But this isn't a music blog so why all this talk about Pearl Jam? Because Jeff Ament is also a photographer and if you have ever held a copy of a Pearl Jam album in your hand you've seen his work. Especially the early releases are covered in his photos and he's also worked on the design in general.
I’ve seen a lot of different Pearl Jam tattoos on the web. How weird is it for you to know that people you’ve never even met all over the world are out there getting your logos and drawings tattooed on themselves?
Actually, I was out on tour, a couple of tours with the band when I was 23, 24 and I went to Southeast Asia and around the United States and sold t-shirts. I would see ‘em. Fresh tattoos. The crazy thing, my brother, I think it was on the ‘Vs.’ album, he talked me into writing the song titles on my body and it was the most humiliating situation. I was standing on the roof of his apartment building in my underwear holding a picture frame. Here it’s on a CD where there’s however million copies.
I know the picture.
I don’t like to think about it. But I saw that tattooed on a guy’s back.
That image?
Yes.
So your personally tattooed on someone?
Yes. One of the most humiliating situations in my life is on somebody’s back. That’s weird. Definitely weird. It’s been great too working for the band and kind of where that’s led to working on other projects. It’s a very gratifying job where a lot of times when we do something it’s getting seen all over the place. It’s pretty cool.