The Black Keys take home two Grammys

Rabab Al-Sharif

Jim Carney and his family gathered around to watch the Grammys at his Akron home, waiting to find out if either of his sons would bring one of the coveted golden gramophones home.

“Holy shit! They won Best Duo! Oh my god!” Carney, father of The Black Keys’ drummer Pat Carney, yelled as they watched the awards show.

The Akron-bred rock duo The Black Keys walked away with two out of the four Grammys they were nominated for. The duo won the award for Best Alternative Album for their latest release, “Brothers,” and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals.

Carney’s other son, and Pat’s brother, Michael Carney, also received an award in the Best Recording Package category for his art direction of “Brothers.”

The Carneys’ mom, Mary Stormer, said it’s insane having two kids up for Grammys in the same year.

“It’s exciting, and we’re just so flippin’ proud of our boys for their hard work,” she said. “It’s just fabulous—over the top.”

She even dressed to support her sons, one of which is a graphic designer for American Eagle.

“I have on aerie underwear, sweater, leggings. I have on total aerie today for good luck,” Stormer said, “and a Black Keys T-shirt on top of all of it.”

Winning three Grammys wasn’t the only exciting news the family got over the weekend. Stormer said that both she and Carney received a text message late Saturday saying that Pat and his girlfriend, Emily Ward, were now engaged.

“We knew that Emily was his great love,” Stormer said. “We’re out of our minds. We’re so happy.”

Even with the huge success they’ve seen, they don’t take anything for granted, and they are profoundly grateful for all of their luck, Stormer said. But the good news came after a hard year for the family. The brothers have lost three grandparents.

“It was a very weird, hard time for all of us,” Carney said. “We’re just very happy. I just can’t believe it.”

Both Carney and Stormer said they are very proud of all their sons.

“To me, the greatest award is not something that will be announced at the Grammys tonight,” he wrote in a column for the Akron Beacon Journal, where he works as a staff writer. “The best thing, the most meaningful gift ever, is what has already happened — seeing my sons doing what they love, seeing them all figure out how to make a life’s work out of their passion, the thing that turns them on most of all.”

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