Red Hot Chili Peppers have revealed that a Pearl Jam logo subtly appears in the artwork for their beloved 1999 album, Californication.
Inside the package — appearing on the inside cover of the CD, and on the lyric sheet that comes along with the vinyl — is a photo of the four members of RHCP hugging backstage before a show. It turns out that the photo was shot at Washington, D.C.'s RFK Stadium for the Tibetan Freedom Concert, where the Chili Peppers had their performance cancelled a day earlier due to a lightning storm.
"Our friends from Pearl Jam, who we took on their very first tour in 1991 ... they've been our friends forever, obviously," drummer Chad Smith said in an interview for Californication's 25th anniversary (which took place back in June but has been newly uploaded to YouTube by a fan). "They said, 'We'll just play half a set, and you guys can play on our gear.' Isn't that nice?' So we played on Pearl Jam's stuff with John. We played like three or four songs, I can't remember what it was. On this record, on the inside sleeve ... there's a picture of us all hugging. And you probably can see — there's a Pearl Jam road case on the side."
Interviewer Kat Corbett opened up the sleeve and confirmed that, yes, you can indeed see Pearl Jam's logo on the Californication artwork. It's upside down and hard to read — but flipping the image right side up makes it clear. Check it out below.