Albany Herald

Rob Jones

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Albany native and Deerfield-Windsor School graduate Rob Jones' fairytale story got its happily-ever-after ending at the Staples Center here Sunday when he and White Stripes frontman Jack White were awarded Grammys for their artwork on the Stripes' DVD/CD box set "Under Great White Northern Lights."

Jones, a graphic artist whose work is recognized among the most unique in the entertainment industry, initially came into contact with the White Stripes when he created unauthorized posters to publicize one of the band's concerts in Leon, France. The artwork at first drew the ire of the Stripes' management team, but White loved Jones' creations and hired him to work with the band.

Jones collaborated with White to create the artwork for the Stripes' "Under Great White Northern Lights" project, a documentary/CD box set based on the band's tour of Canada. The pair were nominated for the Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package Grammy, which they claimed during Sunday's ceremony.

White announced a week before the Grammy broadcast that he and bandmate -- and ex-wife -- Meg White were disbanding the White Stripes.

Jones lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, the former Jennifer Pate, who is also from Albany. He creates artwork/posters for a number of popular bands -- including Spoon, the Avett Brothers, the Black Keys and the Raconteurs, one of Jack White's other musical projects -- as well as commissioned movie posters for the Alamo Drafthouse, an Austin arthouse.

Two of Jones' most popular movie posters are for the "Star Wars" series and "X: The Man with the X-ray Eyes."

Attempts to contact Jones via e-mail and telephone Monday were not successful.