Pearl Jam bassist and founding member Jeff Ament has announced nine special book events celebrating the release of his upcoming visual memoir, Since Forever.
The run will kick off September 25, the book’s release date, at Ohana Festival in Dana Point, California, where Ament will appear again on September 27. He and his brother, designer Barry Ament, will then head to Seattle for events at Town Hall on October 29 and Easy Street Records on November 2.
Additional stops include Chicago’s Metro on November 4, The Strand in New York City on November 6, City Winery in Boston on November 8, City Winery in Philadelphia on November 9, and Third Man Records in London on November 12.
Each event will feature Jeff and Barry in conversation with a special moderator as they share images from Since Forever and discuss the book’s creation, their decades-long creative partnership, and stories behind many of its photographs. Moderators across the tour include Atiba Jefferson, Brent Barry, Jonathan Evison, Lance Mercer, Jill Hopkins, Roberta Bayley, Bill Janovitz, Danny Clinch, and Joe Talbot.
Since Forever features more than 250 black-and-white photographs documenting Pearl Jam’s formative years, approximately 90 percent of which have never previously been made public. Primarily taken between 1990 and 1998, the photographs capture the band on the road, backstage, in the studio, and during the moments between shows. Ament’s personal reflections accompany the images throughout the book.
The project began when Jeff and Barry started sorting through an archive of deteriorating 30-year-old negatives. What initially began as an effort to preserve the photographs evolved into a broader visual chronicle of the bassist’s experiences with creativity, friendship, family, and life on the road.
“If there was a goal, it was mostly to save the failing 30-year-old negatives. It was Barry’s idea to make a book,” Ament previously said. He also noted that most of the photographs date from Pearl Jam’s 1990 to 1998 era and credited the project with giving him another opportunity to collaborate with his brother.
Beyond his work with Pearl Jam, Ament recently released a soundtrack for Montana Grind. The documentary highlights skateparks changing lives in Native Reservations and Rural communities in the musician’s home state of Montana.
