Amber Ferrari sings her pearls & Joplin's

Amber Ferrari says she's learned a lot about her own music from paying tribute to the great Janis Joplin all these years.

"She really inspired me to sing from the heart," says the Brookhaven singer-songwriter. "She made me want to be more truthful in my writing, more focused on writing about how I'm feeling."

That focus led Ferrari to release her hard-rocking single "Whatever Whatever" last year, launching her own O.M.O. label, which stands for "On My Own," to do it. Ferrari was so happy with the airplay the song got in Canada, Sweden and Italy, as well as sales here in America, that in July she plans to release a follow-up single called "Not Just a Pretty Face," based on a fight she had with an ex-boyfriend.

"Everyone goes through something similar," she says of the new single. "We can all relate."

Though it's her work in the Janis Joplin tribute band Joplin's Pearl -- which includes drummer Bobby Rondinelli, who has worked with Rainbow and Blue Öyster Cult -- that lands her bigger shows, including a headlining slot at the Paramount in Huntington Saturday, Ferrari hopes she will soon be able to balance her own music with the music of Joplin.

"I'd like to get to the point where the first set is all my own music, and the second is with Joplin's Pearl," she says. "That's my goal. I'm already so thrilled to do my music, along with music from great women in rock like Pat Benatar, Stevie Nicks and Heart."

Amber Ferrari and Joplin's Pearl play the Paramount, 370 New York Ave., Huntington, at 8 p.m. Feb. 25. Tickets are $15-$20 through Ticketmaster.

Contact The Long Island Sound at glenn.gamboa@newsday.com or follow @ndmusic on Twitter.