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"Any idea when you're chatting with the band?" an inquiry pops up. "I wanted to ask if I can join as their newest bandmate."

However, there remains a key snag: The author likewise desires to be Haim's fourth member. Furthermore, we are in plentiful company. Multiple celebrated admirers have publicly coveted the role.

One thing is obvious a special quality is at play. Sisters Este, Danielle and Alana began their musical journey performing shows at small eateries with their family. Now they're repeated Grammy contenders.

Like all the greatest bands, they're a tight-knit unit. Their videos repeatedly show them marching in sync down the roads of Los Angeles. During performances, they perform with such unfettered joy you find yourself thinking, "I'd love to be involved in that, too."

"How often on tour that audience members came up to us and said, 'After your show, I picked up a guitar'," states Alana, the youngest of the sisters. "That is the greatest honor. That's an award in itself. Our mission is accomplished if we can motivate people to make music."

"And thus anyone is invited to be the next part of the family."

Historic Nod

The group are speaking from their homes, where they're resting up after an lengthy tour in promoting their new album, I Quit.

They're right now processing the news it's been in the running for best rock album at the Grammys – with Haim the very first all-woman band ever in consideration for the award.

"I tune into the lists every year, so it sort of feels like an out-of-body experience when your name is called," notes Alana. "I had to call my sisters to say, 'Did we just hear this correctly or am I imagining things'?"

The importance of the nomination isn't lost on the trio.

"We truly set out to make a guitar-driven album this time, so it's a major milestone," adds Alana. "Yet we're just appreciative for the women that paved the way."

Emotional Upheaval and Laughter

The record emerged from a phase of emotional upheaval. All three sisters found themselves single, and the music explores that odd transitional period where you're glad to be free, but not entirely ready to move on.

The words detail endings and partings. The sisters want love, but not the specific love they've experienced. You can hear them determining in real life who they want to be.

"I adore way of putting it, yes," says Danielle. "I Quit is essentially a personal statement. You have to make an effort in shutting out the criticism and saying, 'I couldn't care less what people think'."

Development of Style

That developed resilience called for a different sonic direction – more raw and direct than anything the band had done before.

For Danielle, who helped produce the album, that was founded on the drums.

"The drum sound is such a nuanced thing, and I focus so intensely about it," she states.

"'Journey of the drum sound' will be the name of our biography," jokes Alana. "I've said it, our albums cannot begin until we find the perfect drum sound."

Experiences and Shared Camaraderie

The trio's honesty fueled the album's rollout, where the sisters revealed some of their personal tales.

Someone left Este over a medical consideration. Alana told a story of flying to celebrate New Year's Eve with someone, only to receive a casual gesture at midnight.

"During these setbacks, you just feel like there's only darkness," says Alana. "Thus to be able to laugh at those stories and hear others tell you more outrageous stories, it's therapeutic."

An Assured Path

One can easily sense a change in the band. These days, Haim are more confident of their standing in the rock pantheon.

They're top-billed acts, with successful albums and an worldwide following.

Yet the band will always be their top commitment.

"My sisters and I have been making music since I was little," shares Alana. "It feels as if no alternative that we were supposed to do. And I'm really grateful we've reached this point and we're still going strong."