Chris Taras

In the late 1980's, I began trading audio and video tapes with people around the world. They were mostly Beatles tapes, but there were other artists too. It was amazing how many collectors were out there, and the material that they had. Of course, you couldn't sell this stuff, since it was not commercially available. Most of the stuff out there were live shows or TV broadcasts. In the case of The Beatles, much of that were studio outtakes or TV appearances. So, I traded with several people, but one stood out--Chris Taras from NYC. I had the second largest Beatles video collection in the world, and he wanted it. In trade, he had other artists and old TV. He was a big fan of Howard Stern. I didn't know who Howard was, when I started trading with Chris, but I became a fan too. Chris sent me all of the Stern WWOR TV shows and many radio shows on cassette. I also got a lot of the Stern video specials and later the "E" shows. Chris also sent me videos of other artists like The Rolling Stones, The Who, Van Halen, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and so much more. Chris was about 10 years younger than me, but it was amazing how much he and I were alike in tastes. His father wrote for Billboard Magazine. Chris told me stories of how artists would come over to his house, when he was a kid. Artists like Stevie Wonder, The Monkees and Neil Diamond. His father died of cancer years ago. Chris lived in Maspeth, which was a portion of Queens. He could look out of his kitchen window and see the city. On 9/11, he was looking out and saw the planes fly into the World Trade Center. He was deeply affected by that moment. He invited me several times to come visit and stay with him. I never did. He had a boa constrictor as a pet. He sent me videos of him feeding his snake. He sent me videos of him partying with friends, and I felt like part of his inner circle. He had a friend who was a NYC policeman. His friend committed suicide over the stress of being a cop. Chris never really got over that. He turned to heroin. Chris got AIDS from sharing needles. He had a tough time with the disease. Chris died not long ago. I found out yesterday. He was a truly funny person with a love of life. The world is not as funny today. Rock on, Chris.