 Joplin checked into the Landmark Motor Hotel in Hollywood on August 24, 1970, near Sunset Sound Recorders, where she began rehearsing and recording her album.During the sessions, Joplin continued a relationship with Seth Morgan, a 21-year-old UC Berkeley student, cocaine dealer, and future novelist who had visited her new home in Larkspur in July and August.She and Morgan were engaged to be married in early September, even though he visited Sunset Sound Recorders for just eight of Joplin's many rehearsals and sessions.