In the first leg of their American tour, Greta Morgan and her group Gold Motel are finally feeling like they're in the right place. They're rejuvenated and eagerly looking to refine pop music with a much-needed makeover even in the midst of their own transformation.

Morgan's long-time planted musical seed, as she calls it, is definitely in the early stages of blossoming. With a newly released, self-titled EP and a full-length on its way June 1, Gold Motel appears to be comfortable in its new creative residency.

"It's slowly becoming a collaborative project, which is what I really want," Morgan said backstage after Gold Motel's show at Slim's. "In The Hush Sound, we could never really get to the level where we were really openly communicating and working together. Finally, I have that opportunity. It's amazing."

When Gold Motel took the stage at the intimately lit Slim's venue March 5 after a massive projector acting as a theater stage curtain lifted from the floor, Morgan formally acknowledged her feelings towards the only Bay Area show of the tour.

"Oh, it's so good to be back in San Francisco," Morgan said.

While these reassuring words may be routine for any struggling band on the road, for Gold Motel, it's good to be anywhere. Indefinitely crashing in California has made the band feel a long way away from hometown Chicago. But, during their little time as a group, singer and songwriter Greta Morgan, formerly of The Hush Sound, believes she has compiled her essential band-mates for a quintessential pop group.

Putting The Hush Sound on hiatus and forming Gold Motel provided her with the perfect opportunity. Jaunty distorted rhythm guitars follow bright electric piano, which Morgan commands harmoniously around her high delicately soft voice. Instrumentally, Gold Motel is sand-papered down to a smooth surface that gives their pop rock a 50s throwback vibe filtered through a top-of-the-line radio of the same era.

"Since I was in The Hush Sound, I've been writing songs that I always kind of knew wouldn't fit the song or the style that we had," said Morgan. "They're all friends from Chicago, and I've known them for 5 or 6 years. A few of them actually went to my high school, and I've always secretly wished that I really wanted to play with those guys."

Gold Motel strives to be placed in the pop genre, but not with the negative connotation that can typically contaminate any proud independent artist of their own work and land them under the control of MTV or The Disney Channel. Morgan simply wants to tap into the respect and get a taste of what oldies, but greats, were deservedly known for.

"I'm trying to get to the core of what a really great pop song is, and I think the word 'pop' has gotten a really terrible name," Morgan said. "If I tell people I'm in a pop band they think Britney Spears or whatever, but it's not like that. To me, I'm still going back to The Kinks, Elvis Costello, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and Motown stuff. To me, that is pop music. That's a popular song, and I'm just trying to get to the heart of that."

Her new songs, inspired directly from sunshine and the fast-paced, highly energized Southern California, are hoping to leave a positive, feel-good soundtrack mark on anyone who walks through its open doors.

"I like the energy of the band," 17-year-old fan Kimberly Chow and honorary recipient of the only dedicated song of the evening. "It's more of an upbeat feel."

Near the end of the set, Morgan spotted Chow in the first few rows of the crowd wearing a Hush Sound t-shirt. Without hesitation, Morgan pointed and said into the microphone, "This song's for you!"

Gold Motel then revved into "Safe in LA," written by guitarist Eric Hehr. Whether the song is directly biographical or not, it definitely alludes to this theme of a new beginning and the relief of a comfortable yet productive environment.

"Being on tour is the most fun thing in the world if you're with the right people," Morgan said. "If you're not, it's lonely, isolating and miserable, and you feel guilty for being depressed because you're doing what you love and you're traveling."

Gold Motel doesn't expect this EP, tour, or the upcoming album to bring them immediate fame and fortune. They understand the continuous, rapid change of the music business that leaves many artists hopeless, but they're trying to adapt right along with the industry.

"We released an EP ourselves, and it makes me think that I'll never need a record label," Morgan said. "Just the fact that I can literally just say on Twitter that we're playing a show tonight and 50 or 100 people will show up is pretty amazing. I've kind of accepted that it's the new wave, and if you want to survive in the new music industry you have to take advantage of every single opportunity that comes your way."