"When Chris Stein first clapped eyes on the pert platinum blonde singing with a girl-trio-fronted band called The Stilettoes, New York underground was moving to embrace the trash aesthetic at the heart of pop. Five years younger than Harry and a roadie for Eric Emerson's Magic Tramps, he swiftly finessed his way into The Stilettoes.

Chris and Debbie lived in a tiny one-bedroom flat above a grocery store on Thompson Street, in the interzone between SoHo and Little Italy, the kind of neighbourhood you'd expect to see in an Al Pacino film. There was hardly enough room in the place for the two of them. Every vertical level surface was covered in photographs. A bulletin board on one wall had flyers for The Stilettoes, and Elvis record cover, a photo of Debbie in her Chevy Camaro, a picture of Billy Doll, the drummer from The New York Dolls, who had OD'ed and been replaced by Jerry Nolan, the inevitable skull and crossbones, a Rolling Stones button with Brian Jones. The refrigerator had pictures of Richard Hell, Johnny Thunders, Eric Emerson from The Magic Tramps, another rock martyr who had met an early end. Crucifixes, magical talismans, voodoo dols, images of Warhol, The Velvet Underground and junk art Chris picked up from the trash: the bric-a-brac of the streets found its walk-in display case in that small flat."
- Excerpt from MOJO Magazine, February, 1999.

"I was in the School Of Visual Arts {NYC}& I thought the "New York Dolls" were a drag act-when I finally found out they were a rock band I went to see them-& Eric Emerson {Magic Tramps} was playing with them.I liked Eric more & I got friendly with Eric & my last year at SVA-I got the "Magic Tramps" to play a school party."
- Excerpt from the book "High On Rebellion-Max's Kansas City" by
Yvonne Sewall-Ruskin

"I went to see them {the Dolls} and Eric Emerson. I kind of liked Eric better at the time. I played a few shows with him later on."
- Excerpt from the book "No Compromise" by David Nobakht

"Chris Stein who was studying at the SVA had become a firm friend of Eric Emerson, leader of the Magic Tramps and perhaps the most talented Mercers musician not to be in the New York Dolls. Elda [Gentile, "Stillettos"] knew Stein to be a competent guitarist - even though he was not a regular member of the Magic Tramps, he sometimes sat in with the band. Elda asked Stein if hew would join the Stillettos and he accepted largerly because of his interest in one of the other Stillettos, Debbie Harry."
- Excerpt from the book, "From the Velvets to the Voidoids" by Clinton Heylin.