Joey Kramer, Aerosmith drummer, promotes his coffee in Westbury
Sandi Schwartz held her drumsticks and waited anxiously in line with her sister and brother-in-law at Costco in Westbury.
She was waiting to meet Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer, who was in town on Saturday to promote Rockin’ & Roastin,' his organic coffee.
“I’m a huge Aerosmith fan,” said Schwartz, 40, of North Bellmore. “My first concert I ever went to was an Aerosmith concert when I was 13-years-old. We sat in the way back, and I had binoculars. I knew I had to come. And Joey Kramer was so nice he signed all four drumsticks.”
Kramer posed for pictures and signed drumsticks, albums, shirts and cassettes for hours.
“I started the company because I’ve always had a passion for coffee,” said Kramer, 63, of Austin, Texas. “It’ll make your lips sing. And the fans are always great. I’m not just a celebrity putting my name on some coffee to sell it. I’m trying to bring a great gourmet coffee to market at a reasonable price.”
The coffee sells for $14.99.
Nora Jovel, assistant general manager of Costco, said the rock star brought extra foot traffic into the already busy store.
“I have to say, at least 300 people came in to meet him,” said Jovel, 37, of Port Jefferson. “This definitely brings people in the store and encourages sales. One lady even bought a membership just to see him.”
Carmela Vaselice of Melville picked up two bags of Kramer’s coffee. She also asked Kramer to sign her husband’s copy of Aerosmith’s 1975 classic album, “Toys in the Attic."
“My husband loves Aerosmith and has lots of their albums, so we take every chance we can to get them autographed,” Vaselice said. “He’s going to be excited.”
A musician himself, Dave Connolly, Schwartz’ brother-in-law, was thrilled to speak with the music legend. And his wife, Lainie, brought her old cassette tape of Aerosmith’s greatest hits to be autographed.
“It’s just so cool to meet somebody who’s in the industry,” said Connolly, 46, of East Meadow. “He seems like a really nice guy. It’s just really incredible being here. Now that he was kind enough to sign this [cassette tape], it will become a treasured item in our house.”
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