For more than three decades, Jeff Ament has quietly documented life behind the scenes with a camera. This fall, the Pearl Jam bassist/co-founder will finally open the archive with Since Forever, a 9-by-12-inch hardcover photography book arriving Sept. 25.
In the works for four-plus years, the volume pairs more than 250 black-and-white photographs, most of them previously unpublished, with the musician’s personal reflections, observations and stories from the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers’ formative years. The project began not as a memoir but as a rescue mission, when Ament and his brother, acclaimed designer Barry Ament, started sorting through “something like 300 rolls of” deteriorating film before deciding to shape their discoveries into a something tangible.
“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,” Jeff Ament said. “Historically, my family will often get together by creating some kind of project or job. And in some ways, putting together this book was a job for Barry and me — a reason to hang out. Most of these photos are from 1990 to 1998. He was there for a lot of it. If he wasn’t, he was next door or a phone call away. We [digitized] about 10,000 photos in the process. We also went through my stacks of journals, pulled out some light bulbs, memories [and] pertinent dreams [and] put them in the mix.”
Since Forever traces Pearl Jam’s evolution from the remnants of Seattle rock band Mother Love Bone into one of the defining rock bands of the ‘1990s and beyond. Along the way, Ament captures backstage scenes, recording sessions, endless highway miles and candid moments that illuminate the relationships and creative spirit he’s shared with bandmates Eddie Vedder, Stone Gossard and Mike McCready.
“Ninety percent of these photos have never been seen before,” said Ament, who has long been the Pearl Jam member most willing to both address and revisit the band’s past. “Anybody who’s a PJ fan or a fan of what was going on in the ”90s will dig it.”
The book will be available at select independent bookstores beginning Sept. 25, with preorders open now through Pearl Jam’s web site. Jeff and Barry Ament will also discuss Since Forever during appearances on the Storytellers Stage at Vedder’s Ohana Festival on Sept. 25 and 27 in Dana Point, Ca., with additional book events in select cities to be announced in the coming weeks.
Although best known for his work in Pearl Jam, Ament has long pursued creative work beyond music, from solo albums and film scores to Grammy-winning visual design and decades of skatepark advocacy throughout Montana and the American West. Barry Ament, meanwhile, has spent more than 30 years as co-founder of Seattle design studio Ames Bros, creating artwork for Pearl Jam that spans album packaging, merchandise and more than 500 concert posters.
As previously reported, Pearl Jam is returning to live duty at Ohana for the first time since May 18, 2025. It will also be the band’s first show with an as-yet-unnamed new drummer, following longtime member Matt Cameron’s departure last summer. McCready also has a book coming out of sorts this fall, in the form of the graphic novel Farewell to Seasons.
