MATT DRISCOLL: AMES BROS EXHIBIT HEADED YOUR WAY >>>

Amidst all the hustle and bustle yesterday of putting the final touches on this week’s issue of the Weekly Volcano â€" which hit streets today â€" I got an email.

It was an email worth passing along to you, though yesterday it got lost in the madness of deadline day.

Today it will not be lost.

Starting on Thursday, Dec. 11, at the Tacoma Public Library’s Handforth Gallery, 13 years worth of Pearl Jam posters designed by the Ames Bros design firm â€" a legendary team made up of Barry Ament (Jeff Ament’s brother) and Coby Schultz â€"will be on display for all to see. In total 84 posters will be featured.

If you’re familiar with Pearl Jam, you’re familiar with the work of the Ames Bros â€" as they’ve designed damn near every tour poster the band has put out since 1995.

Pearl Jam tour posters are always killer. The Tacoma Public Library’s Handforth Gallery display should be just as cool.

Making things even more exciting, to kick off the exhibition on Thursday, Dec. 11 and in celebration of the AmesBros new book â€" Ames Bros vs. Pearl Jam: 13 Years of Tour Posters â€" both Barry Ament and Coby Schultz will be on hand at the Tacoma Public Library to sign their new book and no doubt a few posters, and to mingle with Grit City.

It doesn’t get much cooler than that.

I’ve posted the entire press release after the break. Expect to see a story about the exhibition in a coming issue of the Weekly Volcano.

Ames Bros vs. Pearl Jam:
13 Years of Tour Posters
December 11- January 31, 2009
Handforth Gallery @ the Tacoma Public Library
Opening reception, with poster & book signing
Thursday evening, December 11 beginning at 6 p.m.

Eighty-four posters spanning thirteen years of Pearl Jam concert tours designed by the legendary Seattle design firm AmesBros  (Barry Ament & Coby Schultz) are featured in a new exhibition opening Thursday, December 11 at the Tacoma Public Library's Handforth Gallery (1102 Tacoma Avenue South in downtown Tacoma).  The exhibition continues through January 31, 2009. An opening reception with a book and poster signing will be held with the artists at 6 p.m. on Thursday, December 11.

Gallery hours are from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. on Monday through Thursdays, and from 9 a.m., until 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturdays. More information is available at the Library's web site - www.tacomapubliclibrary.org or by telephoning the library at 263.591.5666.

Ames Bros have been published in numerous books and design magazines, won numerous design competitions, and even landed themselves a Grammy nomination for the package design of Pearl Jam's 1998 release, Yield. They were recently awarded the coveted 2007 One Show "Gold Pencil" for their 2006 Pearl Jam World Wide Tour poster campaign.

From 1991-1994, Montana native Barry Ament served as the in-house designer for Pearl Jam -- creating the band's CDs, t-shirts, newsletters, tube socks and everything else in between. At the same time, fellow Montana native Coby Schultz was working at a small design firm creating snowboard graphics, clothing, and ad campaigns for K2 snowboards

In 1995, Ament and Schultz joined creative forces to form Ames Bros. For the past 13 years, this small shop has put up big numbers. Their client list boasts the likes of: MTV, Nike, Converse, Virgin Mobile, Absolut, Miller Beer, Nissan, Honda, Cooper Mini, K2 and Ride Snowboards, the NBA and the NFL. And Pearl Jam. The Ames Bros have designed virtually every Pearl Jam tour poster since 1995. The highly collectible posters - a visual chronicle of the band's music - sell out quickly at every Pearl Jam concert. Their work is featured in a new book - Ames Bros. vs. Pearl Jam: 13 years of Tour Posters, a collection of their concert posters for pretty much every single show during that time. Opening with a written forward by Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament and introduction by the Ames Bros, the book features 229 posters designed by Ames Bros and Pearl Jam artist Brad Klausen. Pearl Jam vs. Ames Bros 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.