DiFranco takes home first Grammy

Annie Deck
Business First

Buffalo-based singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco won her first Grammy Award at the 46th annual Grammy Awards Feb. 8 in Los Angeles.

She shared the award for Best Recording Package with Brian Grunert, an area graphic designer. The two split the art director credit on "Evolve," DiFranco's 2003 release on her Righteous Babe Records label.

"Ani and Brian really clicked on 'Evolve,' " said Scot Fisher, DiFranco's manager and president of the recording label, the week before the honorees were announced.

The package design played off the central metaphor of the title track and the lyrical content of the other 11 songs on DiFranco's 12th studio album. The CD's outer packaging features a textured metallic slipcase emblazoned with DiFranco's signature, and cut-outs reveal an embossed moth and the album title in block letters. The CD booklet features photographs by Buffalonian Eric Frick.

While the disc's "digi-pak" case was created by Shorewood Packaging in New York City, Thorner Press on Buffalo's East Side handled the booklet printing and ESP Inc. in Amherst manufactured, printed and finished the CDs themselves.

"Evolve" beat out four contenders: "In Bright Mansions" by The Fisk Jubilee Singers, "Plow to the End of the Row" by Adrienne Young, "The Road To Bliss" by the Cathy Richardson Band and "Untitled" by Sigur Rós.

The nod was DiFranco's fifth Grammy nomination since 1998 and her first win. The four previous nominations were all for musical categories including Best Contemporary Folk Album and Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.

Grunert, associate creative director at Buffalo advertising agency Crowley Webb and Associates, worked in-house as Righteous Babe art director from 2000-02 and has designed five covers for the label. He attended the awards ceremony, while DiFranco did not.

(© 2004 American City Business Journals Inc.)