The rock legend is slated to be the guest judge alongside Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough on “Hair Metal” night of the dance competition show, PEOPLE can exclusively confirm. The Oct. 8 episode will see the 11 pairs return to the dance floor with routines to iconic rock ‘n’ roll anthems.
To begin the night, the pros will perform the opening dance to “Rock and Roll All Nite” by Simmons’ band KISS. The performance was choreographed by pro Pasha Pashkov and will feature guitarist Joel Hoekstra from Whitesnake.
Ahead of the exciting episode, judge and former pro Hough will coach the dancers on the ins and outs of lifts and tricks required in the genres of dances for the night.
Legendary producer and engineer Eddie Kramer looked back on recording KISS‘ demo, and suggested that Ace Frehley had been the band’s “heart and soul.”
There are many very colorful feathers in the 82-year-old producer’s cap, most of which read like a list of who’s who of classic rock ‘n’ roll. In addition to his history-making collabs with Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, Eric Clapton, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones etc., Kramer also enjoyed a lengthy collaboration with KISS (which included masterminding “Alive!”, often quoted as a significant milestone in live rock albums).
That collaboration began shortly after Gene Simmons andPaul Stanley gave up on their original band Wicked Lester, whose unreleased album Kramer called a “disaster” during a recent interview on the “Jay Jay French Connection” podcast (transcribed by Ultimate Guitar):
“At Electric Lady, I would see Gene and Paul up and down the hallways, doing their thing. Ron Johnsen was their producer, and I think at that time he was also managing the Electric Lady studios. He called me up after the disaster of the Wicked Lester album, which went straight in the bloody toilet, and he says, ‘Listen, Gene and Paul, they got this idea. They want to do a rock ‘n’ roll band, would you do a demo for me?'”
Kramer, of course, agreed. Judging what he tells the Twisted Sister guitarist, watching the NYC band walk into a studio was one of those moments where you know you’re watching history unfold:
“So, on the appointed day, Gene, Paul, and Ace… just watching these guys go into the studio was just one of those moments. When Ace walked into the studio, he was so bloody skinny. He was driving a cab in the Bronx. And he was so thin, if he turned sideways, you wouldn’t even see him. But what a sweet… Ace, for me, he was the real heart and soul. A bloody good guitar player, much underrated, I think, by a lot of folks.”
