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4 entries.
Jeff Jeff wrote on May 18, 2020 at 10:32 pm
Hello, I am an old friend of Paul's but we lost touch in the 2000s. I added some memories of... Read more
Hello, I am an old friend of Paul's but we lost touch in the 2000s.
I added some memories of him here, and also added a lot of photos from, here, just in case:
https://tranceam.org/remembering-paul-hrisko/

Paul was a gregarious guy and always the life of the party. We spent many nights in the late 1990s and early 2000s tripping on very good LSD and going to parties. He was always fun with a tremendous and twisted sense of humor.
Paul worked with Ben and John Lollis and Pseudo Program’s Josh Harris at Prodigy, then moved to New York, where he found all these guys in the trance scene. Paul would go to Pseudo, there talking with Josh in disbelief.
After I had a huge bust in 2001, Paul was nice enough to host my site on his Ciaobella.tv. until i got a more stable domain. Paul was as solid as ask you could ask. He also helped finance our DMT Ski events out in the Poconos in the early 2000s, in a partnership with Mike Donahue, who also died tragically young.
He was very loyal and tolerant of all sorts of insanity.
His father passed away in 2004, and we said prayers for Paul and his family.
Eventually, Paul moved to San Francisco, where I called him in 2005 to inform him of Mike’s death, it was a serious heartfelt conversation. He then made it to the Philippines where he partied hard and died.
No joke, I am glad he died doing what he loved – drinking.
But I am reminded then that all the LSD we took was relatively harmless, and one of the most dangerous to him ultimately was something we can buy anywhere.
We miss you Paul.... Collapse
Matt C Matt C wrote on February 4, 2015 at 12:49 pm
I was just thinking about Paul and came across this site. Thanks for setting it up. Paul and I worked... Read more
I was just thinking about Paul and came across this site. Thanks for setting it up. Paul and I worked together for a few years, I in Chicago he in New York. Despite the miles, we essentially worked out of the same brain. People at the office would sometimes glance sideways at the things I would say to him on the phone. Anyone who knew Paul would likely understand. There's a certain inappropriateness that he would get you into. It wasn't much of a struggle. Heh. I should add that he was also incredibly smart and good at what he did. We got some impressive projects done together and I miss his collaboration.

We had a lot of good times together on various work trips. And I'm oddly glad that he got to meet my now wife the last time I saw him on a trip through Chicago years ago. Keeping in touch was harder when he moved to Manilla but we tried to stay current. That said, I regret that it took me almost a year to realize he was gone. I'd emailed him right around the time he died and didn't notice that I hadn't heard back.

I'll miss this guy. He was an amazing partner in crime. Always quick with a laugh or a story. I'd pour one out for you, Paul, but you'd get mad and tell me to quit wasting my beer. So cheers, my friend.... Collapse
Kevin Russell Kevin Russell wrote on September 25, 2014 at 11:48 am
Paul's passing was a rumor (for me) until right now. So it is true ... the world is less without... Read more
Paul's passing was a rumor (for me) until right now. So it is true ... the world is less without his light. I'll always remember all the good turns he did for me and that manic laughter. The day he picked me and my kid up at JFK airport one Summer afternoon, and we headed to his and Dr. Velez's Brooklyn local for some lunch will always stick with me. I miss you.... Collapse
Glenn Herman Glenn Herman wrote on June 21, 2014 at 4:39 pm
Remembering "The Hrisko" Paul Hrisko on my couch circa 2000, NYC. I remember back to a winter in the early... Read more
Remembering "The Hrisko"

Paul Hrisko on my couch circa 2000, NYC.

I remember back to a winter in the early 1980s. My friend Shera had an older brother. Paul was a friend of Shera’s older brother. I met Paul a few times during the 1980s, but never got beyond the usual nod of acknowledgment and an occasional “hey man”.

Paul was 8 months older than me, yet I was in the grade below him (my parents traveled a lot and forced me to change schools every few years – thus I was left back one grade by the time I returned to the USA). This single fact would explain why it took us ten years to really start being friends.

My best friend in High School moved away just a month after graduation. I started college in Boston and maniacally embraced the seeds of my my own discontent, which had been sown…since around 1973.

One fabulous “crash and burn” in Boston later found me back in Westchester, living with my parents (think “Little Lord Fauntleroy” crossed with “Deliverance.”)

It was during this period that I vacillated between the despair of failure and loss and trying to sort myself out and finish college.

Paul was working at a computer store in Mt. Kisco – Software City. Legend has it that my father bought a Pentium box from him way back in 1990 and called him every few days to complain about something or other. Anyway, during one of my father’s in-person appearances at the store, Paul asked where I was was and my father told him I was back in New York.

The rest is history.

Paul was an extremely annoying guy. He could irritate you no end with his constant warbling about shit that literally only 5 other people on the planet cared about. He could be slothful, boastful to the point of psychosis and all-around E.V.I.L. when the mixture of alcohol to drugs ratio was correctly balanced.

Who else could leave this voicemail at 4 AM for me from Amsterdam after being awake 3 days in a row doing things few could survive? It is a perfect melange of humor, Godzilla movie homage and a healthy dose of “Second City” under 72 hour observation.

Hrisko's Drugged Induced Dementia

Paul was also extremely loyal. During a few very dark periods of my life, he made it clear he was there for me – and he backed those words up with action.

Paul Hrisko in front of my Virginia bunker circa 2003.

Paul Hrisko was one of my best friends. I often wrestle with the question of me being as good a friend to him as he was to me. Only he could answer that, so I am left wondering.

I had not spoken to Paul for two years at the time of his death. I had warned him not to go to the Philippines & the "Far East" where men can drink deeply from the fountain of excess with seemingly no limitations. After all, he was just a kid from Ossining...

He went and was dead soon thereafter. Alcoholism and being disconnected from the people who had known him the longest did him in, in my opinion (which I admit is not worth much in this connection).

And there were his demons…Like mine, but I was able to pull back from the precipice before it was too late. His consumed him.

Paul's Daughter Elizabeth With Paul's Funeral Urn.

Shera and I paid for a good portion of his cremation costs as as a final “thank you” to Paul – although that gesture had more to do with us than it did with him. He told me many times he had no desire for a funeral or any other kind of “expected” funerary ceremony.

I will always remember Paul ready to go out on the town and ready to have a good time – the innocent optimist stuck in the body of the the ultimate pessimist. This is why we were so similar and why I miss him.

Arigatou Gozaimasu Mista Oshira…

Glenn Herman
New York City 2013... Collapse

4 thoughts on “Guestbook”

  1. Remembering “The Hrisko”

    Paul Hrisko on my couch circa 2000, NYC.
    Paul Hrisko on my couch circa 2000, NYC.

    I remember back to a winter in the early 1980s. My friend Shera had an older brother. Paul was a friend of Shera’s older brother. I met Paul a few times during the 1980s, but never got beyond the usual nod of acknowledgment and an occasional “hey man”.

    Paul was 8 months older than me, yet I was in the grade below him (my parents traveled a lot and forced me to change schools every few years – thus I was left back one grade by the time I returned to the USA). This single fact would explain why it took us ten years to really start being friends.

    My best friend in High School moved away just a month after graduation. I started college in Boston and maniacally embraced the seeds of my my own discontent, which had been sown…since around 1973.

    One fabulous “crash and burn” in Boston later found me back in Westchester, living with my parents (think “Little Lord Fauntleroy” crossed with “Deliverance.”)

    It was during this period that I vacillated between the despair of failure and loss and trying to sort myself out and finish college.

    Paul was working at a computer store in Mt. Kisco – Software City. Legend has it that my father bought a Pentium box from him way back in 1990 and called him every few days to complain about something or other. Anyway, during one of my father’s in-person appearances at the store, Paul asked where I was was and my father told him I was back in New York.

    The rest is history.

    Paul was an extremely annoying guy. He could irritate you no end with his constant warbling about shit that literally only 5 other people on the planet cared about. He could be slothful, boastful to the point of psychosis and all-around E.V.I.L. when the mixture of alcohol to drugs ratio was correctly balanced.

    Who else could leave this voicemail at 4 AM for me from Amsterdam after being awake 3 days in a row doing things few could survive? It is a perfect melange of humor, Godzilla movie homage and a healthy dose of “Second City” under 72 hour observation.

    Hrisko’s Drugged Induced Dementia

    Paul was also extremely loyal. During a few very dark periods of my life, he made it clear he was there for me – and he backed those words up with action.

    Herman_Hrisko_Orig
    Paul Hrisko in front of my Virginia bunker circa 2003.

    Paul Hrisko was one of my best friends. I often wrestle with the question of me being as good a friend to him as he was to me. Only he could answer that, so I am left wondering.

    I had not spoken to Paul for two years at the time of his death. I had warned him not to go to the Philippines & the “Far East” where men can drink deeply from the fountain of excess with seemingly no limitations. After all, he was just a kid from Ossining…

    He went and was dead soon thereafter. Alcoholism and being disconnected from the people who had known him the longest did him in, in my opinion (which I admit is not worth much in this connection).

    And there were his demons…Like mine, but I was able to pull back from the precipice before it was too late. His consumed him.

    Paul's Daughter Elizabeth With Paul's Funeral Urn.
    Paul’s Daughter Elizabeth With Paul’s Funeral Urn.

    Shera and I paid for a good portion of his cremation costs as as a final “thank you” to Paul – although that gesture had more to do with us than it did with him. He told me many times he had no desire for a funeral or any other kind of “expected” funerary ceremony.

    I will always remember Paul ready to go out on the town and ready to have a good time – the innocent optimist stuck in the body of the the ultimate pessimist. This is why we were so similar and why I miss him.

    Arigatou Gozaimasu Mista Oshira…

    Glenn Herman
    New York City 2013

  2. Paul’s passing was a rumor (for me) until right now.

    So it is true … the world is less without his light.

    I’ll always remember all the good turns he did for me and that manic laughter.

    The day he picked me and my kid up at JFK airport one Summer afternoon, and we headed to his and Dr. Velez’s Brooklyn local for some lunch will always stick with me.

    I miss you.

  3. I was just thinking about Paul and came across this site. Thanks for setting it up. Paul and I worked together for a few years, I in Chicago he in New York. Despite the miles, we essentially worked out of the same brain. People at the office would sometimes glance sideways at the things I would say to him on the phone. Anyone who knew Paul would likely understand. There’s a certain inappropriateness that he would get you into. It wasn’t much of a struggle. Heh. I should add that he was also incredibly smart and good at what he did. We got some impressive projects done together and I miss his collaboration.

    We had a lot of good times together on various work trips. And I’m oddly glad that he got to meet my now wife the last time I saw him on a trip through Chicago years ago. Keeping in touch was harder when he moved to Manilla but we tried to stay current. That said, I regret that it took me almost a year to realize he was gone. I’d emailed him right around the time he died and didn’t notice that I hadn’t heard back.

    I’ll miss this guy. He was an amazing partner in crime. Always quick with a laugh or a story. I’d pour one out for you, Paul, but you’d get mad and tell me to quit wasting my beer. So cheers, my friend.

  4. Hello, I am an old friend of Paul’s but we lost touch in the 2000s.
    I added some memories of him here, and also added a lot of photos from, here, just in case:
    https://tranceam.org/remembering-paul-hrisko/

    Paul was a gregarious guy and always the life of the party. We spent many nights in the late 1990s and early 2000s tripping on very good LSD and going to parties. He was always fun with a tremendous and twisted sense of humor.
    Paul worked with Ben and John Lollis and Pseudo Program’s Josh Harris at Prodigy, then moved to New York, where he found all these guys in the trance scene. Paul would go to Pseudo, there talking with Josh in disbelief.
    After I had a huge bust in 2001, Paul was nice enough to host my site on his Ciaobella.tv. until i got a more stable domain. Paul was as solid as ask you could ask. He also helped finance our DMT Ski events out in the Poconos in the early 2000s, in a partnership with Mike Donahue, who also died tragically young.
    He was very loyal and tolerant of all sorts of insanity.
    His father passed away in 2004, and we said prayers for Paul and his family.
    Eventually, Paul moved to San Francisco, where I called him in 2005 to inform him of Mike’s death, it was a serious heartfelt conversation. He then made it to the Philippines where he partied hard and died.
    No joke, I am glad he died doing what he loved – drinking.
    But I am reminded then that all the LSD we took was relatively harmless, and one of the most dangerous to him ultimately was something we can buy anywhere.
    We miss you Paul.

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