconic ensembles, they're a tight-knit unit. Their music videos often feature them marching in harmony down the avenues of Los Angeles. In concert, they perform with such pure happiness you find yourself thinking, "I wish to be part of that, too."
"The numerous instances on tour that fans came up to us and said, 'Seeing you perform, I picked up a drum kit'," states Alana, the youngest of the sisters. "It is the greatest compliment. That's an award in itself. We've done our job if we can encourage young girls to form a group."
"So all gets an invitation to be the honorary part of the family."
Historic Recognition
The group are speaking from a break, where they're taking a pause after an major tour in promoting their fourth album, I Quit.
They're right now celebrating the news it's been shortlisted for Best Rock Album at the Grammys – with Haim the pioneering all-woman band ever in consideration for the award.
"I watch the lists every year, so it kind of feels like a surreal movie when your name is called," notes Alana. "I needed to phone my sisters to say, 'Did we just hear this right or am I imagining things'?"
The importance of the honor resonates with the trio.
"We really set out to make a rock album this time, so it's a huge milestone," continues Alana. "However we're just grateful for the women that inspired us."
Emotional Upheaval and Laughter
The project emerged from a phase of personal change. All three sisters were single, and the music inhabits that unique liminal space where you're glad to be free, but not yet ready to let go.
The themes follow breakups and partings. The sisters want love, but not the relationships they've experienced. You can hear them working out in real life who they aspire to be.
"I love summary, yes," says Danielle. "I Quit is essentially a personal statement. You have to actively work on blocking the noise and saying, 'I couldn't care less what people think'."
Development of Music
That recent resilience called for a fresh approach – more unpolished and powerful than anything the band had done before.
For Danielle, who worked on producing the album, that started with the drums.
"Percussion is such a detailed thing, and I focus so intensely about it," she says.
"'Journey of the drum sound' will be the subject of our memoir," laughs Alana. "Our motto is, our albums cannot begin until we find the right drum sound."
Stories and Shared Laughter
The trio's honesty inspired the album's rollout, where the sisters revealed some of their dating misadventures.
One man ended things with 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.
"During these heartbreaks, you just feel like there's no hope," notes Alana. "Thus to be able to share those stories and have them tell you even crazier stories, it's incredible."
An Assured Legacy
It's not difficult sense a evolution in the band. Today, Haim are more assured of their place in the rock pantheon.
They're top-billed acts, with hit albums and an international fan base.
Yet the band will always be their number one commitment.
"We 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 reached this point and we're still going strong."