Crazy Eddie's Record and Tape Asylum!!

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Dunno what the rules are for something like that, MG. Maybe if you claim they're "modern sculptures?"

Well, I haven't read anything official, but just doing a random seach for ceramic bongs or water pipes on ebay, nothing similar to what I have is showing up, leading me to believe are rules against such items. The only thing close that comes up is Middle Eastern-type hookah pipes.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

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Dunno what the rules are for something like that, MG. Maybe if you claim they're "modern sculptures?"

Well, I haven't read anything official, but just doing a random seach for ceramic bongs or water pipes on ebay, nothing similar to what I have is showing up, leading me to believe are rules against such items. The only thing close that comes up is Middle Eastern-type hookah pipes.

I only mentioned the "sculptures" idea cuz in one of my old Freak Brothers comics, the Bro's are trying to quickly clean up their "hippie pad" in expectation of a visit from the police, so they're throwing all their dope out the window, taking down the counterculture posters, etc., and finally Franklin sez "Now turn that bong upside down so it looks like a sculpture and break out the rum so we'll seem natural!"

Fat Freddy wrote:

Dunno what the rules are for something like that, MG. Maybe if you claim they're "modern sculptures?"

I visit a big outdoor flea market in the Poconos every year or so and there's a guy there who runs a huge booth full of water pipes, rolling papers, black lights, tie-dye t-shirts, etc., etc... they have a big sign over the 'smoking accessories' that sez they are to be used "FOR USE WITH TOBACCO ONLY," which always makes me chuckle.

The local tobacco shop by me also has a sign on the door warning customers that the smoking supplies they sell are for LEGAL USE only and anyone who asks about using them for, ahem, "other" reasons will be asked to leave. Though sometimes when I stop in there late at night, there's a big gang of people in the cigar lounge playing cards and judging from the odor wafting over from the card table, I don't think they're all using said supplies for "legal" reasons, if you catch my drift.

I used to go to Karma Record Stores in various locations in Indiana all the time, and they were able to carry all sorts of, what would be considered drug paraphernalia under their counters. I always wondered how they got away with it myself. Apparently you had to be a stoner to work at the one on the south side of Indy (which I would frequent), since every guy had super long hair, never greeted you, hung behind the counter, and on some occasions would hand you back the wrong change (usually to the customer's advantage). I've always been one to hand someone their money back, if they dropped it, or I would let a store cashier know if they gave me too much money back, except for this particular store. I loved their merchandise I.E: great selection of Heavy Metal albums, C.D singles (Heavy Metal variety), some decent boots, great subway posters, cool patches, nice concert T's, and a strange variety of "B" movies dating back to the 60's, but....

I had tried to get a job there on many occasions, and much to my chagrin, I never got a call. I'm guessing that I didn't fit the look of the store. One day my brother and I went in there, and my brother had purchased the "Skin of My Teeth" C.D Single by Megadeth (limited edition). I know my brother gave them a $20, and somehow got a $20 back with a few ones. He pointed this out to me shortly after we left the store. Normally, I would have said we need to go back and let them know they made a mistake, but since they hired guys that were unmotivated and generally dopey in nature, I told my brother to consider this a gift from the universe. My Mother didn't see it this way, after we got home and told her what transpired with Ben's purchase, I'm sure she was right, and was ultimately disappointed in my decision, but just maybe "Karma" stood for something else beyond the name of those independently owned stores!

Here's another commercial for a defunct department store chain (anyone remember Korvettes? My uncle worked for'em back in the early 70s!) that struck me funny. "Korvette's has more of what you're looking for...." especially if you're looking for 8=track players, PONG games and top loading VCRs!!!

HAHAHA! Wow never knew he sold records too... damn! I remember his commercials but I never got a chance to go into one of those stores, I was too young to care.

Zombie thread! Back from the dead! Urrrrrgh... braiiiiiins...

I heard over the weekend that "Crazy" Eddie Antar, founder of the infamous Crazy Eddie electronics/appliance/music & more chain, has passed away at the age of 68.

R.I.P. Eddie. Yeah, you turned out to be a thievin' tax evadin' scum bag, but I whiled away many a teenage hour in your Paramus NJ location's "Record & Tape Asylum" in the '80s, so I owe you a huge debt of gratitude for feeding my metal addiction at an early age, at prices that were, indeed... INNNN-SAAAAAAAAAAANE!.

He was only 68?  They used to show his appliance store ads on TV all the time when I was growing up in PA.  I have to assume the guy in the ads was an actor and not the actual "Eddie" or he'd have to be older than 68.

I got my first stereo from a Crazy Eddie store in Whitehall, PA back around 1972 or so.

Yep, I would've thought "Eddie" was older too.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/eddie-antar-owner-crazy-eddie-electronics-chain-dead-68-article-1.2787645

You're right, the guy in their commercials was not the "real" Eddie. He was a New York area radio DJ named Jerry Carroll...but he appeared in so many ads for the chain over the years that I guess everyone just assumed that he was "Eddie."

I vaguely remember him being accused of doing something illegal but I didn't remember all this:

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Crazy Eddie became a symbol for corporate fraud in its time, but has since been outdone by the Enron, Worldcom and Bernie Madoff accounting scandals.
Antar fled to Israel during February 1990, but was returned to the United States during January 1993 for trial. His 1993 conviction on fraud charges was overturned, but he eventually pleaded guilty during 1996. During 1997, Antar was sentenced to eight years in prison and paid large fines. He was released from prison during 1999

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Crazy Eddie became a symbol for corporate fraud in its time, but has since been outdone by the Enron, Worldcom and Bernie Madoff accounting scandals.

Yeah, I'd say Eddie was pretty small potatoes compared to those other guys!

I work with a guy who is the same age I am and he grew up in Reading, PA so I IM'd him about the founder of Crazy Eddie passing away.  He replied with "Yeah I remember those ads.  How the hell did you find that out?".  I told him a guy from NJ posted it on a music message board I visit.  He came back with "Oh that explains it.  I didn't think a scumbag like that would merit a Yahoo article."

tohostudios wrote:

I didn't think a scumbag like that would merit a Yahoo article."

Fat Freddy wrote:

Yep, I would've thought "Eddie" was older too.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/eddie-antar-owner-crazy-eddie-electronics-chain-dead-68-article-1.2787645

You're right, the guy in their commercials was not the "real" Eddie. He was a New York area radio DJ named Jerry Carroll...but he appeared in so many ads for the chain over the years that I guess everyone just assumed that he was "Eddie."

So it's the real Eddie that died, not the actor/dj, right? I certainly would've guess older too.

I guess he eventually creeped his way down the coast to the Pennsylvania area, cause I definitely remember the commercials. I don't recall ever seeing a store location in my neck of the woods though.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

So it's the real Eddie that died, not the actor/dj, right? I certainly would've guess older too.

I guess he eventually creeped his way down the coast to the Pennsylvania area, cause I definitely remember the commercials. I don't recall ever seeing a store location in my neck of the woods though.

Yep, the "real" Eddie was the guy who kicked it.  

I am not sure if Jerry Carroll is still alive or not. The most recent item I could find about him on the 'net was this brief interview from 2009, looking back on his Eddie experience.
http://www.direporter.com/article/qanda-tv-commercial-legend-jerry-carroll-aka-crazy-eddie-408895/

I saw this last night on Bing and remembered the commercials so I then spent an hour reading Wikipedia pages about him and other tax fraud cases.

Oh, yeah, as far as the drug paraphernalia in the record stores I remember going to a place called Headlines in Nashua N.H. back in 92-93, my Freshman year of college. That place was a trip, man.

All the "ma and pa" record stores doubled as head shops back then. 

My favorite one was called "Fantasmagoria" in downtown Allentown, PA.  I still have a bunch of vinyl punk imports I bought there in the mid to late 70s and I swear when you take the record sleeve out of the plastic sheath they came in you can still smell the incense.

We had a head shop in my little town called Rick's Racks. I only went into it once or twice in my early teens (can't remember if I was forbidden to go in there or not) and never picked anything up. It was cool to check out though.

Fat Freddy wrote:

I am not sure if Jerry Carroll is still alive or not.

Turns out that Jerry is alive and well... the NY Times ran a piece on him earlier this week where he commented on Eddie Antar's passing.