Loudwire

KISS legend Ace Frehley was the latest guest on Full Metal Jackie’s weekend radio program. He discussed his latest solo album, Spaceman, and how he finds the inspiration to keep making new music. He looks back on the arduous process of splicing tape in the studio in the old days compared to the ease of home recordings today. He also explains that a college education may be obsolete and if you want to learn to play like him, you’re likely going to have to change the most basic thing you know about guitar playing. Check out the chat below.

The new album, Spaceman, is your eighth album. Lately, you’ve been releasing a lot of new music. What invigorates you to have the urge to make a new album?

If you look at the timeline, I got sober in 2006, and the last five years or six years, my creativity has just gone through the roof. I mean, it doesn’t hurt to have a record company writing checks to you, as well. [laughs] Yeah, I mean, I signed a record deal with eOne, and the first release was Spaceman. Then I did Origins Vol. 1. I’m sorry. The first release was Space Invader. We’re getting closer here, now. Then I did Origins Vol. 1. Now we have Spaceman, and I’m also contracted to do Origins Vol. 2. That also helped push me. I usually need deadlines, to get things finished, because I’ll spend weeks on one song.

Between your own albums and KISS, you’ve got a lifetime of recording experiences. Making this new album, what exhilarated you about being in the studio?

I work in my home studio, and I work at my own pace. I don’t have anybody looking over my shoulder. Pretty much, for the last three or four records I’ve done, I’ve produced myself. I work with an engineer. A lot of times, we record the songs with the click track and then add drums, later. It’s a really simple process, and I work at my own pace. I take a break when I want. I’ll run out in the backyard and cook some burgers on the grill, come back and do a guitar solo. When you work in a recording studio, you’re paying by the hour.

At your own leisure then.

On the same token, if I wake up at 3AM and I have this brilliant idea for a song, I can just go in and record. It’s wonderful, working that way.

And you’ve been recording albums for such a long time — the way of recording records is so different now. How do you feel looking back to when you did your first record to now, how do you feel about the technology that exists to allow you to record the way you can?

Well, I mean, the technology has made it so much easier, working with Pro Tools, which is the standard in the recording business, pretty much. I remember working with Eddie Kramer on my first solo album in 1978. We were editing a guitar solo on two-inch tape. We’re trying to get the edit right, and we’re slicing the tape with razor blades. We’re putting little pieces here and another little piece there. Then we have to tape it back together, run it, listen to it and go, “That’s a little long.” Then I start cutting quarter-inch pieces of tape, to get the end of the note right. I mean, that took forever. Today, I’ll do three or four takes of a solo and then, usually, piece it together with Pro Tools, but it’s done with the click of a mouse.

It’s pretty amazing. Looking back you have to laugh at how you had to used to do it.

There’s something about an analog tape that does sound a little warmer. You know what? They’ve really improved the technology [with] Pro Tools. You can buy plug-ins that really emulate the sound of tape. They even have a picture of a tape recorder running, so you can get in that mindset.

What I try to do is, even though I’m recording digitally, I use old amplifiers, old microphones, old preamps, racks of different, old preamps, which give you that warm sound. They have tubes in them. I try to use amps with tubes, old Marshall, old Fender, reverbs and the old tweed amps with the Jensen speakers that break up just the way you want it. That’s how I achieve more of a vintage sound on my records.

You’re one of those musicians whose style is instantly recognizable. What aspect of the way you play do you think – are singularly unique to you?

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Rolling Stone

Founding Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley posted a scathing Facebook message to Gene Simmons on Tuesday, alleging that Simmons’ statements about Frehley’s alcohol abuse over the years cost him millions and that Simmons had groped his wife. After the allegations, he included a threat: “Without a complete and heartfelt apology, an offer to give me my old job back and removing Tommy [Thayer, guitarist] from the throne I created, the shit will hit the fan and they’ll [sic] be no stopping it. It’s on!!!” He concluded the post with an image of him pointing at a camera emblazoned with the words, “The gloves are off!!”

The post is an apparent response to an interview Gene Simmons gave Guitar World, in which Simmons said he was not sure yet if he would invite Frehley and original drummer Peter Criss on the group’s upcoming End of the Road Tour. “Ace and Peter have gotten three chances,” Simmons said, according to Blabbermouth. “They were in and out of the band — fired — three times. For drugs, alcohol, bad behavior, being unprofessional … they weren’t carrying their load. … So the short answer to your question is we’d love to have Ace and Peter join us here and there. And if they don’t, it’s not going to be because of us. But they’re never going to be in Kiss again.”

Regarding his last statement, that they’d never be full members, Simmons added, “Three times is the charm; ‘I promise I’ll pull out’ doesn’t work. It’s the boy who cried wolf: ‘Oh, I’ve been straight for a million years.’ Terrific! Have a good life! … Would we welcome Ace or Peter to jump up onstage for a song or two? Of course. Could we depend on either Ace of Peter to do a full set night after night? Not on your fucking life.”

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Eddie Trunk

Michael Brandvold

Blabbermouth

Former MARILYN MANSON and current ROB ZOMBIE guitarist John 5 joined Ace Frehley on stage this past Saturday (January 26) at The Canyon in Agoura Hills, California to perform the KISS classic “Cold Gin”. Fan-filmed video footage can be seen below.

After the show, John 5 wrote in an Instagram post: “[Nikki Sixx] and I went to go see Aceand his awesome band tonight what a blast, and yes that is me playing a Flying V.”

Two years ago, John 5 — real name: John William Lowery — took partial credit for reuniting Frehley and Gene Simmons at the former KISS guitarist’s February 2017 concert in Beverly Hills, California, marking the first time the KISS legends were photographed together since their 2014 induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

John 5 told Seattle Music Insider that he “wanted to be like KISS” when he first started to play guitar. “[I] loved KISS growing up,” he said. “Who didn’t?” John 5 revealed in a separate interview with Digital Trends that KISS‘s 1977 classic “Love Gun” was the first album he connected with. “It’s got a great cover. I loved it. I was, like, ‘Oh my God — these are monsters with guitars!’ I was so young then.”

Ace‘s current solo band consists of Philip Shouse on guitar/vocals, Ryan Cook on guitar/vocals, Jeremy Asbrock on guitar/vocals, and Matt Starr on drums.

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Derek Scancarelli

When producer, engineer and music technologist David Frangioni sat down to compile his newest book, Crash: The World’s Greatest Drum Kits From Appice to Peart to Van Halen, he knew he needed to include two people: iconic drummer Carl Palmer of Emerson, Lake & Palmer and KISS drummer Eric Singer. Luckily, he managed to get them to write the book’s introduction and conclusion, respectively.

Crash, the 207-page illustrative book, features an up close look at the most famed drum kits in the history of rock’n’roll. The detailed images and text highlight the design behind the drums of bands such as The Beatles, Aerosmith, Iron Maiden, Rush, Metallica, Journey, Black Sabbath and more. It’s like a high school textbook filled with a timeline of rock percussion.

For fans of KISS, the book comes fully loaded. Aside from a section dedicated to the band’s founding drummer Peter Criss’ 1976 Destroyerset-up, Crash features a ten-page spread featuring three of Eric Singer’s most legendary drum kits. Singer — who started playing alongside KISS in 1991 — is about to embark on the band’s End Of The Road tour.

Singer and Frangioni grew a friendship through both music and charity. In fact, many of Singer’s drum kits reside in Miami at the Drum Experience Center, a museum-like facility where kids in need learn to play. The center is a division of the Frangioni Foundation, which is directly receiving a portion of the sales from Crash.

Below, David Frangioni and Eric Singer discuss the drums that revolutionized music, a drummer’s expression and KISS kits past, present and future.

What was your approach to compiling this book?

Frangioni: It’s a celebration of drums, drumming, the drummer and the eras that these kits were a significant part of. Drums are one of the rare instruments where you can see a kit and it has an impact on you before you even hear it.

I really wanted it to be picture driven, so that people could enjoy the kits as if they were walking around a museum. For people who are more of a drum geek, they could dive in a little deeper.

Why do drums deserve such attention to detail?

Singer: The great thing about drums, they’re a very personalized instrument. Not that you can’t custom paint a guitar or have a body of a guitar cut to a certain shape. But the thing about a piano or guitar, they generally have they the same amount of keyboards, keys, frets or strings.

Drummers can set up a kit to physically suit their needs, based on the fact that we’re anatomically built differently from each other. I’m 5’6″, so I’m gonna set up the drums to suit my physical stature.

Some people want to express themselves on just three or four drums. Others want 10 or 15. That individualism is expressed throughout the book.

Which drum kit excites you the most in this book?

Singer: To me, the real center piece of that book is probably Carl Palmer’s Brain Salad Surgery stainless steel kit. It’s a work of art.

It was a pure expression of somebody having a vision and having it realized. It wasn’t even a drum manufacturer that made the drums. Every aspect was custom.

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Derek Scancarelli

Ace Frehley loves staring at the stars. He even spent a pretty penny to get a better look at them. When he explains the inner workings of his $6,000 Meade telescope, it’s like a child talking about his favorite toy.

“It has a computer built into it,” Frehley, age 67, says. “If you align it to the North Star, it’ll go to all the planets in the solar system. If you wanna go see Saturn, you punch in a three-digit code. It’s a high-end telescope. Serious astronomers buy it. I love all that sh*t.”

It’s appropriate that the KISS co-founder and guitarist coined himself “The Spaceman,” back in the 1970s. Decades later, the nickname still sticks. Fresh off the release of his eighth solo album, aptly titled Spaceman, the musician carried himself with a sense of wonderment uncommon in could-be jaded rockstars.

Frehley had been running around New York like a madman. With two hours to rest, he stopped back at The London NYC hotel. He threw himself on his suite bed — cheetah print shirt, leather pants and boots on — taking phone calls from friends and family as he shared his adventures promoting the new record. With a glass bottle of Coke, he took a breather on the couch before his next engagement. Hundreds were already lined up outside of Sam Ash Music Store on W. 34th Street eagerly awaiting autographs. Earlier in the week, he signed the birth certificate of a fan’s child. The boy’s middle name was Ace.

“You’d be surprised what I’ve signed,” Frehley says. “Asses, tits, you name it. I’ve never signed a penis though. That’s where I draw the line. I’ve had guys ask for hugs and then kiss me on the cheek. That’s a little weird, but, what are you gonna do?”

Frehley remains unfazed at the rigmarole of releasing a new album. That week, he made traditional media appearances, like performing for Fox 5’s morning program Good Day New York, but also got a kick out of sitting down for an interview with a 10-year-old YouTuber. He was tired, but ecstatic with the reaction to Spaceman.

“The artists that say they don’t give a sh*t about reviews are bullsh*tting,” he says. “They do care. They only say that when they get bad reviews. When they get good reviews, believe me, they talk about it.”

Ace FrehleyJOE SWIDE

Frehley says critics have likened the sound of his new album to his 1978 self-titled solo record which featured the hit “New York Groove.” Forty years later, he’s fond of the comparison.

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Jody Havenot

Blabbermouth

Former KISS guitarist Vinnie Vincent has recruited Jim Crean to handle lead vocals during his two comeback concerts on February 8 and 9 at the Rocketown Entertainment Complex in Nashville, Tennessee. Also appearing with Vincent will be drummer Carmine Appice(VANILLA FUDGE, ROD STEWART, JEFF BECK, BLUE MURDER) and bassist Tony Franklin(DAVID GILMOUR, JIMMY PAGE, THE FIRM).

A recording/touring musician for well over 35 years, Crean has released four solo albums on major labels, including his latest effort, “Insatiable”, which was issued through Carmine‘s label Rocker Records.

The vocalist for the popular tribute band HAIR NATION, Crean has been rocking bars and nightclubs in the Buffalo area since the eighties. He has opened many a show for such national acts as Bret Michaels, SLAUGHTER and DOKKEN. Crean also makes a guest appearance on “Sinister”, the first joint studio album by Carmine and his drumming brother Vinny Appice, which was released in October 2017.

Robert Fleischman, a former member of JOURNEY and Vincent‘s post-KISS band VINNIE VINCENT INVASION, was originally supposed to sing for Vinnie at the Nashville concerts but abruptly pulled out of the project in November, saying that he was unhappy about elements of the production.

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Ultimate Classic Rock

Former Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley can be heard on the new single released by Altitudes & Attitude, the band formed by Megadeth bassist David Ellefson and Anthrax counterpart Frank Bello.

Frehley recorded a solo for “Late,” which appears on the group’s debut album Get It Out, which will be released on Jan. 18. It follows a self-titled EP that arrived in 2014.

You can watch the “Late” video below.

“I’ve learned that writing songs is very cathartic,” Bello said in a statement. “A lot of these lyrics are about the inner struggles of my life, and about the rage that has built up from my life experiences – my brother’s murder; my father abandoning my family when we were young, leaving us with no funds to pay the bills, the ups and downs of life in general. I’ve always had an anger inside that music really helps me deal with.”

“The song has an easy feel to it, so we shot the video with that same spirit,” Ellefson added, revealing that the clip had been shot in a friend’s restaurant. “The music is haunting with a memorable hook and Frank’s personal storyline.”

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ABC News

Two members of the legendary rock band, KISS are offering TSA employees a free meal.

Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley made the announcement through their Rock and Brews Restaurants’ Facebook page.

TSA employees, impacted during the government shutdown, can get a free pulled pork sandwich or strawberry fields salad at all stand-alone Rock and Brews locations.

Matt Porter

Feyyaz Ustaer | Metalhead Zone

During in a recent interview with SmallCapPower, KISS bassist Gene Simmons talked about why he became involved with Canadian cannabis company Invictus MD Strategies Corp.

He said that he was wrong about cannabis. Here’s the statement:

“Historically, I have to say I was completely wrong about the entire space. I thought cannabis was for stoners and losers and all that, and slowly but surely, over the years, the amount of research that I saw just blew me away. Seeing little girls who suffer from epilepsy rubbing a salve, not on the inside but outside of their body and seemingly miraculously getting cured made me take stock.

Big Pharma [the global pharmaceutical industry] is not fond of this space, because cannabis, in its various forms, is actually gonna help people. That’s what researchers are telling me. And I’m telling everybody else there are a lot of new companies, especially in Canada, and good for them.

Some of them are solid, some of them are garbage, and it’s up to you to find out what it’s all about. I happen to believe in Invictus, and all I urge anybody to do is to go to Invictus-MD.com and do your own research.

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Michael Brandvold

Jody Havenot

Feyyaz Ustaer | Metalhead Zone

Back in November, original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley has returned to the band during an acoustic set for 2018’s KISS Kruise.

During in a recent Q&A sessions, Ace Frehley has revealed the story behind KISS reunion show. He said:

“I had fun. At the last minute, Doc [McGhee, KISS manager] came into my cabin and said, ‘Do you wanna do that acoustic set with the guys?’, which was the first show on the cruise.

So it was really haphazard. We threw it together. They said, ‘What songs do you wanna play?’ Then they handed me this guitar that really had heavy-gauge strings on. I said, ‘Could you put lighter-gauge strings on, so I can maybe play a little lead?’

So they switched the strings, but it was still really hard to play lead on that acoustic. And then, after that, I didn’t see the guys for the rest of the cruise.”

Two months ago, he spoke in an interview with Loudwire and explained his thoughts about returning to KISS for their  “End Of The Road”  farewell tour. He said that his return to the band depends on promoters. Here’s the statement:

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Donna Ferguson | This is Money

Gene Simmons of rock band Kiss grew up so poor he could not even afford to buy toilet paper and worked as a garbage collector and dish-washer.

He now lives in a mansion valued at £30million, owns a comic book collection worth £3million, but has never forgotten that money is hard to come by.

Next year, Kiss will bow out with its ‘End Of The Road’ tour and will be performing in the UK in July. Tickets are available from website kissonline.com/tour.

What did your parents teach you about money?

My father left me and my mother when I was six. My mother was Hungarian and at age 14 was transported to a concentration camp in Germany.

She provided for us by the sweat of her brow and taught me to have a good work ethic.

We moved to America when I was eight and she worked in a factory making coats. It was not unionised so they paid her whatever they wanted – half a cent for every button sewn on a winter coat.

Was money tight in your family?

Yes. If my mother did not work hard enough we did not eat. When living in Israel we had little, lived in one room and the toilet was a hole outside.

I never knew about toilet paper and could only dream at the thought of blowing your nose on a piece of paper and throwing it away after using it only once.

I have never forgotten that money is hard to come by. I now have a big house but I could have one in many countries. I could own a fleet of jets, but I do not want any of that. I live comfortably.

What was the first paid work you ever did?

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Greg Prato | Vintagerock.com

There was a point where it seemed that Ace Frehley had closed the door on his solo career. After all, there was not a single new Ace solo offering between the years of 1990 – 2008 (I know, I know — he was part of the Kiss reunion from 1996 – 2002, but still…).

However, over the past ten years or so, Kiss’ original lead guitarist/creator of the famous “spaceman” character and make-up design has come back with a vengeance – issuing several albums (2009’s Anomaly, 2014’s Space Invader, and 2016’s Origins, Vol. 1) and consistently touring.

And in 2018, Ace added another entry to his solo discography, with the arrival of the appropriately titled Spaceman. The man with the literal smoking guitar spoke to Vintage Rock on the day of the album’s release (October 19, 2018).

The thing that strikes me about the arrival of Spaceman is that it is your fourth album since 2009. Is it safe to say that you’re making up for lost time?

Yeah. What completely blew my mind was I got sober, and then I started working on a record [Anomaly], eventually got a record deal with eOne, and people are telling me, “You haven’t put out an album in 20 years.” I had no idea it went by that fast. [Laughs] So, I’m making up for lost time — yes, I am.

Has getting sober fueled your creativity?

Oh, it’s changed my life. I’m focused, I show up on time, and I’m much more creative. And I like remembering what I did the night before, when I wake up – whether it be at home or on tour.

You’re playing guitar better than ever — especially on tunes like “Mission to Mars” and “Quantum Flux.”

That’s interesting that you said those two. It seems like everybody I talk to has a different favorite.

Let’s discuss “Quantum Flux,” which closes the album and is an instrumental.

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Michael Brandvold