Ace Frehley‘s relationship with his former Kiss bandmates Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley has been tumultuous over the years, to say the least. While tensions have mostly simmered down nowadays – Frehley referred to Simmons and Stanley as “just like brothers” last year – their feuds have been legendary as far as rock music goes.
Frehley was a founding member of Kiss in 1973, played in the band until his departure in 1982, and then rejoined in 1996, before leaving again in 2002. While it’s often thrown around that he was fired from the band, Frehley maintains that he left of his own volition.
“A lot of the misconceptions were created by Paul and Gene,” Frehley says in an interview in the new issue of Guitarist magazine. “They still say in interviews that they fired me, but I was never fired from Kiss. I hate when I hear that. And they say that both times I was fired; I quit both times [in 1982 and 2002].”
He even asserts that the first time he quit the band, Paul Stanley made efforts to get him to stay. “They didn’t want me to leave; the first time I quit, Paul showed up on my doorstep, took me out to lunch, and was trying to change my mind, but I had already made up my mind,” Frehley says.
Despite the success he enjoyed as a member of Kiss, Ace Frehley reckons he’s better off as a solo artist. “The success of my [1978] solo album [Ace Frehley] made me realize that I was more creative away from Paul, Gene, and Peter [Criss] than I was around them,” he says.
“And so, time marches on, but yeah, they’ve said shit, like, I’m late, and I’m lazy, and yeah, maybe not as much as they’ve said it, but it’s true. As far as when I’m working, and I’ve got an idea, and I’m excited about it – I have tunnel vision.”
