Pearl Jam vs Ames Bros: 200 Gig Posters in One Book

Attention Pearl Jam fans and Flatstock attendees: You need the new, superfancy art book Pearl Jam vs Ames Bros: 13 Years of Tour Posters.

The book is a compendium of the band's 1995-2007 gig posters by artists Ames Bros and Brad Klausen, PJ's exclusive print-design minds. Though (sadly) it doesn't date back to the Golden Days of Grunge, at 229 posters, it's an exhaustive collection.

But it isn't just poster reproductions. Pearl Jam vs Ames Bros also includes interviews with the artists. Per the band's press release for the book:

Featured interviews ... include: brothers Jeff and Barry Ament discussing their upbringing in Montana, early artistic collaborations and their working relationship; Ames Bros' Coby Schultz and Barry Ament recounting their day to day life at Ames Bros, the process and inspiration behind the posters and early history preceding Ames Bros; and an interview between Joe Barela of Seribellum Press and Coby Schultz.

But wait, there's more!

Opening with a written forward by Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament and introduction by the Ames Bros, the 264-page hard cover book ... features over 80 comments on individual posters from all five members of Pearl Jam and running commentary from the poster designers--offering insight into the inspiration, concepts and process of poster creation.

The book itself was "designed by Ames Bros and edited by Jacob McMurray, Senior Curator of the Experience Music Project." We don't know crap about printing or museums, really, but we know what looks cool, and that fancy words like "curator" aren't thrown around casually.

We think Pearl Jam vs Ames Bros is worth the $50 price tag. That's less than a single concert poster goes for on eBay. (We think the super-duper, limited edition, signed and numbered, Pearl Jam fan-club-only $200 edition is worth it, too, but we write web copy, not initiatives.)

So where can you buy the thing? Pearljam.com and Amesbros.com.

One bummer about the book--it won't ship to buyers until December 1 at the earliest. Perfect timing for the Seattlest contributor Pearl Jam fan on your Xmas list.