Rockenhaim: The family band that launched Haim
Before the Haim sisters were the band Haim, they were child stars in their own way. They were still the Haim sisters, obviously, perhaps even more so as they got their musical start in a family band, proof that sometimes being a rockstar is just in the blood.
They say that siblings are the perfect bandmates as their voices just naturally harmonise. Sharing the same cadence, the same accent, often the same intonations passed down to them by the same parents and growing up in the same household, it makes it easy. The voices meld together, especially when siblings of different ages settle into different pitches.
Anyone who’s seen Haim play live wouldn’t have to know their history, even to just know in their gut that the three are sisters. There’s the physical resemblance, obviously. But mostly, there is just a palpable sibling energy. Their choreography and their onstage banter have the energy of young sisters putting on a show for their parents, making up songs and dances in the living room to impress the family.
But their experience was slightly more elevated than that. Haim weren’t just performing at home, they were hitting the stage. The youngest sister, Alana, wasn’t even ten when she was drafted into the band as their parents, Moti and Donna, clearly dreamed of being the rock and roll Von Trapp family.
Both had been musical all their lives, so when they had their daughters, it was important to the family that music be part of their home. First, they bought Danielle a guitar and were overjoyed when she clearly had a natural knack for it. They got Este a bass to suit. Then, when Alana came along, it was keyboard for her. Whether it was purposeful or not, they made sure the girls could be a band, covering all bases.
While it would all come in useful down the line when the three finally started Haim, at first it was all for the purpose of the family band; Rockenhaim, the covers band their parents dreamed up, where the sisters helped them play 1970s covers like ‘Mustang Sally’ at local fairs.
Like any other kid roped into doing something with their parents, the trio reflect on it with a degree of embarrassment. “The stools haunt my dreams,” Alana Haim once told DIY when reflecting on their old set up, “they were so dorky”. But even through the cringe, there’s no denying that those Rockenhaim days set them up well. As lame as it might have felt, the band and the world were blessed by the siblings’ parents, clearly wanting some rockstar daughters.
That wouldn’t be the only band that came before Haim. After shaking off the rest of the family, Este and Danielle were recruited into a pop group called Valli Girls, signed to Columbia Records, which they’re now signed to again. It was a short-lived moment, but it had some real tween highs, like when they got a song in the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants soundtrack and got to perform at the Teen Choice Awards – early tastes of success that the teenagers no doubt revelled in.
But it would take a moment for the pieces to come together. Danielle needed to become a session guitarist, having formative indie experiences playing for the likes of Julian Casablancas. Este needed to go to college to expand her musical knowledge. Alana simply needed to finish high school and realise that her future could be as a professional musician, not just a member of a family band. When those things aligned, Haim began – and the rest was history.
