The Vinyl Princess is the latest teen novel from Yvonne Prinz, cofounder of Amoeba Records, the independent music chain with stores in San Francisco, Berkeley and Hollywood. It follows 16-year-old Allie, lover of all things musical and preferably analog, as she spends a summer working in (where else?) an independent music store.

It has been called “as dead-on a portrait of a true-blue teenage music obsessive as you’re likely to find” by Colin Meloy, bandleader of The Decemberists, a group the Vinyl Princess herself is a fan of.

MuseZu caught up with Prinz for a little Q&A on the eve of her appearance at The Booksmith on Haight Street, Thursday February 17. Joining her there for a live set will be musicians Matthew Edwards and Isaac Bonnell who contributed to a CD that comes with the novel.  ~Perry Shirley

The Vinyl Princess by Yvonne Prinz. Published by HarperTeen, 2009.

Your new book’s heroine Allie is a vinyl devotee in a time when some many barely bother with CDs. What is the draw?

Yvonne Prinz: I think a lot of kids are skipping CD’s entirely and heading back to Vinyl from iTunes. Vinyl carries with it a novelty that is brand new to teens who were born too late to experience it first hand. I get letters from kids every day who are discovering vinyl for the first time. For Allie, it’s everything from the fidelity, the album art, and the fact that she collects a lot of stuff that never even made it to CD.

Between creating an independent music store chain, hosting free concerts and writing books about music, it’s easy to guess what’s important in your life. Was the music world as important to you in your youth as it seems to be today?

Prinz: I have to be clear about the fact that I haven’t worked in the stores for a long time. Amoeba boasts a huge staff of music devotees who organize those concerts. I’ve been writing full time for years now. My time in the retail trenches is long over.

I’ve been a music nutball since I was a kid. My dad and my grandfather were both professional musicians so I grew up surrounded by live music. I worked in a recording studio when I was seventeen as well as a record store. I was always the kid who figures out a way to see every band that comes to town.

Are you aware of the social implications your stores have had on shoppers, workers and bands? I’ve lived in the Bay Area since 1994 and I can promise you that Amoeba is far more than simply a music store. Is that intentional?

Prinz: Yes, I think any indie record store becomes like that if it can hang in there long enough. Amoeba tries to keep the shopping experience rich and keep people supporting live music. We have a nice relationship with a lot of bands and artists and we enjoy the fact that they feel supported at Amoeba. Our customers are family. Many of them come to Amoeba at least once a week.

Lastly,  iPod or vinyl?

Prinz: I only use my i-pod at the gym. I mostly listen to Vinyl and CDs when I’m reviewing something. A lot of the new indie stuff I like isn’t on vinyl but it’s so nice to see that new bands are putting their stuff out on Vinyl again. It truly is a quiet revolution going on out there.

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TO READ THE VINYL PRINCESS’ BLOG, GO TO: http://www.thevinylprincess.com/my-blog

FOR UPDATES OF WHAT THE VINYL PRINCESS IS LISTENING TO, VISIT HER FACEBOOK PAGE AT: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Vinyl-Princess/75931920247?ref=ts

THE BOOKSMITH IS AT 1644 HAIGHT ST, SAN FRANCISCO. GO TO WWW.BOOKSMITH.COM FOR MORE INFO.

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