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Now A Seasoned Rocker Ace Is No Longer So WildFrom: The Virginian-Pilot Posted: December 27, 2007 Guitarist ACE FREHLEY will land on The NorVa stage Saturday night for a performance of KISS classics, Frehley's Comet nuggets and solo musical explorations. The concert is part of a four-day mini-tour designed to propel his new solo quintet into the recording studio in January. His untitled full-length CD is scheduled for a March 2008 release. Space Ace is a founding member of KISS, the makeup-wearing glam rock band made famous by their fiery, theatrical stage show and such hits as "Rock and Roll All Nite" and "Calling Dr. Love." At the height of their popularity, in 1978, Frehley, bassist GENE SIMMONS, guitarist PAUL STANLEY and drummer PETER CRISS each recorded a solo album. The records were released simultaneously. It gave Frehley a taste of what a musical life without KISS might be like and helped to lead him away from the band four years later. After the successful "Frehley's Comet" album in 1987, his career spiraled into a black hole of alcoholism, then was rejuvenated when he rejoined KISS from 1996 to 2002. Today, ACE FREHLEY is sober and ready to launch into a new recording he says will sound like his first solo album as a member of KISS. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When the members of KISS set out to make solo albums back in 1978, was there a competitive spirit to see whose album would sell best? Oh, yeah. Before we all left to do our own records we had a big meeting. I might have read it wrong but the feeling I got from Paul and Gene was... I remember them saying to me, "Hey, if you need any help on your record don't hesitate to call." But I perceived it as a condescending comment, like you're going to need help or something. Gene had everybody and his brother on his record. I did my whole record on my own with me and Anton Fig on drums. I guess my head was in a good place at that time. What were the best years of KISS in terms of camaraderie? In the early days there was a lot of camaraderie. I used to room with Gene. We used to stay at Holiday Inns. Paul and Peter roomed together. There was a lot of insanity, a lot of girls, a lot of parties, a lot of crazy times. I don't regret any of it, you know? As a musician, how difficult was it to be a character in makeup and costume? It was a royal pain... especially when we had to make personal appearances. It was one thing to put the makeup on, the costume and do the show, because by the end of the show you sweated off half the makeup. After shows we'd just jump into the shower and get cleaned up. But when you wake up in the morning (to make a publicity appearance) and have to put that stuff on, it was the worst. That started getting to me more and more towards the end. Where did the smoking guitar idea come from in your KISS days? I came up with the idea one day when I was up in Canada on the road and bought some smoke bombs. I ended up putting one in the volume control compartment of my Les Paul. I knew there was a canal because the wires had to go to the pickups. I figured if I lit off a smoke bomb in there it would have to seep out from around the pickup, and it worked, but it ended up screwing up the volume and tone control. I did that a couple of times, and then I ended up getting together with an engineer, and we routed out the back of the guitar and put in a metal box, and the smoke came out of the guitar pickup closest to the neck, which was actually a fake pickup. At what point did friction surface within KISS and pull you and PETER CRISS away? There was always a little friction. Me and Peter were the party animals of the group. That created friction. In 1987, when "Frehley's Comet" debuted at No. 43 on the Billboard 200 chart, did you feel vindicated? From the time I had the success with my (first) solo album I knew that I had to leave the group and make my own way. There was a lot more I needed to express both artistically and musically that I couldn't do in KISS, because everybody wanted to sing lead, everybody wanted the spotlight. It was always a power struggle. I was just noticing some (KISS) videos recently that had been re-edited where I don't get as much spotlight as I originally had. It's just stupid stuff like that, you know? My biggest problem was once I got away from them and I got on my own, I was left to my own devices. Being a party animal ended up doing me in for a while. Drugs and alcohol brought your career down, especially during your solo years. How were those days for you? It was a struggle. Thank God I'm clean and sober today. It's amazing how much easier things are without all that nonsense. Ironically, back in those days I used to think I needed it to perform. It actually made things a lot harder. But that's the disease of alcoholism. When KISS reunited for "Psycho Circus" and the Farewell Tour, which ended in 2002, how was it performing with those guys again? It was kind of strange because doing the old songs and being in the makeup and costume it was like a flashback. It was a lot of fun in the beginning because the fans were great, and whenever I give people pleasure by performing it makes me feel good. But after a while it got played out. When I walked away after the Japan and Australia tour, I thought the reunion tour had definitely been overdone. I was really surprised the guys went out and dressed somebody else in my makeup. When did they obtain the copyright to your character's makeup and costume? It was a negotiation after I left the second time. I get a royalty on merchandising. After you left the second time, TOMMY THAYER, your guitar technician in KISS, was made the new Ace. What was your reaction? It seemed a little desperate. Gene's all about money. I'm all about music and art. When I make decisions it's not always based on how much money I'm going to make. I could have released this new record I'm making a year ago because I had enough tracks, but it has been over 10 years since I released a studio album, so it's got to be a really special record. What was the best KISS album? It's got to be a tossup between "Destroyer" and "Alive." |
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