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.”