Pearl Charles Discusses Album Magic Mirror, Songwriting, Desert Life, and More

Pearl Charles is swiftly expanding her international audience these days, and it’s easy to see (and hear) why. Already boasting an EP and two albums that feature increasingly honed songwriting, Pearl has also established a hard-earned history of strong live performances. Drawing inspiration from an eclectic mood board that includes traditional American folk music, cosmic country, psych pop, and more, Pearl’s music ultimately thwarts pigeonholing and is something thoroughly her own.

This year’s recommended Pearl Charles album Magic Mirror has received well-deserved acclaim, and extensive touring is on the horizon in 2022, so we gratefully seized the opportunity to sit down with Pearl at WMF HQ for an in-depth conversation about her recordings, evolving songwriting, inspirations, and the future.

Bobby Weirdo: You recently came back from a songwriting retreat. I hear about those and know other people who have participated in them around the world, but I don’t really understand how they work. I don’t know if this is the same one or not, but you’ve been to one in Nantucket before, right?

Pearl Charles: Yeah. This was the same one, but it was very different this time around. The last time we went, there were only five people there the whole time. This time they got all the songwriters that have gone in the past [except] not all of the international ones could come because of COVID, and traveling was difficult. They built a recording studio, and everyone who could – and was vaccinated – got together. The last time we were there, there was no studio, and it was much less collaborative.

I was presented with the idea that it was potentially collaborative, and that’s my style, so I was really excited. I still wrote two songs the last time I was there over the course of a few weeks. For me, that’s pretty productive. I’m a slow mover; it’s in my chart as a Taurus. It’s funny because I got a tarot reading while I was there, and she told me that was part of my process. It’s true; I’m very deliberate.

But the thing about the songwriting retreat is that there’s no structure whatsoever, so anything you’ve ever heard about is probably very different [than this one]. There are different kinds, and I’ve heard about songwriting camps where people get together to write songs for pop stars, and it’s very much about producing something. The way that this was presented to me was that it could be collaborative, but you can also literally do whatever you want. If you want to go there and just do yoga the whole time, or meditate, you can do that.

They hold another program there for writing, and this was the second year that they were trying this for songwriting. The first time was a different experience. At the end of it, they have a benefit to raise money for the program, and people asked me how many songs I’d written. But it’s not like that, and that’s what is so magical about this thing – it’s not like a class and it’s not for a purpose [other than] creating art. The people they bring together are true artists, songwriters, and musicians who are going to do art anywhere they go.

Of course it’s great to have classes and stuff – I went to CalArts. But this experience let us live life, experience the island, and – naturally – amazing art comes out of that. Some people want to hear that you wake up every day and you meet with a master class of songwriters who have written songs for pop stars, and you learn how to perfectly craft a pop song. It’s not like that at all; it’s the polar opposite.

You wake up every day, and you decide what you want to do with your day as a songwriter and artist. You can go to the beach, you can go to the studio, you can go to the barn that they have and write. They have tons of amazing instruments, and it’s a beautiful place. It was amazing.

*Pearl Charles, 2021. Photo: Cameron Murray for WMF*

BW: There was at least one song that came out of the previous retreat you went to.

PC: I wrote “Imposter” at the last retreat that I went to, so I have to give that place a lot of credit. That was written fully on a mushroom trip, which is a big part of my story as a songwriter. I also wrote “Slipping Away” about that experience, so I found the first time around very productive.

This time around we recorded a new version of “Imposter”. They’re doing a vinyl project, so everyone that went – me, Courtney Marie Andrews, Lola Kirke, Liz Cooper…all these amazing people – recorded in their studio, and they’re going to put it out on vinyl for people who want to donate to the cause of supporting artists. But we’re also free to release the song on our own if we want, and I’m happy with the version we did. It’s like a Neil Young version of “Imposter”, and I think people could be really stoked if I ever put out an alternate version. But then we wrote some songs for my new record too.

BW: Is the name of this place public yet?

PC: I’m keeping it on the DL, but if anyone’s curious, they can hit me up and I’ll refer them. The songwriting part of [what they do] is a labor of love, and invitation only. They have a writing program that you have to pay for.

BW: Even in your everyday life, you live in a pretty unusual and magical setting that I would think inspires writing, and you have instruments and collaborators readily available. You also went to CalArts…

PC: And CalArts is not exactly the strictest kind of schools. I chose not to go to USC – which had just started their pop music school – or Berklee College of Music. My sister went to USC, but I felt like Harvard-Westlake was just a feeder [of USC] and it was more of the same. The main reason I didn’t go to Berklee was because I wanted to stay in California, but I loved that CalArts presented a different experience.

But now as I’m older, would I like to get some of those songwriting tips and tricks? That would probably be cool, and I would pay more attention now than I did when I was fresh out of high school. But I feel like I’ve learned at the school of hard knocks – just getting out and writing songs with a bunch of people. That’s another great thing about co-writing – you learn so much from your collaborators.

BW: What was your focus at CalArts?

PC: I was in a program called Musical Arts, which was a program that they created and was their version of a pop music program. They didn’t really have any pop music classes, but [the program] was for songwriters, so you could take anything. You didn’t have to be focused on an instrument or voice.

BW: Your album Magic Mirror came out in 2021. You and I were talking music on another occasion, and I think you used the term, “country funk” or something along those lines…for me, that evokes the 70s Southern California sound, and also Outlaw Country, and that kind of territory. On both your full-length albums, “country funk” is there, and I think there are a lot of components that distinguish your music: for one, it’s more keyboard based than most straight-ahead country.

PC: It’s so funny, because I don’t have a keyboard in my live band, but I may try to change that this year.

BW: Where does that element come from? Are you writing the songs at home on a keyboard first?

PC: My writing process has changed a bit. I mostly write on acoustic guitar or keyboard, but lately when I co-write with someone, I don’t even touch an instrument. I’m mostly just working on melodies and lyrics. That has become my main focus, though I’m up for re-harmonizing what is underneath.

I think I just love keyboards. It’s my first instrument; maybe that’s why. I just love the sound of electric pianos, clavs, and all that stuff. Guitars too – I love it all.

BW: My feeling is that you’ve found a sweet spot for where your music sits. It’s not overtly twangy toward the country direction, but there’s also a lilt underneath your music that heads toward classic r ‘n’ b territory, but doesn’t go too far in that direction either. It never feels like you’re chasing a particular or different genre, but instead staying in this intersectional area that I think really sets you apart.

PC: I think that’s a throwback to the Muscle Shoals sound – southern, mixed-race bands. It builds on that tradition. I think in some ways it’s easier to classify a band when they fully go one way, so it’s been part of my struggle and path, because sometimes I feel that I’ve been rejected by the Americana world. But I’m not going to change my sound to be accepted by a scene.

It’s funny, because in the States, people don’t view me as Americana. If they do, it’s because they’ve seen a picture of me wearing a cowboy hat, and that’s how some people make their judgments. But in the UK, they totally think I’m Americana, which makes sense because I’m doing American music [even though] it’s not the same Americana you hear on the Americana charts.

BW: Do you think you’ve had greater reach in the UK?

PC: Definitely – massively.

BW: Why do you think that is?

PC: I really don’t know. I think sometimes they get things first, and then it might feed back over here. It just depends on the sound. Someone told me that the UK just gives artists more of a chance in general, which maybe is true, but I also wonder if it has to do with the fact that they see me as Americana there, and there’s also a cosmic country movement happening there.

I’m hooked in with a super cool community in England: there’s a playlist curator, a graphic designer, a few musicians, a clothing line, and they all totally love the 70s. They just love California, I think. Maybe they’re just a little jealous of the sunshine! They have their own island there, but it’s a little gloomy, so I’m exited to go there in February and bring some sunshine.

BW: You and I have spoken about your name before, and how there’s sometimes still some lingering confusion around it. But it’s not a stage name; your name is really Pearl.

PC: Don’t wear it out!

BW: Is there a Janis Joplin connection there, or is it just coincidence?

PC: That’s just coincidence, but I do love Janis. I’m actually working on a t-shirt [inspired by] Pearl Beer right now with a company from Texas. That’s apparently how she got the nickname – she drank a lot of Pearl Beer.

BW: You’re a Fleetwood Mac fan, and Christine [McVie] is your favorite member. What is it about her that makes her your favorite?

PC: I think I like her songs the best, so that’s why she’s my favorite member. It is very hard to choose because every single era [of the band] has been amazing, but there’s just something about her songs that connect with me on a deep soul level. I also appreciate her straightforward lyrics – her delivery is so emotional that it doesn’t need to be cloaked in any more mystery. I love that.

BW: You were pretty prepared for your edition of Tim’s Twitter Listening Party. Is that just your style as a person?

PC: My boyfriend kept telling me to prepare. I knew what I wanted to say about everything, but I didn’t realize how fast-paced it was actually going to be. So I’m really glad I heeded his advice and wrote everything down in advance. And if anyone reading this is going to do one, I recommend preparing, because it moves so quickly, and there’s so much you want to say.

I spent a lot of time thinking about this album in particular. It’s very introspective, and it’s been my life experience leading up to it. So every song has a deep story. And there’s so much you can talk about: where it was recorded, when it was recorded, what [gear] you used, who played on it, who you wrote it with, where you wrote it. It’s exciting to talk about what it means emotionally for you and where you were in your life [when you wrote it]. There’s just so much to say. [That’s how it is] for me.

And it’s exciting to get to share about [the songs] – especially the songs that people don’t ask me about because they’re not the singles. It was cool.

BW: You mention your boyfriend – that’s Michael [Rault]?

PC: Yes.

BW: And the two of you recently did a Shindig! streamed performance as well.

PC: Yeah.

BW: For lack of a better word, you’ve got a compound setup in Landers, where you live and work. You’ve got the best of both worlds, where you can come in to L.A. and other destinations in Southern California, but then you also have this place where you can live and work off the radar at your own pace. Has that been a big part of your writing and recording, or do you keep your Landers life separate from your music life?

PC: No, it’s definitely a part of it. This week my bass player – who left to be in Australia for the last fourteen months during COVID – just got back. So the whole band is vaccinated and together, and we’re going to go in, do some demo-ing, and then record.

We’ve just been writing over the past year. Michael and I have written quite a bit together, I’ve written a lot with my friends Trevor [Beld Jimenez] who is in a band called Parting Lines, and I wrote a song with my friend Morgan [Nagler] who I wrote “Magic Mirror” with, so there’s a bunch of stuff.

BW: Speaking of collaborators, I wanted to ask about Farmer Dave. He’s kind of a name that I think is specific to this region…

PC: It’s his birthday today.

Suzy Weirdo: It’s my birthday too!

PC: It really is a packed week.

BW: There must be something going on cosmically.

PC: For my family, it was all hiatus babies. Me, my sister, and my brother were all born ten days apart [on the calendar], and that’s because that’s when my dad was off from work.

BW: There’s a picture of your sister Zelda when she was young, standing next to Borat, and she’s meant to look pregnant. Was that from a scene that was used?

PC: There’s a scene where he shows pictures of his family. So it’s in the movie, but it’s just a Polaroid in the movie.

BW: Your dad once described your music as “psychedelic pop folk rock.” That’s pretty accurate, right?

PC: Yeah – I mean, that covers a lot of genres.

BW: Maybe that’s the trick!

PC: I think that “psychedelic” is funny, because when people say that, they think that my music would sound psychedelic, and it doesn’t really. It’s very straightforward in that sense. We like to throw in fun sounds and stuff, but it’s not a psych track in the traditional sense. But the music is made on psychedelics, so it is psychedelic.

BW: What does Landers feel like in 2021? Does it feel Trumpy? Does it feel UFO-y? Psychedelic? Is it hipster?

PC: It’s all those things all the time. It feels like Mad Max half the time because there are people driving by on their dune buggies. It’s about to be the hot season, so it’s going to slow down a bit, but from March to Memorial Day, it’s very touristy. Actually living out there, it’s Trumpy and methy, but it’s also very hipster and musician heavy. We feel very safe, and we have good neighbors.

We can see The Integratron [where we live], so it does feel UFO-y. It’s got all of those vibes, and that’s why we love it. My family has been in Joshua Tree a long time, and our neighborhood was sketchy when we first moved [there] but people say that five years ago, Landers was still pretty bad. I think as people continue moving in, it keeps getting safer, but it’s the desert – it’s always going to attract people who don’t want to be in mainstream society. So the fringe people are around.

BW: It feels like there’s been a quantum leap in your recordings since the debut EP, even though not all that much time has passed, relatively speaking. There was some kind of crystallization that occurred between the first EP and now. Is there something particular that happened that brought you to where you are now, artistically?

PC: It’s funny – I think I executed what I wanted to do at that time. I was really into nuggets, garage, and surf stuff. And I was trying to move away from the band I’d been in prior [to that] – not The Blank Tapes, but The Driftwood Singers. People didn’t know me then, but I was still like, “I’m not country anymore, and I don’t want to do country stuff.”

The EP even has some twang in there that I didn’t intend, but that’s who I am. I was trying to change my identity, and was into different kinds of music at that point. I hadn’t even really discovered Fleetwood Mac – I didn’t know what I know now.

I think I really went through a massive shift – I discovered so much music and moved chronologically. I was into really old-timey music: The Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, The Bristol Sessions, and that kind of stuff. Then later, I got into George Jones, Patsy Cline, Hank Williams…I went down this chronology into the 50s and the 60s. Then I got into garage, psych, surf, and that kind of stuff. And then, as time went on, I discovered country rock, folk rock, soft rock, yacht rock, country funk, cosmic country, and all those things that occurred later in the 60s and 70s. And then I found the sweet spot of where I want to be.

When I’m thinking about my next record, I know those are the sounds, and I’m just building on the same thing. My first record was produced by my ex-boyfriend who I was in The Blank Tapes with, and he very much had his sound. It was made in a professional studio, but [on] a different level. There’s just been a lot of growth, getting better as a musician, and realizing my vision more.

There’s such a clear jump from the EP to Sleepless Dreamer. From Sleepless Dreamer to Magic Mirror, it’s clearly building on the same thing, but Magic Mirror is a whole other realization of [those] same ideas.

BW: Speaking of Sleepless Dreamer – the title track, “Ghost”, and “Night Tides” are the tracks that I think exemplify this jump we’re talking about. Those are really sophisticated tracks that feel like the birth of Pearl Charles as the artist we know now.

PC: I wrote “Ghost” by myself, but the other two I wrote with collaborators, and I think that they really helped me find my voice. I wrote other songs by myself, but I wasn’t a sophisticated songwriter, and I’d been keeping my songs under wraps for a long time.

And it’s funny, because some people just really love the EP. This is going to happen any time you change and grow as an artist, but I’ve lost some fans since [the EP] because some people like less sophisticated music. And some people are not going to like it as much as you get more sophisticated with your music, if that’s the direction you’re going as an artist. For better or for worse, it was less polished, and more raw.

But I really like polished sounding recordings. I like Fleetwood Mac; they have some of the best recordings ever. ABBA – same thing. But some people have an aversion to mainstream pop music, even if it’s from the 70s. I might have that now, but that was the height of when artistry and pop culture met, so that’s what I’m going for. Some people who have different associations with that period don’t resonate with that type of music, but I discovered it and said “Oh, that’s what I want to do.”

BW: To me, this period of your music takes me to a place similar to a track like “I Love the Nightlife”…

PC: I love that song.

BW: There’s that genre mashup vibe that I think is so Pearl Charles.

PC: You nailed it with those three songs you mentioned, because “Night Tides” is the first song where I experimented with disco, “Sleepless Dreamer” was the first song where I experimented with the Fleetwood Mac-esque type of soft rock sound, and “Ghost” was a different feeling with that same vibe.

Then I took those songs, and said, “OK, how can we expand even more on that?” And things come to you at the most perfect time – I just discovered this song by Jeremy Spencer. He was in Fleetwood Mac, but then went on to join the Children of God cult. That’s a crossover of my favorite weird interests – cults, Fleetwood Mac…gotta love it.

There’s no citation, so I don’t know if it’s true or not, but the Wikipedia article says Jeremy Spencer had a knack for emulating other bands, so the songs he did with the Children of God cult sound really Fleetwood Mac – Rumours and post-Rumours. They say that the female singers are credited as The Songbirds, which sounds like a Fleetwood Mac reference. I don’t know if he was intentionally ripping them off, or just inspired. He was a part of the group before, so he was kind of involved in creating that sound at one point. But that just came to me at the perfect time. I’ve had an inspirational playlist going on for a while, but it was like, “This is it – this is the sound of my next record!”

BW: Just so I get your timeline right, Pearl Charles and the Pipes Canyon Band was in-between The Blank Tapes and Pearl Charles, right?

PC: Yeah. That was just a name I tried on for size. I was a little bit nervous to step out as a solo artist, and that was the transition. It was still just me and my songs, and whoever I could get to play with me. It was a pickup band – not an actual group of people.

BW: Here’s a random one – do you remember meeting R. Stevie Moore?

PC: Yes, I do.

BW: I think it was in France.

PC: Yes.

BW: Was it a backstage thing, or where did you cross paths?

PC: Yeah, he was kind of weird. We didn’t really interact that much, but there’s a picture of us together. I remember meeting him, but don’t really remember if we talked about anything. It was cool to be in a band that got to do stuff like that. We played with Thee Oh Sees on that tour as well.

BW: That was The Blank Tapes, right?

PC: Yeah.

BW: You’ve done acting and modeling as well. Do you see yourself continuing to work in those areas, or do you think it will just be music from here on out?

PC: If someone wants to cast me in the Linda Ronstadt biopic, I’m available, you know what I mean? I’m mostly just going to be playing music, but the thing about modeling, acting, and music is that it all kind of goes hand in hand. It’s fashion, film, and it’s all art. So many musicians I love dabbled in that stuff, and musical theatre is my first love.

BW: What are your favorite musicals?

PC: My favorite ones that I’ve been in are Westside Story, The News, Little Shop of Horrors… I love Phantom of the Paradise and Rocky Horror Picture Show…rock opera type stuff. As I’ve gotten older that’s what I lean toward, but I love it all.

BW: That’s going back to high school, or before?

PC: The first time I was on stage, I was five in a summer camp production. I really wanted to do professional acting as a kid, but my parents wouldn’t let me, for better or for worse. I know I’d be further ahead in my career now if they’d let me do that, but I’d also be more damaged, because everyone I know who did that seems to have some sort of trauma from it. But I kept going back to musicals any time I was able to. I went to summer camps like Idyllwild and Interlochen.

BW: So Magic Mirror is out, and you’ll be able to tour next year in 2022, right?

PC: We’re going to be touring in Europe in February, and this year there’s definitely going to be stuff happening.

BW: The band is back together, vaccinated, and you’ve got some live dates on the calendar already. What else is going to be happening for you this and next year?

PC: Recording – making a new record. That’s the main thing.