Ace Frehley News !

April 25, 2016 by Adam Lawton Leave a Comment


Date: April 15, 2016
Venue: F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts, Wilkes Barre, PA

Our Score: 2 out of 5 stars

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and former Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley made a stop at the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes Barre, PA on April 15th, as part of a 12 show east-coast run promoting his latest album release titled “Origins Vol.1” The night was a series of ups and downs which at one point had the near capacity crowd on their feet cheering and the next moment had them scratching their heads while leaving the theater to a slow din of boo’s.

Being a huge fan of Ace I was certainly well aware of the fact that when it comes to the “Spaceman” you never know what you are going to get and, this night was certainly a testament to that. The show kicked off with the NYC based band KillCode whose modern rock tinged sound was met with a warm response from the Wilkes Barre. This could have been attributed to the fact that one of the bands guitarists was from the rural esque town or possibly that their performance was the most consistent of the night. Either way the band seemed well rehearsed and fit the opening slot well. After a brief set change and following the sounds of “Fractured Mirror” which played over the P.A. Ace and his band consisting of drummer Scot Coogan, guitarist Richie Scarlett and bassist Chris Wyse would take the stage. The group kicked off the set with one of Ace’s signature songs “Rip it Out” which gave way to several Kiss classics such as “Rocket Ride”, “Parasite” and “Love Gun”. It was at the start of “Parasite” that I began to notice that the night was in for an awkward turn. The songs tempo shifted back and forth as it seemed Ace and the rest of the band were clearly on separate pages. Thankfully after a bit of back and forth things leveled out and songs like Thin Lizzy’s “Emerald” and “Rock Soldiers” sounded great. Towards the end of the bands set Ace began to move less and less and at one point he was even sitting on one of his speaker cabinets. After a lackluster solo and his signature smoking guitar trick the band quickly ran through the Kiss/Ace staple “Cold Gin” before immediately leaving the stage. Previous shows on the tour featured a two song encore which the fans were anxiously waiting and cheering for. After several minutes the house lights came fully on and music began playing over the P.A signaling the show was over. As fans made their way out the doors loud boos and other un-pleasantries filled the air. With a set a set that ran just under 90 minutes there was certainly cause for such reactions.

Fast-forward about 12hrs. to when it was announced that immediately after the Wilkes Barre show Ace was rushed to a nearby hospital and treated for exhaustion and dehydration. (As a side note the last show of the tour scheduled for 4/16 was canceled) I understand people get tired and things happen but when you are at the level Ace is at and have been performing as long as he has shouldn’t steps be taken to prevent these types of avoidable occurrences? Especially on a tour consisting of only 12 dates! This however is the typical type of Ace behavior which partly makes him so entertaining yet which has also plagued his career since his early days in Kiss. Will it ever change? That’s very hard to say. What I can say is that on 4/15 Wilkes Barre was treated to classic Ace all the way.

Set List:

1.) Rip It Out
2.) Toys
3.) Rocket Ride
4.) Parasite
5.) Love Gun
6.) Snowblind
7.) Sister
8.) Emerald (Thin Lizzy Cover)
9.) Rock Soldiers
10.) Bass Solo/Strange Ways
11.) New York Groove
12.) 2 Young 2 Die
13.) Shock Me/Guitar Solo
14.) Cold Gin

Ace Frehley Recalls Crazy Weekend of Debauchery at Dimebag’s House [Exclusive Video]

By Graham Hartmann April 26, 2016 12:00 PM


Ever hear the story of KISS legend Ace Frehley’s weekend with “hookers” at late Pantera shredder Dimebag Darrell‘s house? You’re about to!

We shot a ton of footage with Ace Frehley when he stopped by our studio last month. Dimebag Darrell may have been Frehley’s biggest fan, even getting the Spaceman’s likeness tattooed on his chest. We asked Ace to share a memory of Dimebag and what he told us was beyond anything we could have guessed.

Ace Frehley spent a weekend with Dimebag at the Pantera icon’s home in Dallas. The two guitarists were reasonably loaded during the affair, so much that Ace doesn’t remember recording a song with Dime. According to Dimebag’s longtime girlfriend Rita Haney, it happened and Ace has been contemplating its possible release.

Things only got crazier as the weekend progressed. Ace says a few “hookers” came over to the house toward the end of the weekend, with things even getting more interesting, so to speak.

Ace remembers getting pleasured by a “hooker” during the weekend, and as if that wasn’t enough, Ace was “serviced” while Dimebag and his girlfriend Rita Haney watched. “I didn’t care ’cause I was kind of loaded and so were they. Everybody was just like one big, happy family,” Ace told us.

Watch Ace’s recollection of this raunchy rock tale in the clip above, and pick up Ace’s new album, Origins, Vol. 1, at iTunes.


Read More: Ace Frehley Recalls Weekend of Debacuhery at Dimebag's House | http://loudwire.com/ace-frehley-crazy-weekend-debauchery-dimebag-house-exclusive-video/?trackback=tsmclip

04/27/16

Posted by Robert Pasbani on April 26, 2016 at 2:05 pm

It's no secret that Dimebag Darrell's guitar hero was longtime KISS guitarist Ace Frehley. The two eventually struck up a friendship, and in a recent interview, Frehley recalled a weekend where the two partied extremely hard.

Speaking to Loudwire, Frehley revealed that he spent a weekend at Dimebag's house just outside of Dallas, doing a lot of partying. According to Dimebag Darrell's longtime girlfriend, Rita Haney, the two even recorded a song together. Frehley was so tanked that he has no recollection of ever doing anything of the sorts with Dime. Rita is hoping to find the tape and Ace says if she does he will happily finish the song.

But, that's not even the craziest part of the story. Ace recalls going to The Clubhouse, a strip club owned by Dimebag and his brother Vinnie Paul, and that's when the story kicks into overdrive. Somehow, Ace ended up getting a blowjob from a hooker while Dime and Rita watched. Ace was so drunk, he didn't even care there were voyeurs, because Ace is a fucking partier.

Watch the entire video below. We love hearing stories of how Dime loved to party, like his Christmas party where Alice In Chains' Jerry Cantrell brought a ton of coke. Heck, his entire house looks like a party mansion.

Ace Frehley Once Got a B.J. While Dimebag Watched

April 27th, 2016 at 10:30am Axl Rosenberg 0


Not-so-humble brag: one of the coolest parts of my job is that I’ve gotten to share some very special moments with musicians I idolize. Birthday drinks with Pig Destroyer! Studio time with Gojira! Cease and desist orders from Axl Rose! It can all be very, very exciting.

That being said, I’ve yet to see any of my heroes’ oh-faces… and that, apparently, is just one of the many differences between myself and Dimebag.

In a new video interview with Loudwire, legendary KISS guitarist Ace Frehley — one of Dime’s greatest inspirations — reveals that he once spent a debaucherous weekend with the Pantera guitarist and his longtime partner, Rita Haney. And how did that weekend conclude? Well, according to Space Ace…

“Some hookers came over at the end of the weekend, so… It got a little crazy. I got a blowjob… in front of Rita and Dimebag. They were watching. It was crazy. But I didn’t care, ’cause I was kinda loaded. And so were they, so… everybody was just like one big happy family.”

Well that is… weird. I mean… I hope everyone had a good time? But holy shit, I will be only too happy to go to my grave having never seen anyone I admire get dome. Like, I don’t even wanna see my own face while receiving head, let alone this ugly mackerel’s. I guess it’s just lucky it was Ace and not Gene Simmons — I’ve heard if you look into his eyes while he’s orgasming, you turn to stone.

By Mark Lore  |  May 4, 2016  |  10:34am


Ace Frehley forgot his guitars.

I’m sitting in the backseat of a black Suburban with him across the street from his hotel near Times Square. We’re on our way to Electric Lady Studios, where he’s scheduled to film an episode of the popular web series Guitar Moves. Frehley—who still looks every inch a rock star with his tinted Ray-Bans, a red buttoned-down Western shirt exposing a black Electric Lady T-shirt, and tight black, slightly flared pants—is already running late. He fumbles through his bag and his pockets in search of his hotel key—he forgot that, too. He chuckles.

Frehley’s publicist tells us to go ahead, and that he’ll head back up to the room, grab the guitars and take a cab to the studio. It’s a classic Ace moment, one that I’m sure endlessly infuriated his former KISS bandmates Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. But in this case it’s endearing and mildly amusing.

Despite still being a little spacey, Ace is doing well these days. He’s living in San Diego with his fiancée, Rachael Gordon. He’ll celebrate 10 years of sobriety in September. He also has a killer band, and just finished a new album of covers called Origins Vol. 1—his third record in seven years—that nods back to the bands and guitarists that inspired a young Paul Daniel Frehley to rock ’n’ roll all nite.

“My late-teens…it was just amazing the amount of music I was exposed to,” says Frehley, recalling the first time he saw Cream and The Who at the RKO Proctor’s 58th Street Theatre in March of 1967 (the show was part of a series produced by eccentric disc jockey and promoter Murray the K that also featured Smokey Robinson and the Miracles). “Then Led Zeppelin and The Jimi Hendrix Experience came out. I mean, I roadied for Jimi Hendrix in 1970. God, it was a crazy couple of years.”

It’s around 5 p.m., and the Midtown traffic is in full snarl. Frehley, who’s known to be moody, is in good spirits, occasionally distracted by what’s happening outside the rear passenger-side window. Me? I’m rolling through New York City in the back of a Suburban with Ace Frehley talking about KISS—I’m fucking fantastic. My fandom goes back to age 5, confirmed by the KISS pajamas tucked in my bag that I’d have him autograph later that night.

Ace isn’t the slightest bit phased by the fact our driver has come close to kissing a few bumpers. Horns blast in frustration. The scene is quintessential New York—the city that made Ace, and created KISS. We’re only 10 minutes away from the famous loft on 10 East 23rd Street where in 1972 the four original members set out to conquer the world. Further up north, in the Bronx, Frehley and his older brother Charley learned guitar as kids, playing in a band called The Micro Organism. I ask Ace if he visits his brother (who still plays music in a folk duo called The Bridge Band) or his old neighborhood whenever he’s back in the New York groove.

“I don’t have the time,” he says, sounding exhausted just thinking about it. Frehley still carries with him a sturdy Bronx accent. “I saw Charley when I was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but we’re not really that close to be honest. Me and Charley were in our very first band together, but once I hit 14-15, I started playing in other bands and we sort of separated. He was more into folk music. He went to college and became a classical guitar player.”

Ace, on the other hand, cut school, ran with the Ducky Gang, boozed and chased girls, and played in rock bands like King Kong, The Exterminators and Molimo. By the time Frehley joined KISS in early-1973, the trio of Simmons, Stanley and drummer Peter Criss had already been working on songs and scheming up some of the band’s visual concepts. As KISStory tells us, Frehley showed up wearing one orange sneaker and one red sneaker, and jammed with the band on “Deuce”—still Ace’s favorite KISS song. He fired off one of his greasy, melodic leads and easily landed the job.

“Deuce” wasn’t the first KISS song I heard as a kid, but it’s definitely the one that left the most lasting impression. It’s still my favorite, too—the more explosive Alive! version, of course. I remember lying in bed listening to that cassette at night on some $10 Walkman knockoff I had, my 12-year-old brain putting in the extra work to create the visuals of the stage, the pyrotechnics, the blood and Ace’s smoking guitar. The walls of my room were plastered with posters and cutouts from magazines like Circus and Hit Parader.

Thirty years later, my office is a slightly cleaner version of my old room at my parents’ house out in the sticks in Northern California. And I still stick up for KISS, although I’m less likely to get pissed off and call someone a fuckin’ dickweed if they make fun of them. Even to this day it’s difficult for some to look past the makeup and the bombs and the adolescent lyrics (ya know, rock ’n’ roll incarnate), but there’s more to KISS.

“I learned a lot working with those guys,” says Frehley. It’s obvious he truly loves and admires his former bandmates. “The way they would blend harmonies…I mean, think about all those early KISS songs with three-part harmonies. That’s what made the group so strong—we had four lead singers. If we had to, we could do four-part harmonies. That was one of KISS’s strong points besides all the theatrics. Plus, we wrote good songs. Catchy songs. It wasn’t just all show.”

And then there were Frehley’s guitar solos, most of them as hummable as the choruses. I’ll go on the record right here: The lead on “Shock Me” is one of the greatest rock guitar solos ever. Yet, outside of The KISS Army, Ace never really gets his due. Dark Lord knows I’ve spent my most of my life trying to make people see the error of their ways.

I guess my KISS geekdom is the reason I’m sitting across from Frehley in the first place…that and a small misunderstanding by email (when I contacted his publicist, he assumed I lived in New York and invited me to interview Frehley in person). My friends made sure I got on a plane to New York to interview my hero (I was nicknamed “Ace” at a drunken New Year’s party my senior year high school), going as far as setting up a GoFundMe to help cover the airfare. Getting there didn’t go quite as planned. A blizzard in Denver, Colorado, caused delays, cancellations and more cancellations, and I spent what amounted to 24 straight hours either in the air drinking whiskeys or in a dirty airport praying for the goddamn Chick-fil-A to open.

Touching down in New York felt like a miracle.

By the time I arrive at Ace’s hotel on a temperate New York afternoon, I’m running on four cobbled-together hours of sleep, two beers and one cup of coffee. I enter the room as the journalist before me is snapping a few photos with him. I spot Ace’s lightning-bolt guitar strap coiled up on a table, and I get a little tingle in my belly. It’s a little after 4 p.m. and Frehley has been doing interviews since 9 in the morning. Despite that, he’s friendly and lucid. He takes his shades off when we talk. He’s tanned, and his fingers are thick and knotty, adorned with a few rings, including a shiny silver skull that a fan gave him years ago at a show. Frehley is excited about his new record. And he’s eager to talk about his influences, too—especially The Who. Seeing the band in 1967 probably had the biggest impact on him.

“You know, Daltrey’s slinging the mic around. Townshend’s throwing his guitar up in the air and catching it on the beat, smashing it into the amps. Keith Moon’s wrecking his drum kit at the end of the show. It just grabbed me. That day I said, ‘I gotta be in a theatrical rock group.’”


KISS ruled arenas throughout the 1970s. The crude and campy early stage shows included candelabras, a levitating drum riser operated by a chain pulley, and Ace’s signature smoking guitar, in which he placed actual smoke bombs inside the pickups (it looked cool, but wasn’t very good for the guitar). The more money that poured in, the bigger and sleeker the shows became—and along with that more drugs, more groupies and more strife within the band. While Simmons and Stanley kept their business eyes focused on maximum profit, Frehley and Criss were getting eaten alive by cocaine, booze and pills.

“I knew it right from the beginning,” Frehley says of the members’ antithetical personalities. “I could identify with Peter, and we became closer as the years progressed. Paul and Gene are from different backgrounds. We’re four very different people, you know, but opposites attract. For some reason with the four of us there was a chemistry and an energy that hasn’t been duplicated.”

This is 100 percent the absolute, unequivocal truth. The KISS Machine rumbled on through the 1980s and into the ’90s with albums like Lick It Up, Animalize and Revenge (the flimsy, overproduced ode to Bon Jovi Crazy Nights was in there, too, but I try to forget that happened). And Frehley released a few post-KISS solo records, including 1987’s Frehley’s Comet, which had some solid cuts like “Rock Soldiers” and “Stranger In a Strange Land.”

But none of that captured the firepower of KISS in 1977 (the reunion tour in 1996 briefly brought back the magic). Ace will be the first to say that his first solo record—released simultaneously with the three other original members in 1978—was lightning in a bottle.

“That was a really magical time and experience,” he says, adding that he’d been holding on to some of the songs that ended up on the record since the sessions for 1976’s Rock and Roll Over. “We just went up there and created every day, and I came up with the best stuff I’ve ever done. That’s a really special record, and it’s stood the test of time.”

Frehley played all the guitars and most of the bass parts on the record. He holed up at Colgate Mansion in Sharon, Connecticut, with producer Eddie Kramer and drummer Anton Fig (bassist Will Lee, who later went on to join David Letterman’s house band with Fig, also played on some of the tracks)—far away from the temptations of the city.

“Eddie Kramer was smart, because he knew I liked to party; he knew I had a lot of distractions when I’m working in Manhattan…I’ve got girlfriends, I’ve got this going on…his idea was to get out of the city, and get me away from everything so I’d have tunnel vision. And it worked.”

What emerged from that session was easily the best of the four, and one of the great, underrated rock records of the 1970s. Meanwhile, Simmons dabbled in disco and Beatles pop with the stars of the era, while Stanley remained true to the KISS sound, and Criss went back to his soul and jazz roots. Frehley experimented, too, with the power pop of “What’s On Your Mind” and the smoked-out “Ozone,” to heavy-riffing “Snowblind” and the prog ’n’ roll instrumental “Fractured Mirror”—the record remains a cohesive rock gem that people who don’t necessarily even like KISS seem to love. It also gave Ace a Top 20 hit with his cover of Hello’s “New York Groove.”

When discussing the album he recorded 38 years ago, the details and emotion come spilling out of Ace, who has a notoriously bad memory. The recording concluded at Plaza Sound, above Radio City Music Hall, where jazz greats like Milt Jackson and Pharaoh Sanders cut records in the ’50s and ’60s. Frehley does recall one distraction: the Rockettes, who rehearsed there and frequently, as he puts it “sunned themselves on the roof,” would frequently peak into the studio once they caught wind that a rock star was using Plaza. But he remained focused. It seems there was much more to his mad scientist obsession than simply proving something to his bandmates.

“I wanted to show the world what I could do,” he says. “My abilities had been downplayed for so long; I was finally getting a chance to show everybody what I could do on my own. And I wasn’t going to settle for anything less than the best I could do.”

While the other three original members of KISS are no slouches, Frehley gets the most credit for his musicality. He’s the only one who’s mounted any sort of solo success—and it’s his 1978 record that has no doubt made this possible. Still, Frehley has always been his own worst enemy, and drug use kept him inactive for years at a time. Origins Vol. 1, his third record in seven years, marks a creative burst he hasn’t seen in three decades. Meanwhile, KISS continues on with guitarist Tommy Thayer playing the “Spaceman” every night on stage.

But there is only one Spaceman. And I’m sitting across from him on a sofa in a hotel suite overlooking Manhattan, minutes before he and his publicist invite me to continue the interview in the car on the way to Electric Lady Studios—the house that Hendrix built, and where KISS recorded their five-song demo on March 13, 1973, just six days after I was born. Even though I’m keeping my professional cool, a small part of me is losing my shit.
Detroit Rock City

The experience sort of puts things in perspective. The original members are getting older, their legacy cemented, but still marked with skepticism from those who never quite got it. They will be forever connected in ways that no one else can truly understand. It’s strange to think that Ace has been out of KISS longer than he was in the band. It’s even crazier to think that Thayer’s tenure in KISS—now going on 14 years—is closing in on Frehley’s 16 years. His post-KISS life surely isn’t as lucrative as the alternative, but at 65 Ace has a lot to be happy about. And I can vouch for the fact that he still makes a lot of people happy.

“I just keep moving along,” Frehley says, letting out one of his famous cackles. “The last few years have been the most successful in my solo career. And I’m in a good place. Thank God my health is good. I get through it one day at a time. Onward and upward.”

Mark Lore is still talking about talking to Ace Frehley over on Twitter.

By Mark Lore


More than four decades after the original members got together to rehearse in that loft on 10 East 23rd Street, KISS is still looked at by many as a joke. Silly clowns. No-talent hacks. The simple fact is if you still hold that view, it’s best to turn in your rock’n’roll card immediately.

There’s the famous quote from Brian Eno that suggests the Velvet Underground’s importance wasn’t gauged in album sales, but by the number of bands that formed as a result of hearing those records. A certain parallel can be drawn with KISS: The band's lack of critical appeal, or musical cred doesn’t correlate to the number of kids inspired to pick up guitars after hearing records like Alive! and Love Gun.

You don’t have to like KISS. You don’t even have to get them. But there’s a good chance you’re listening to something today that was influenced by the band. Red House Painters covered “Shock Me.” The Melvins released solo records in the spirit of KISS. The Replacements covered “Black Diamond,” as did the late Bathory vocalist Quorthon. Hell, Joey and Tommy Ramone got their faces blown off at an early KISS performance at Coventry in Queens.

“At the time I think they were the loudest band I ever heard,” said Joey Ramone in Ken Sharp’s oral history of KISS, Nothin’ To Lose: The Making of KISS 1972-1975. “I liked a lot of their stuff. They were fun, and had great songs.”

Loud? Fun? Great songs? Yeah, why would anyone in his or her right mind like KISS?

Then there’s Ace Frehley, lead guitar (pronounced, “lead gee-TAWWW!”). The wild rock’n’roller. The space cadet from Jendel. He’s the guy that even non-KISS fans can agree is pretty fucking cool (just watch KISS’s infamous 1979 interview with Tom Snyder on The Tomorrow Show for proof). And no one sounds like Ace. His leads are their own language—raw, loose, strings bending to the breaking point—he plays guitar like he truly is from another planet.

The solos for “Shock Me” (one of the greatest—ever) and “Strange Ways”—a couple of Ace’s best among many—are songs within the songs, made more amazing by the fact he hardly ever worked on them before blasting it out in the studio.

“When I first started out I used to sit at home and try to figure out guitar solos,” recalled Frehley, leaning on the arm of the sofa in his hotel suite high above Midtown. “And it really didn’t work out, because nine times out of 10 I ended up coming up with something different in the studio. I finally realized it’s better to go in there, empty my head out, and just play without thinking. That’s when I do my best work.”


Case in point, that guitar solo for “Strange Ways” off of 1974’s Hotter Than Hell album.

“I had a Marshall stack on 10, and I had a lot of trouble controlling the feedback because I was so close to the amp. I had headphones on, but it was so goddamn loud I almost couldn’t hear the track. So I just kinda went crazy with the solo, and that’s what I ended up with.”  

That’s the sort of dissonant beauty that produced some of Frehley’s biggest champions: Dimebag Darrell, Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready and Slash, to name just a few. Of course, you’ll rarely hear about Ace Frehley unless it’s from a KISS fan turning blue in the face sticking up for their guitar hero. And you won’t see his name on any of those big, bloated “Greatest Guitarists of All-Time” lists, even though he’s absolutely one of them.

What Ace did was move pimply-faced teenagers to start their own bands, just as Pete Townshend and Eric Clapton moved a 15-year-old Paul Daniel Frehley to cut school to see Cream and The Who’s American debuts at the RKO Proctor’s 58th Street Theatre in 1967.

“Pete Townshend taught me how to play rhythm guitar,” said Frehley. Townshend can play the same chord in 20 different places on the neck. It really advanced my style and my chord work, and it helped me as a songwriter.”


Frehley, now 14 years removed from his second tenure in KISS, just released Origins, Vol. 1, which pays tribute to some of the artists—including the Kinks, Zeppelin and the Stones—that led him to a storied life of rock ’n’ roll. The record also features noted Ace disciples McCready and Slash (as well as a guest vocal from his former KISS bandmate Paul Stanley on Free’s “Fire and Water”).

Noisey caught up with some of the musicians that the Space Ace has influenced. Artists from all over the rock spectrum—crossing generations, genres and gender—who’ve been moved by one of those classic Ace guitar solos, or that larger-than-life persona. Sit back, and enjoy the rocket ride.


Mike McCready – Pearl Jam


Favorite Ace solo: “Black Diamond”

I feel it. I guess that’s mostly it—I feel Ace’s playing. And that’s the most important part to me. I felt it as a young boy, and now as a man I can still feel it. You know when he goes into the “Strutter” lead, or the “Black Diamond” lead—those early solos that he did are so raw and visceral; and not tons of notes, but well-placed. And when I played on this record—which I was very humbled to be part of—I was trying to emulate him a bit. You know, “You mean a lot to me, Ace, so I want to show you that I use your licks.”


Jay Jay French – Twisted Sister

Favorite Ace solo: None

Ace came out of the same school of players that I did—the Mick Taylors, the Peter Greens, the Eric Claptons…you know, Jimmy Page. I can tell in two seconds where his style came from. When he joined KISS, it was obvious why he joined that band. When I auditioned for them I wasn’t ready—I didn’t have my guitar tone down. And when I went to their loft in September, when they asked me to come down and listen to the band—I believe I watched their very first performance—I heard Ace play his Les Paul through the Marshall stack, and I was like, “Oh yeah, he gets it—100 percent.”


Allison Robertson - The Donnas


Favorite Ace solo: “100,000 Years”

Originally when we started I liked surf, and a lot of Riot Grrrl bands were big influences. I wasn’t really looking to play solos. We were really messy, and we wanted to sound even more sloppy. I was watching a VHS of my sister’s and saw one of Ace’s guitar solos—with the flaming pickups, and then the guitar goes flying—and I was like, “Holy shit—this is out of this world.” I’d never really watched him move, or listened to him play. And there was something about the lankiness of his body that really worked. He seems otherworldly, even when he doesn’t have the makeup on. Once I saw that I became really, really obsessed. Ace Frehley was the reason I sold all my crappy guitars and put all the money toward a Les Paul Studio. The second I had that thing I felt like I was Ace Frehley.  


Adam Zaars – Tribulation


Favorite Ace solo: “Calling Dr. Love”

I’m pretty sure he’s the main reason I started playing guitar; and he’s why I still play a Les Paul. It’s one of those things that changed my life—because here we are. To me there are two kinds of guitarists: The Ace Frehley kind, and the people inspired by Yngwie Malmsteen—not him, but the people inspired by him. Ace is very rock ’n’ roll. His solos are something that adds to the song—sometimes it’s the best part of the song.


Jon Wurster – Superchunk, Mountain Goats


Favorite Ace solo: “Got To Choose”

I’ve never been drawn to the frontpeople in bands, with a few exceptions. Ace wasn’t in the background, but he wasn’t a focal point. He had a kind of mystery to him; you didn’t know a ton about him. He seemed like…he was from another planet, like he likes to admit. As a guitar player there really isn’t anyone that sounds like him. He has this perfect sloppiness—he’s not that sloppy, but he’s probably unschooled enough that it came out in this completely unique way. And he was the funniest guy in the band! Their appearance on The Tom Snyder Show is a landmark in television interviews.


Andrea Vidal – Holy Grove


Favorite Ace solo: “Deuce”

Ace has so much attack and style—he’s playing exactly what he’s feeling. He knew how good his tone was, and he knew how good he sounded, and he didn’t try to do anything that took away from that. There’s a lot going on onstage when you’re in KISS, and he was really complementary to everything that was happening. Dude, he played a Les Paul just plugged through a Marshall stack. I’m sure he was thrown every pedal in his lifetime. Ace understands the power of not having a whole lot between you and the guitar and the amp—he was the master of that.


Buzz Osborne – Melvins

Favorite Ace solo: “Calling Dr. Love”

We did fake KISS solo records, but we left Ace out—we did Gene, Paul and Peter—because we always really liked Ace [laughs]. It was like, we want Ace to join our band [laughs]. No, we really love the Ace record a lot. He has a weird way of playing that’s not tremendously fast, but it’s really, really cool. We think he’s ultimately cool.


Dale Crover – Melvins


Favorite Ace solo: “She”

Oh yeah, Ace is the cool one. I like all of KISS, but his is the best solo record. We covered “Rip It Out” at one time, too—it’s one of my favorites because the drum fills are so dang cool.


Steve McDonald – Redd Kross, Melvins, Off!


Favorite Ace solo: “Parasite”

I’ve always loved Ace and…you know, his spaced-out swagger. I remember I was with a group of friends; we were camping in a trailer park, and we took a bunch of acid and we listened to the Ace Frehley solo album. It was the first time I’d ever heard that record. And we had this, like, psychedelic revelatory experience. And we wrote, as a group—like six of us, punk rockers with crazy colored hair in 1982—we all wrote Ace Frehley a fan letter while listening to his solo record. On acid. His vibe kind of transcended the cartoonish attraction that I had as a kid.


Naoko Yamono – Shonen Knife


Favorite Ace solo: “Shout It Out Loud”

The first time I went to a KISS show was in 1977 when I was a high school student. They were very popular to Japanese rock kids. My friend and I had to stand in a queue all through the night to get advance tickets. I was surprised at their performance, especially Ace Frehley’s posture, wearing his platform shoes and bending his knees. It was wonderful. Ace’s guitar playing is very rock ’n’ roll, and his distorted sound is very comfortable for my ears. His vocal is cool, too.


Ty Tabor – King’s X


Favorite Ace solo: “Shock Me”

Ace could play one note, and you knew it was Ace, in the same way that Allan Holdsworth could play one note and you know it’s him. I remember I was on vacation and I was hanging out with one of my best friends named Marty Warren, and we both were huge Ace fans; we both tried to shake the strings like him, and tried to learn the solos. We were sitting at a table and someone came on the radio saying, “A brand-new KISS album is about to come out—here’s a new song off of it, and Ace sings it.” And they played “Shock Me.” And when it got to the solo we both were high-fiving and going, “That is the ultimate!” I mean that is the pinnacle of perfection, Ace Frehley sing-along solo. Still to this day it’s one of the greatest rock guitar solos I’ve ever heard.


Scott Ian - Anthrax


Favorite Ace solo: “100,000 Years”

I’ve been listening to KISS since 1975, and I can sing Ace’s leads note for note as easily as I can sing the choruses of their songs. To be able to do that on so many songs is quite a feat. I feel like he’s a very overlooked and underrated guitar player. So many other guitar players from the ’70s get credit as guitar heroes, but unless you’re talking to KISS fans, you never really hear Ace’s name mentioned in the same breath as Ted Nugent or Eddie Van Halen or Ritchie Blackmore or Joe Perry…go on down the list. His solos are as memorable as anything Jimmy Page has ever done—for real.


Jennifer Paro, “Lace Frehley” – PRISS

Favorite Ace solo: “Shock Me”

The most important thing for me when I do Ace is to make sure I’m as musically accurate as I can be with his guitar playing. “Shock Me” and also “100,000 Years” were the most difficult to learn—there’s a weird picking pattern on that one. And I try to do it with the movements. I love when he’s doing the hammer-ons and starts pointing at the guitar. I try to emulate that. I’m actually in the process right now of getting a smoking guitar. We’ll see how that goes!


Tom Morello – Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave


Favorite Ace solo: “Detroit Rock City”

Rock ’n’ roll can excel in a number of different ways: There’s technical ability, there’s songwriting ability, and then there’s Magic Awesome Rock Power. And Ace Frehley has that in spades. He connected the comic, fantasy superhero world with the bombast of Marshall stack heavy metal power. The pomp and pageantry that’s accompanied KISS is no different from any that accompanied Elvis Presley or Little Richard, or other icons of the genre who receive nothing but total respect. Ace Frehley receives my total respect, and I’m proud to have had him as my first guitar hero.


Maggie Vail – Bangs, Hurry Up


Favorite Ace solo: “Shock Me”

Nirvana got big, and my sister [Tobi Vail] started this incredible band Bikini Kill, and I got sucked into the punk scene. But everybody I knew in Olympia was obsessed with KISS, and so I just got into it. We all listened to a lot of KISS. People covered a lot of KISS songs. I’m all about the original lineup—I mean, that was the magic. And Ace Frehley is incredible.


Abbath Doom Occulta – Abbath, Immortal


Favorite Ace solo(s): “Strange Ways,” “Almost Human”

I love Ace. I mean, fucking hell—you’re not a KISS fan if you don’t like Ace [laughs]. His singing…he’s just cruising with it, you know? And his way of playing is totally unique; you don’t hear anyone play like he does. It’s just so rock ’n’ roll and so over the top, which is what KISS was all about. KISS is the reason I got into this in the first place. I mean, I love my father to death, but I also love these guys—they gave me a good childhood; they made my life not boring.



Mark Lore loves KISS very, very much, and is on Twitter.

By Graham Hartmann


Throw on your KISS plush bath robe in hot pink… it’s time to play Stump the Ace!

Fans don’t just celebrate KISS for the iconic band’s music. We all love the ridiculousness of KISS’ merchandising efforts, largely pushed by the inimitable Gene Simmons, of course. Ace Frehley was never the most interested KISS member when it came to business ventures, preferring instead to focus on his musicianship. So we decided to test out his knowledge of KISS’ seemingly infinite line of products.

The guitarist actually came up with the name ‘Stump the Ace’ himself just seconds before we dove into the game. Before Ace arrived at our studio, we put together a list of products: some real and some fake. Many fans know about the infamous KISS Kasket, but does a KISS tombstone exist?

You may be surprised as to what KISS products actually don’t exist. After we mentioned one particular phony product, Ace actually warned us that we should patent the idea before Gene does.

How many answers did Ace get correct? Can you beat his score? Check out Stump the Ace above and find out! Ace recently released his new album of covers, Origins Vol. 1. Click here to grab a copy!


Read More: Ace Frehley Challenged to Identify Real or Fake KISS Merch | http://loudwire.com/stump-the-ace-kiss-legend-ace-frehley-real-or-fake-kiss-products/?trackback=tsmclip

Traduction :

Jetez-vous sur votre robe de bain chaude Kiss en peluche rose... il est temps de jouer avec Stump the Ace !

Les fans ne se contentent pas de célébrer Kiss pour leur musique. Nous aimons tous les efforts ridicules de KISS pour les marchandises, largement poussés par l'inimitable Gene Simmons, bien sûr. Ace Frehley n'a jamais été le membre de KISS le plus intéressé par les entreprises commerciales, préférant se concentrer sur sa musicque. Nous avons donc décidé de tester ses connaissances en ligne sur les produits apparemment dans des domaines infinis de Kiss.

Le guitariste est effectivement venu pour le «Stump the Ace» quelques secondes avant que nous l'ayons plongé dans le jeu. Avant l'arrivée d'Ace à notre studio, nous avons mis en place une liste de produits: certains existent d'autres non. Beaucoup de fans connaissent le fameux Kasket de Kiss, mais existe-t-il une pierre tombale KISS ?

Vous pourriez être surpris des produits de KISS qui n'existent pas réellement. Après que nous ayons mentionné un produit bidon particulier, Ace nous a effectivement averti de breveter l'idée avant que Gene le fasse.

Combien d'erreur Ace a-t-il fait ? Pouvez-vous battre son score? Vérifiez Stump l'As ci-dessus et découvrez ! Ace a récemment sorti son nouvel album de reprises, Origins Vol. 1. Cliquez ici pour récupérer une copie!

When you think about the greats in music, whether you’re name-checking Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Who, Stevie Wonder or Bruce Springsteen, each of those seminal artists drew from a vast palette of influences and inspirations to help forge their own artistic vision.

With his fiery work in KISS and as a solo artist, legendary guitarist Ace Frehley sandblasted the rock world with his aggressive melodic style of six-string work.

On his new CD, Origins Vol. 1, he proudly wears his influences on his sleeve paying tribute to the artists that rocked his world with powerful interpretations of classic songs culled from the catalog of Jimi Hendrix, Cream, The Kinks, Free, Thin Lizzy, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, The Troggs and others.

Ace also rips out new renditions of three KISS songs, the self-penned Parasite and Cold Gin and Rock and Roll Hell, a song featured on the band’s 1982 Creatures of the Night album, their first sans Frehley. Fellow KISS band mate Paul Stanley, Slash, Pearl Jam‘s Mike McCready and Lita Ford are among the heavyweight firepower lending support on this fine record.

Ace sat down with us for a career-spanning chat…

What’s the first album you ever bought with your own money?

Ace Frehley: Wow, that’s a tough one. That was a long, long time ago. (laughs) The big key albums for me growing up were The Who’s My Generation, Fresh Cream, Led Zeppelin I and Hendrix’s first album was big for me. I used to walk around high school with Are You Experienced? under my arm. (laughs)

Was there a favorite record store in the neighborhood that you frequented?

Ace Frehley: Yeah, there was a place in the Bronx on Fordham Road called Cousins. It was a really cool place. The bottom was a record store but when you went upstairs there were all these novelties and also a glass case filled with stiletto knives. (laughs)


Rock and roll and knives go together, right?

Ace Frehley: I think so. (laughs)

As a guitar player, when did you make the jump from imitator to innovator where your style became your style and less emulating influences?

Ace Frehley: You know, that’s hard to say. I just always do what I do. I mean people who study my guitar work will probably be better to answer that question than me at this moment. (laughs) I think it took a few years before I was really able to develop my own voice on the guitar.

I mean, it started with the first KISS solo, those solos are me. People often ask me how do I prepare my solos with KISS and in the early days of KISS I used to sit at home with a cassette of a rhythm track that either Paul or Gene furnished me and I’d practice solos and come up with ideas so I’d have something prepared when I walked into the studio.

But in the last 20, 25 years, I don’t do that anymore. I just wing it.

While many of your contemporaries might have had more technical ability, your guitar solos were always memorable, teeming with melody and hooks. What went into kind of thinking? You weren’t just blowing out notes and jamming, it was signing your name on each solo.

Ace Frehley: I don’t have a formula. It just happens. It’s not something I even think about. For instance, when I working on the new album I was working on the solo for Street Fighting Man, I just jammed three passes and then I listened to it and picked the parts I liked. I actually then went on to replay it and then I doubled it.  It comes from a pure place with me.

   For a long time, I don’t think about what I’m gonna play. I play my best solo work when I empty my head; as long as I know what key I’m in and then I’m okay. (laughs)

A covers album seems like a no-brainer but it took this long for you to tackle this kind of a project. Was this always in the back of your mind?

Ace Frehley: It was actually the record company’s idea for me to do a covers record. To be honest with you, initially I wasn’t that excited about the project because I had just come off the success of the Space Invader album, which was all originals except for the Joker by Steve Miller.

I was saying to myself, “The covers record, I’ll finish that and knock it out and then focus on creating more original music.” But after I cut a lot of the basic tracks and then when I got Slash on the record, some of the solos came out really cool and I started getting more excited about the project.


It all kind of came together in L.A. for the last week we were doing the record. In one weekend I got Lita (Ford) to play on the album, I got Paul (Stanley) to sing on Fire and Water and I got John 5 in the studio. This happened all in one weekend and it just all came together great.

I sent Mike McCready the stems for Cold Gin and he played on it. It’s crazy how quickly things happen when you stay focused.

In terms of your approach to this classic material, was there a fine line between being faithful to the material and taking it into a new direction?

Ace Frehley: Well, I picked songs that were influences on me but I didn’t overthink things. For instance, I didn’t even know how to play Spanish Castle Magic by Hendrix. I was in the studio with Scotty (Coogan); we had tracked five songs and we still had an hour in the studio. I said to Scottty, “It would be great to do a Hendrix song” and he came up with the idea for us to do Spanish Castle Magic.

And I said to him, “Scotty, I don’t know how to play that one.” (laughs) So we listened to it off YouTube and we put a click track to it and Scotty played drum to it. We got a brilliant drum track. When I got John 5 on the phone I told him what we had in the can.

I told him, “I’ve got Spanish Castle Magic but all we have is a drum track.” I also told him we had Space Truckin’ by Deep Purple which we decided not to use and Parasite. So when he came into the studio we just tackled Parasite right away and then Spanish Castle Magic was pretty much an afterthought.

He said, “Well, what about Spanish Castle Magic?” And I told him, “I haven’t even out a rhythm track on it but if you want to put down your track go ahead.” So he put down a rhythm track and then me and him both soloed over it. Then I took the hard drive back to San Diego and I out the bass track on it. That lead vocal went really quick, just three or four passes with my engineer Warren Huart. Warren mixes the records but he also gets involved with last minute overdubs too. I threw the vocal on real quick: I had never sung it before. I loved the delay effect he put on my vocal.

It was quite a surprise to see that Paul Stanley was the guest lead vocalist for your cover of Free’s “Fire & Water.” How did that come together?

   Ace Frehley: Well, I originally tried to get Gene (Simmons) on the record but he never got back to me with any of my texts or emails. I even went as far as to call Doc (McGhee), their manager and said, “Will you let Gene know I’m trying to get a hold of him for my record?” But I still didn’t hear back from Gene; I guess he was tied up with something else.

But the record company said, “Well, why don’t you try Paul?” I called Paul’s cell and he picked up right away. I said to Paul, “I’m doing a record and I’d love for you to be part of it. Do you wanna sing or play or do both?” From the outset he was very open about it and said, “Yeah, that could be fun.”

Was Fire and Water the track you pitched him?

Ace Frehley: No, Fire and Water came at the very tail end of the discussion. We talked about hat songs to do and he came up with Little Wing by Derek & the Dominoes and that didn’t work out and then Paul came back to me and said, “Well, what about My Generation?” I said, “That could work but let me think about it for a couple of days.”

Then I got back to Paul and said, “How about Fire and Water’? And he loved the idea because he’s a big Paul Rodgers fan, like me. Paul’s vocal is really good. His vocal performance using his lower register is a little uncharacteristic of his vocal work with KISS and I think it’s a nice departure. It’s very soulful.

Speaking of KISS, you left KISS before the sessions for their Creatures of the Night album and chose to cover a song from that record. What was the thinking behind that?

Ace Frehley: Ken Gullic, the Vice-President of Marketing at eOne came up with that idea to cover Rock & Roll Hell. It was Ken’s idea. He had flown into L.A. the weekend I had Slash in the studio and Ken proposed that idea to me. I listened to it and remembered the song from Creatures even though I hadn’t played on it and I said, “Sure, let’s take a stab at it.”

So I called Matt Starr who lives in L.A.; he’s only 15 minutes from the studio, Warren’s place. So me and Matt just tracked it and then I took it home and started doing overdubs.

For KISS fans, to hear you solo on that song gives them an idea of what could have been had you played lead guitar on the Creatures of the Night album.

Ace Frehley: That was the whole idea, to give KISS fans an idea of what it would have sounded like if I had played on it.

You cover Cream’s White Room. Didn’t you see their first U.S appearance in the States on the same bill with The Who, Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels and others?

Ace Frehley: Yeah, I did see that show and it was incredible. It was both the Who and Cream’s first New York appearance. They were kind of the exact opposite of The Who.

The Who was very theatrical, blowing things up, wrecking their drum set, smashing their amps and guitars and pretty much Cream just stood there and played. But they played their asses off. It was a time when Clapton had an Afro and he had the painted SG guitar. They just blew me away musically and visually.

   Nobody looked or played like Cream. They were using Super Beatle amps. (laughs) So it was a no-brainer to do White Room for this album.

Did you ever meet Clapton?

Ace Frehley: No, I don’t think so. We’ve always kind of just missed each other over the years.

You’re a huge Led Zeppelin fan and could have picked any number of songs to cover, why Bring It On Home?

Ace Frehley: I’ve always been fascinated with that riff in Bring It On Home and the minor third harmony that Jimmy Page does against the riff the second and third time around. It’s just a classic Zeppelin song and I’ve always been fascinated by the riff. I knew I couldn’t sing it but Scotty does a great job on the vocal and the drumming. Luckily, I took a stab at the intro vocal and that turned out okay.

I was originally going to get a harmonica player but I said, “Let me take a stab at coming up with some lead work in between the vocals” and then I put that tongue and cheek intro with the trains. (laughs) I pulled that out from my sound effects library. I came up with a couple of different train sounds. I don’t really think that much about what I do; I just do it and I hope it’s gonna turn out good.

I never met Jimmy Page. I remember being at this club in New York City called Trax in the late ‘70s and somebody told me that Page came in and was sitting at the bar. But I don’t like approaching people because I know being a celebrity when I’m out relaxing and having a couple of drinks with friends I don’t wanna be bothered. So I didn’t go over to Jimmy because I respected his privacy. So we never met face to face.

You chose to cover two classic songs you wrote while in KISS, Cold Gin and Parasite.

Ace Frehley: I chose to do those songs because Cold Gin and Parasite are two very popular KISS songs that I wrote so I opted to do those because I’ve been singing them for a while now live and I figured it was about time to record them and get some special guests on those songs to spice it up. I was happy with the way they came out.

   I’m already thinking about Volume II of a covers record. I wanted to so a Humble Pie song, I wanted to do a Who song but that didn’t work out but maybe on Volume II we’ll get to those guys?

For Cold Gin and Parasite you didn’t have to lay on your back and sing those lead vocals like you did with Shock Me, your first lead vocal with KISS.

Ace Frehley: (laughs hysterically) Not these days…

You rarely name check the Kinks as an influence but on the new record you deliver a powerful version of their classic ’Til The End Of The Day. What did The Kinks mean to you growing up?

Ace Frehley: I loved the Kinks. I always thought they were very musical. Ray Davies would always come up with great melodies and lyrics. From the first time I heard You Really Got Me I was hooked.

I always wanted to redo a Kinks song. I didn’t wanna do You Really Got Me because that’s been beaten to death but ‘Til the Ends of the Day was a good song to do and not one that’s been covered that many times. I saw the Kinks a couple of times in the ‘60s. I met Ray Davies at a celebrity dinner in the late ‘80s. It was some kind of fundraiser and I ended up sitting opposite of him and his wife at a dinner. (laughs) That was kind of cool.

The KISS story is filled with triumph and tribulations, victory and adversity. What are your happiest memories of being in the band?

Ace Frehley: Probably touring after Destroyer when things broke wide open. It was that year we were voted the number one group in America by the Gallup Poll. That was a real special year.  Playing Madison Square Garden was incredible. That was a very special, magical time.

   We were top notch and I think that was KISS at its best. Things started going awry after the movie (KISS Meets The Phantom of the Park). Peter had the car accident during the filming of that, I had a falling out with the producer. We started spiraling out of control.

Like so many other, you dreamed about making it. When it finally happened, was it better than you imagined, worse, different?

Ace Frehley: It was kind of surreal. For instance, you dream of playing Madison Square Garden your whole life and then when you’re playing there you’re thinking, is this really happening? Sometime I’d pinch myself. (laughs)

I’d be like, I can’t believe I’m playing a sold out Madison Square Garden, how the heck did this happen? (laughs) Then the second time we played at the Garden we played multiple nights that were sold out.

So success and being a rock star, you think it’s gonna be one way but there’s always the down side of it, all the traveling, the touring, the loneliness on the road. Touring as much as we did and trying to come up with great records in between, that was a lot of pressure but we had a good run. (laughs)

- See more at: http://www.rockcellarmagazine.com/2016/05/06/ace-frehley-the-interview-kiss-space-man-origins-vol-1/#sthash.oiM3x23t.dpuf

Ace Frehley tenta adivinhar se produtos do KISS são reais – vídeo

Quadro em vídeo mostra ex-guitarrista chutando se produtos ditos por apresentador realmente foram lançados pela banda
Por Tony Aiex -
06/05/2016

By Jeff Perlah On 5/8/16 at 3:01 PM


Ace Frehley has had a far-reaching influence on hard rock.  The late Dimebag Darrell of Pantera had the former Kiss guitarist’s face tattooed on his chest, and today, Eagles of Death Metal frontman Jesse Hughes sports a lightning bolt guitar strap similar to Frehley’s. That’s not to mention the countless ax-slingers who continue to gain tons of inspiration from Frehley’s fiery solos on songs like “Rock and Roll All Night,” “Detroit Rock City” and “Shock Me” (the first Kiss song Frehley sang lead vocals on).  

In the ’70s, while sporting his iconic spaceman costume—a persona arguably more intriguing than bandmate Gene Simmons’s Kabuki monster—Frehley helped Kiss become, as the announcer proclaims on 1975’s concert double album Alive!, “the hottest band in the land.” He performed on all of the group's platinum-selling albums, including Destroyer and Love Gun, before leaving in 1982, when tensions and his own addictions got in the way.

But when he was still in Kiss, Frehley also proved to be a talented solo artist with his 1978 eponymous album, the most critically acclaimed and highest charting of the four Kiss solo albums released that year. It featured his famous Top 20 single “New York Groove.”

“It was a turning point in my career,” he tells Newsweek. “We had all decided to go off and do our own records at that point. Nobody knew what anybody else was doing, and I guess there was competition, healthy competition, unhealthy competition [laughs], whatever you wanna say. But I was really lucky. I really put everything I had into that record, and it turned out to be the most popular one of the four.”

Frehley’s solo career has continued to flourish. Last month, he released Origins Vol. 1, a collection of cover tunes that pays tribute to the legendary guitarists and groups who inspired him to launch his own musical voyage, including Jimi Hendrix (“Spanish Castle Magic”), Led Zeppelin (“Bring It on Home”) and Cream (“White Room”). On Thin Lizzy's "Emerald," Frehley and his buddy Slash trade leads; on the Troggs’ “Wild Thing,” Lita Ford sings and plays lead.

And on Free’s “Fire and Water,” Frehley collaborates with his former Kiss bandmate Paul Stanley. Some Kiss songs also show up on Origins Vol. 1, including “Parasite” and “Gold Gin.” Only this time, Frehley finally got his chance to sing on them.

What inspired you to do a covers album?  

The album consists of nine covers, and all those are pretty much covers of groups I grew up with, and influenced me and influenced my guitar playing, and the other three tracks are Kiss remakes, “Gold Gin,” “Parasite” and “Rock n Roll Hell”—I didn't sing lead on the original tracks so I'm giving the fans a chance to hear what they would sound like with me singing lead on them and playing guitar.

Looking back, did you want to sing those songs originally?

I wrote “Parasite and I wrote “Cold Gin,” but at the time, it was early on in my career. I really didn't consider myself a strong lead vocalist. It took me a while to develop, and get enough nerve to compete against Paul [Stanley], Gene [Simmons] and Peter [Criss]. who were established lead vocalists.

Then finally, you sang lead vocals on the Kiss song “Shock Me,” from 1977’s Love Gun ? What was that like in terms of confidence building. Anything to recall about nailing the vocals for that?  

I was a little apprehensive at first but once I performed it live at Madison Square Garden, I didn't lack any more confidence after that. And obviously, down the road I wanted to do more and more. And that's what happened.


Ace Frehley, second from right, joins original Kiss members, from left, Gene Simmons, Peter Criss and Paul Stanley in 1998. Reuters

What was it like bringing Paul Stanley aboard for "Fire and Water" on the new solo album?

It was great. I called Paul a couple months ago and told him about the project. Our biggest problem was—and he was excited about it from the outset—was figuring out what song to do. We kicked around a Clapton, we were thinking about doing a Who song, and then finally, we go toward the deadline, and I came up with the idea to do "Fire and Water" by Free. And we just knocked it out over a weekend, and I'm thrilled with the end result.

Anything to say about how you combined your lead guitar work with Paul’s rhythm guitar during your Kiss years?

I always tried to complement Paul's rhythm guitar. I use to always play inversions, an octave of what he was playing, and that gave us a nice thick sound. Me and Paul always worked well off each other. In the beginning, it was that collective thought that really made everything happen. The chemistry was very special.

On your new album, Slash plays on “Emerald” by Thin Lizzy with you. What was so appealing about Thin Lizzy's guitar work, their two-guitarist approach, that might have influenced your playing?

Well, I always thought Thin Lizzy and those two guitar players really worked well together. And I always loved that song “Emerald.” When I tracked it, I had Slash in mind from day one. I thought me and him would be able to really take that track to another level. I had recorded some leads prior to getting him in the studio, and I was gonna have him fill in the holes, so it would be very expeditious for him to get in and out of the studio, I didn't want to take up too much of his time.

But during the process, he thought it was a little stagnant trying to play off stuff that I had already recorded. Slash looked at me and said, "Come on Ace, let's just do it live." So I plugged in, he plugged in, we were right next to each other, and we just knocked it off live.

How did recording in the studio with Kiss often work out?  

It wasn't always the easiest thing for me, but somehow, some way, it all came together in the studio with the help of Eddie Kramer, Bob Ezrin and the [other] different producers we worked with over the years.

Which were your favorite Kiss tours?

The Destroyer and Love Gun tours. Those were two of our biggest tours. We had the amazing stage set, elevators going up, going down [he laughs]. It was like a rock ’n’ roll circus. A once in a lifetime experience.

Anything particularly crazy to remember about the performances?

Well, I got electrocuted in Lakeland, Florida, one night, that kind of comes to mind [he laughs]. It was actually in the beginning of the show. I grounded out to the railing when I was trying to [walk on] the staircase, and I had burns on my hand. It kind of knocked me out for a minute. And it delayed the show about 10 minutes. Everybody started chanting my name. and my adrenaline started to kick in, and I ended up finishing the show.


Your first solo album features “New York Groove.” How does it touch upon your life as a musician and a person who is from the Bronx?

It was my highest charting single to date, and ironically, it wasn't a song that I immediately gravitated towards; in fact, I told my producer Eddie Kramer I wasn't that crazy about doing it because I didn't think it was indicative of the other songs on my record. But he pushed me and pushed me and said, "Ace, you gotta do this song," so we tracked it and just became magic, and now it's become a trademark and it's played at sporting events in New York and all sorts of things.  

How did your spaceman persona come about?  

I was always fascinated with science fiction and space travel, it was a natural extension of my personality. You know, Gene was always fascinated with horror films, he became the monster, so on and so forth. Every character we created was pretty much an alter ego of the person.

What are some of your favorite science fiction movies?

The Day the Earth Stood Still —they did a remake of it not that long ago with Keanu Reeves, I still like the original; Forbidden Planet, The Silent Earth, Invaders from Mars.

Some of the tracks on your new album are cover songs that features your favorite guitarists. Who would you say are your biggest influences?  

I would have to say three: Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Hendrix.  

How did Page influence you?

I saw Led Zeppelin's first New York appearance at the Fillmore East. They were opening up for Iron Butterfly. And they blew everybody away. That changed my life, and I studied everything he did from that point on.

What has been your favorite Ace Frehley solo album?

Probably my first one, with "New York Groove." It was a turning point in my career. We had all decided to go off and do our own records at that point. Nobody knew what anybody else was doing, and I guess there was competition, healthy competition, unhealthy competition [laughs], whatever you wanna say. But I was really lucky; I really put everything I had into that record, and it turned out to be the most popular one of the four.

What about that competition?

We all had big egos. And we were always trying to outdo each other. Trying to get in front of the camera. Trying to get the most press. Especially Gene, back in the early days. You couldn't get away from that tongue, ya know? [I laugh]. And that's normal in a band. Everybody tries to get the spotlight; sometimes you succeed, and sometimes you don't.


In Kiss, you had four guys who were stars in their own right.

Well, we were a very unique band. We had four lead singers, we had four very recognizable guys. Everybody knew Peter was the cat, everybody knew I was the spaceman, Gene was the monster, Paul was the star child. And there was no mixing 'em up—four distinct personalities.

How did the 1996 reunion tour, Kiss Alive Worldwide, turn out for you?

That was great. I was almost like time traveling. I remember the first show was in Detroit, at a sold-out stadium, and here I am in the same makeup, the same costume, playing the old songs, it was like time traveling.

What was it like being back onstage with Gene, Paul and Criss again?

It came back pretty naturally. I had been doing that for so many years, even though I had taken several years off; it was like riding a bicycle. You never forget how to do it.

On the new album, your rendition of "Cold Gin" features Mike McCready of Pearl Jam on guitar.

He played the first guitar solo. I've been friends with Mike for many years. I got up onstage with Pearl Jam here at Madison Square Garden, and did [the Kiss song’] “Black Diamond” with him. I also jammed with Pearl Jam in Atlantic City at the Borgota Casino. It was a natural extension for Mike to play on my record, so I was thrilled that he could do it.

Guitarist John 5 is also on the new album.

I got to know John 5 around the time we kicked off the reunion tour. And we've been good friends ever since. and kept in touch. And we’ve done a couple of charity events together. I had been wanting to get John 5 on the record, and he was available. The weekend I was up in the L.A., I got him and Lita Ford to perform on the record, and Paul [Stanley] did his vocal the same weekend in a different studio. And it all just came together rather rapidly.

Anything to say about coming up as a guitarist with Kiss, about those early days of gigging and carving out a niche with a band that had such a unique stage show and costumes?

We put out three albums and toured extensively and stlll hadn't become the big arena act that we are today, but our fourth album, the live record [Alive! ]— that kind of broke everything wide open. But there were several years where [he pauses]; we persevered, we didn't give up.

That live album is the kind of album that stands out on its own as just a great album, period, live or not.

The great thing about that album was that it was like a souvenir from our live show. It had the booklet, it was just a nice package, and everybody seemed to love it. It was on the Billboard charts for years, in the top 200 .

Would you say Kiss was, by nature, a live band ?

The answer to that is obvious. We were known as a live act, a spectacular spectacle that everybody wanted to see. I mean, sometimes I'd read reviews that talked more about the show than the music—you know, that used to bother me at times. Because for me it was always about the music first, and the show second. But being it as it may, you know, what we were doing was very special, for two hours you could come to a Kiss concert and forget about all your problems, and go into a world of fantasy.

Are you working on any new material?

Absolutely. My next album will be a studio album of original material. I don't have a release date. I'm probably going into the studio in the fall. or the end of the year. That will be happening down the road, probably 2017.

Any plans of collaborating with any of your former Kiss bandmates on that?

No plans of yet, but we'll keep you posted.

Rock Music Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Ace Frehley

Ace Frehley remonte aux "Origins"
ace frehley,classic rock,hard-rock,kiss,metal

Auteur d'un comeback satisfaisant, avec un "Space Invader" de bon aloi, plus des concerts sympathiquement bordéliques, Ace Frehley bat le fer tant qu'il est chaud et, plutôt que de se décarcasser à composer de nouveaux titres, il nous révèle ses influences, dans ce "Origins Vol. 1".


Dans l'absolu, ce disque est bon, notamment parce que tous les titres sont à la base de vrais bons morceaux, voire des hits. Pour rater une reprise de Cream, des Rolling Stones, des Kinks, de Free ou de Led Zeppelin, quand on est un musicien professionnel plein d'expérience, faut quand même le vouloir ! Et la bonne idée, c'est qu'Ace n'hésite pas à en faire trop : il glisse de la guitare partout, des solos, des petits gimmicks, des fioritures, dans des chansons émanant de pointures, comme le "Spanish castle magic" de Hendrix, ou le "Emerald" de Thin Lizzy. Sur cette dernière reprise, il est aidé de Slash, l'un des illustres invités de cet album de covers qui voit aussi passer son copain (on ne rit pas) Paul Stanley sur "Fire and water" (cf le clip ci-dessous), Lita Ford sur "Wild thing" (déjà repris par les Runaways sur leur "Live In Japan"), ou Mike McCreedy (Pearl Jam) sur "Cold Gin", de... Kiss ! Quand je vous dis qu'Ace ne recule devant rien, même reprendre ses propres morceaux. Il y a aussi une nouvelle version de "Parasite", et un autre Kiss "Rock and roll hell", mais qui n'est pas de lui.

Bien sympa tout ça, mais aussi un poil limité. Comme pour le bon album des Hollywood Vampires (Alice Cooper + Joe Perry + Johnny Depp + Matt Sorum + Duff) sorti en début d'année, pourquoi s'être contenté de reprises de groupes déjà ultra connus, ou de morceaux dont on possède déjà 100 versions ("Wild thing" pour ne pas le citer) ? Encore une fois, Frehley et ses potes font parfaitement le job, mais j'aurais bien aimé d'autres "Magic carpet ride" (Steppenwolf) ou "Emerald". La prochaine fois, peut-être, puisqu'on peut espérer un "Origins Vol. 2"...



J'ai déjà parlé d'Ace Frehley ici :

http://rocknroll.blog.leparisien.fr/archive/2014/08/18/ace-frehley-15226.html

http://rocknroll.blog.leparisien.fr/archive/2015/07/21/ace-frehley-16024.html


Par Michel Valentin sur le blog It's only rock'n roll du Parisien :
http://rocknroll.blog.leparisien.fr/archive/2016/05/07/ace-frehley-16517.html

9th May 2016


Are these the first signs of another possible Kiss re-union, at least between Gene, Paul and Ace?

Despite Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley having a war of words in the last few years with Ace Frehley, since the latter departed from the band in 2002, relationships have warmed between them, recently at least. On the topic of a re-union Ace Frehley told Classic Rock magazine back in March that he wouldn't rule it out.

Earlier this year Paul Stanley recently appeared on Ace Frehley's latest album 'Origins', where he sings a great version of the old Free classic, 'Fire And Water'.

In an interview with Three Sides Of The Coin, Jay Gilbert, the official photographer on the set of the video for 'Fire And Water', described seeing Paul and Ace greet each other in the make-up department before the filming and said that relations between Paul and Ace onset were very good.

Jay recalled: "Ace walks over to Paul and says, 'Thank you so much for doing this'.

"He looked at Paul really sincerely and said, 'I really appreciate this. I owe you one'.

"And Paul said, 'No you don't. You don't owe me anything, it's my pleasure'.

"I was so happy to see the love in their eyes. These guys went through the eye of the hurricane together, they still love each other and they're forever connected."

Gene and Ace were photographed together with their mutual friend Scott Ian from Anthrax at the VH1 Awards in 2006 and Scott teasingly posted this photo on Twitter on Saturday (7th May 2016), along with the words: "I hear things. I hear things. I hear things. @genesimmons #AceFrehley"

Are these the first signs of another possible Kiss re-union at least between Gene, Paul and Ace?

See the full Three Sides Of The Coin interview with Jay Gilbert below.

HERE'S ANOTHER COOL STILL... of Paul Stanley and Ace from the "FIRE and WATER" video shoot.
West Hollywood, CA
April 4, 2016
photo by Jay Gilbert

By Joe DiVita May 12, 2016 1:05 PM


The second annual Rock Carnival is set to descend on Lakewood, N.J., this fall. The three-day festival will pack the best classic rock and metal acts from all levels, internationally down to local talent from Sept. 30 through Oct. 2. Leading the first wave of bands are Twisted Sister, Ace Frehley and Overkill.

This will mark Twisted Sister’s final New York City area performance as they wind down their ’40 & F–k It’ tour, after which the band will retire from the road. Founding guitarist Jay Jay French exclaimed, “As 2016 marks the end of our live performing career, Twisted Sister is looking forward to returning to the tri-state NYC area for the final time to the Rock Carnival at First Energy Park in Lakewood, N.J., on Oct 1, 2016. In celebrating our 40th anniversary and our farewell to live performing, we are bringing our ’40 & F–k It’ worldwide farewell tour one last time to the area that created us!

Ace Frehley will be promoting his newest album, Origins, Vol. 1, which features covers and a guest vocal from former KISS bandmate Paul Stanley. Overkill are expected to release a new record this year and will be sharing the stage with a wealth of other acts, including Monster Magnet, Fuel, Tom Keifer‘s Cinderella, Dokken, Texas Hippie Coalition, Doro, Four By Fate, Killcode, Jester, American Angel with more announcements still to be made.

“This year’s lineup far exceeds our expectations,” said Rock Carnival producer John D’Esposito. “The incredible new layout, amenities and resources are sure to enhance the Carnival experience for our fans and their families.” In addition to an unstoppable lineup, the festival will also boast carnival rides, more than 50 food trucks, GCW professional wrestling, craft and beer gardens and, yes, high stakes pig racing.

Tickets will go on sale Friday, May 13, at 12PM ET for three-day general admission and reserved seat weekend packages. Skybox, reserved seats, daily general admission and VIP experiences will be on sale June 7. For more ticket information, click here.

In our interview with Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider, he discussed the early days of the band and their stranglehold on the live scene in the tri-state area. “If you’re from the Northeast, there’s a reverence and understanding of the importance of Twisted Sister,” he said. “That’s why you’ll see bands like Cinderella and Bon Jovi, Kix and Poison, Anthrax and Overkill. When they talk about Twisted, it’s like they’re talking about somebody that’s in their band. The bands I mentioned, growing up in the Northeast, they were aware of the Twisted presence and the Twisted influence over these bands. So many of them would get in line with thousands of others to see Twisted Sister in a bar or a club, packed to the rafters to see this band.”

Following the death of drummer A.J. Pero, Twisted Sister made the decision to perform for one last tour before calling it a day. Mike Portnoy will be filling in as the band’s stickman.


Read More: Twisted Sister, Ace Frehley, Overkill Lead 2016 Rock Carnival Lineup | http://loudwire.com/twisted-sister-ace-frehley-overkill-2016-rock-carnival-lineup/?trackback=tsmclip

ACE FREHLEY - "SLASH Looked At Me And Said, 'Come On Ace, Let's Just Do It Live'"

May 12, 2016, 10 hours ago


Last month, KISS guitarist Ace Frehley released Origins Vol. 1, a collection of cover tunes that pays tribute to the legendary guitarists and groups who inspired him to launch his own musical voyage, including Jimi Hendrix (“Spanish Castle Magic”), Led Zeppelin (“Bring It On Home”) and Cream (“White Room”). On Thin Lizzy's "Emerald," Frehley and his buddy Slash (Guns N' Roses) trade leads; The Spaceman spoke to Jeff Perlah of Newsweek about the collaboration, an excerpt follows:

"Well, I always thought Thin Lizzy and those two guitar players really worked well together. And I always loved that song 'Emerald'. When I tracked it, I had Slash in mind from day one. I thought me and him would be able to really take that track to another level. I had recorded some leads prior to getting him in the studio, and I was gonna have him fill in the holes, so it would be very expeditious for him to get in and out of the studio, I didn't want to take up too much of his time.

But during the process, he thought it was a little stagnant trying to play off stuff that I had already recorded. Slash looked at me and said, 'Come on Ace, let's just do it live.' So I plugged in, he plugged in, we were right next to each other, and we just knocked it off live."

How did recording in the studio with KISS often work out?

"It wasn't always the easiest thing for me, but somehow, some way, it all came together in the studio with the help of Eddie Kramer, Bob Ezrin and the [other] different producers we worked with over the years."

Which were your favorite KISS tours?

"The Destroyer and Love Gun tours. Those were two of our biggest tours. We had the amazing stage set, elevators going up, going down [he laughs]. It was like a rock ’n’ roll circus. A once in a lifetime experience."

Read the interview in its entirety at this location.

LOOK! IT'S SPACE ACE in ORBIT!!
ICYMI: check out yet another cover story... this time it's an interview with best selling KISSTORIAN/author KEN SHARP ~ in which we find out which album Ace carried around in high school under his arm? Which song was started for ORIGINS VOL.1 (but didn't make it)? What happend the one time he was in a room with Jimmy Page? Read on, rock soliders... read on!
http://www.rockcellarmagazine.com/2016/05/06/ace-frehley-the-interview-kiss-space-man-origins-vol-1/#sthash.cDugpzBs.A85sRtVV.dpbs – avec Joel Cortes.

(May 24, 2016) -- 2014 Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame member ACE FREHLEY today has released, via 95.5 KLOS, a brand new video interview show on set immediately after the video shoot for his cover of Free’s 1970 hit “Fire and Water” featuring none other than KISS frontman PAUL STANLEY. The six minute clip is the first time the two have been interviewed on camera in over 15 years. The last time the two sat for an interview was during the KISS farewell tour in 2002 in Australia.

The video notches itself into rock and roll history as the first time both Frehley and Stanley appear in a music video since KISS’ music video for “Psycho Circus” released in 1998. It’s also the first time in 14 years that the two shared a stage since KISS’ appearance at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. Finally, it’s the first time Frehley has released a music video since 1989, which was Frehley's cover of "Do Ya" released by both The Move and ELO.

Last month, ACE FREHLEY cracked the U.S. top 10 with his latest effort Origins: Vol. 1 charting at #1 on the Billboard Hard Music Chart, #3 on the Billboard Rock chart and #6 on the Billboard Current Chart selling more than 16k units in its first week of release according to Nielsen Soundscan. Internationally, the LP most notably came in at #2 on the Sweden Hard Rock Charts and #05 on the England Indie Album Breaker Charts.

Origins: Vol.1 and its success serves as the follow up to Space Invader, which debuted at #9 on the Top 200 Chart in 2014, the same year Ace Frehley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an original member of KISS.

ACE FREHLEY released Origins Vol. 1, a collection of 12 newly recorded classics from Ace’s formative years featuring some of the biggest names in rock and roll on April 15, 2016. This collaboration marks the first time that Ace and Paul appear on the same studio recording since KISS' 1998 reunion album Psycho Circus.

Ace spoke with Rolling Stone about the new record, his guest players and recording with Paul after all these years. Rolling Stone writes: Regarding his reunion with Stanley, Frehley shrugs off any residual tension between the two of them. "We've always been friends," he says. "The press seems to amplify negativity. I guess it makes good copy."

Rolling Stone debuted "White Room," a few months ago, the classic hit originally performed by Cream. Other guests are none other than Slash trading leads on Thin Lizzy's classic "Emerald," Lita Ford singing and playing lead on The Troggs staple "Wild Thing," Rob Zombie guitarist John 5 playing guitar alongside Ace as he sings his classic KISS composition "Parasite" for the very first time, as well as Jimi Hendrix's "Spanish Castle Magic," and Pearl Jam's Mike McCready also plays guitar with Ace as he finally sings his KISS “Alive!” mainstay "Cold Gin."

Posted on May 24, 2016