Gene Simmons just couldn’t stay away. KISS may have played its last show in Dec. 2023, but that doesn’t mean Simmons is done with music. Instead, the band’s co-founder put together Gene Simmons Band. The group went on tour in 2024 and will continue to do so this spring and summer.

“I tried to stay away from being on stage, but it’s too much fun,” Simmons told Ultimate Classic Rock. “I thought I was gonna take a few years off after the band I was in for 50 years decided to call it quits.”

You heard it here first: we are on our way to 100 years of Ace, and we couldn’t be happier.

As a member of Kiss and as a solo artist, Ace Frehley has been one of the most celebrated rock guitarists in the world for five decades now. Tri-state fans will get the chance to see his electrifying performance when he and his band play at New York City’s Sony Hall on March 13 – a show that Frehley says is especially important to him because it’s in his hometown (he was born and raised in the Bronx), so he has many friends and family members who will be in attendance that night.

It’s also special to see Frehley in concert because, not that long ago, there was some question about whether he’d be able to continue playing the guitar at all. “I hurt my arm about two-and-a-half years ago – I fell down a flight of stairs,” he tells The Aquarian during a recent phone call. “It’s been a struggle because I landed on my right arm, and that’s the arm that I strum with when I play guitar.” Fortunately, after going through intensive treatment, he feels normal again. “So it feels great to get up onstage because I wasn’t sure if it was ever going to get back to the way it used to be.”

And, he adds, he’s simply excited to play with the musicians who’ve been backing him since 2018. “I always have so much fun when I play with my band – they’ve been killing it!”

When Frehley puts on concerts, he knows he’ll always be expected to play certain songs, such as his signature 1978 hit “New York Groove,” but he says he never grows weary of performing them. “The audience makes it special because every night it’s a different audience, so it’s new to them, unless they’ve seen me play,” he says. “Sometimes I see the same faces following me around, but 97% of the people, they’re all new. And I’ve noticed recently, especially with the release of my last album, [2024’s] 10,000 Volts, that I’m getting a much younger audience, and parents are bringing their teenagers. It’s cool.”

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Kiss’ longest-serving Spaceman on sticking to the Les Paul when it wasn’t cool, the joy of discovering you’ve been playing something wrong for years, why he avoided ’80s-style playing, and what he’s doing next

Though he wasn’t the first, Tommy Thayer was Kiss’ longest-tenured Spaceman. So there’s an argument to be made that, without his 23 years of service, they wouldn’t have made it to the end of the road – but Thayer humbly waves it away.

“It’s just exciting to be in the mix,” he tells Guitar World. “I’ve never considered myself to be in the rarified air of the players I grew up emulating. To be part of the history of one of rock’s greatest bands of all time is a nice feeling. It really doesn’t get any better than that.”

Since Kiss halted touring operations in December 2023, Thayer has played it low-key, though plenty is happening behind the scenes. His passion for playing is as fiery as ever – and he has thoughts on how things have changed since he found that fire.

“In today’s world, there’s too much information available on any subject, and it’s difficult to weed through it all; it’s confusing,” he says. “Go to the music store and try guitars; see what feels most comfortable in your hands.”

He adds: “I think it’s best to try new gear like amps and pedals in a band setting, or at least with other people playing, to get the best feel for what works. Borrow stuff from friends to try things out; that’s what I used to do.

“Listen to lots of music, and don’t be afraid to break the rules. Your tone and your style will evolve – that’s all part of the fun.”

What was the moment as a player where you truly felt you found your sound?

“When we started Black ’N Blue. Before that, I was trying to figure out who I was stylistically and find my footing. It was the same for [vocalist] Jaime St. James. We played together in local bands in Portland from 1978 to 1981 – it felt like forever – before we finally locked into Black ’N Blue.

“I always loved straight-ahead, blues-based ’70s hard rock. I wasn’t interested in much else. I’ve always played a Gibson Les Paul. I was listening to Joe Perry, Ronnie Montrose, Jimmy Page, Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson from Thin Lizzy, Mick Ralphs, Billy Gibbons, Davey Johnston and Ace Frehley.

“It was such an exciting time. I wanted to emulate those bands and guitarists; I was consumed by it. One of the first solos I learned was China Grove by the Doobie Brothers. I stayed true to that style throughout the ’80s, which was a bit unusual for the time. Then Slash re-popularized the Les Paul in the late ’80s.”

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