From behind her acoustic guitar, songstress Pearl Charles channels the classics, but with an updated take summoned from her own experiences. There's a pop element to her guitar-driven folk songs that could just as easily occupy shelf space among rock records from the '60s and '70s as they can turn up in an iTunes library of today. Over searing chords that sound seeped in Southern California sun, Charles spins tales of lovers and life's stages with the aid of lush vocal harmonies and punchy rhythms.

Following stints as a member in a variety of musical groups and tackling everything from Americana to surf-rock, Charles went solo last year with the release of her self-titled debut EP. Charles just wrapped a tour of the southwest last week, supporting Conor Oberst for a string of dates. We got to catch up with her on the road to chat about how she came to land at buzzy label Burger Records, the influence of Laurel Canyon and how she's grown since going solo.

Hometown/Homebase: Los Angeles, CA

How did you start playing music to begin with? What inspired you to start playing guitar?

My older sister started piano lessons when I was four years old, and I begged my parents to let me take them as well. They were wary to start me so early, so they waited until I was five years old, and the rest is history! I was really into musical theater and started singing lessons when I was nine, but a few years later, when I was about 12, my musical interests started to broaden. I started getting interested in more guitar-based pop music and songwriting, so guitar lessons seemed like the natural next musical progression for me.

How does this project under your own name differ in dynamic from when you've been part of a band? 

I loved being a part of bands in the past, but I was never the songwriter in my previous projects. It was amazing to get to learn from such talented songwriters and bandleaders before I branched out on my own, but it’s really nice to get to speak from my perspective these days.

How did you link up with Burger Records?

The Blank Tapes, the band I was in before I started doing my own thing, had done a few releases with Burger Records, and I’ve always liked to keep my musical life all in the family so it made sense to put out my first release with them as well.

What about '60s and '70s music inspires you? In terms of the Laurel Canyon scene and its artists, how does it/they relate to you as an artist you today?

I’ve always been drawn to music of the past but believe that the music I love from those eras is reflective of the times in which they were created, and I know as an artist I want to do the same. My first band tried to emulate a depression-era style and my second was more influenced by the psychedelic-garage period of the 1960s. I’d like to think I’ve taken these influences, picked up things from the ‘70s and beyond, even going into the ’80s especially with our new stuff, and melding them together to create something that is hopefully original and exists in the present. I grew up blocks away from Laurel Canyon and have always felt very connected to the music that came out of that area because it encapsulates and evokes an unspeakable feeling in me that I want to be able to bring to my listeners.

What do you think the folk genre affords that others might not?

I am sure every genre of music speaks to different writers on different levels. I just have found for myself that the classic elements of songwriting and storytelling established in folk music, as well as the use of traditional instruments, have been the best platform for me to communicate my message.

What do you like about being a creative in LA?

LA is and has always been an epicenter of so many different types of music and art. Whether it comes from nature, the buzz of constant creativity happening all over the city currently, or the feeling that you’re walking in the footsteps of your artistic heroes that were doing the same things in the same places before you, there is definitely no shortage of inspiration here.

You have a BFA in Music. What did you learn that you're able to apply to your current solo path?

I find that a lot of songwriters who go to music school echo the same sentiment when asked this question which is: One of the most useful lessons you can take away from your musical education is that having learned all “the rules” as to what is deemed right or wrong in traditional music theory, you now have the ability to run as far in the opposite direction as you want and not be confined by them. Some of the best songs are created outside of the limits of what would be considered correct in a traditional education setting, but the ultimate master doesn’t fear learning the rules, because they will only be opening themselves up to more knowledge.

Imagining your music as the soundtrack a road-trip, what would be the route, destination and era?

My music is deeply influenced by my time on the road, so I’d like to think it would accompany a tour pretty well! Though I’d love to imagine my songs being hits on a ‘70s AM Gold station, it’s more important to me to create something that exists in the now because that’s the world I am living in and want to connect with. I’m answering these questions from the road back from Austin City Limits so a trip through the Southwest would definitely seem appropriate but I’ve always traversed up and down California so a trip to Joshua Tree or Big Sur wouldn’t seem too far off either!