A native New Englander, the 27 year-old Pureka came to music at an early age, writing songs on her parents out of tune piano before the age of eight; when she reached sixteen she discovered the guitar and began playing in earnest. Following high school, Pureka attended Wesleyan University where she was a student of science and graduated to become an assistant in a biology lab at Smith College. All the while Pureka's musical ambitions persevered. In 2001 she released a 7-song, self-titled EP and shortly thereafter landed a three-month national tour with folk poet Alix Olson.