FEW BANDS can split a room like KISS. Many fans are so blindly devoted that they probably wouldnât hesitate to buy an album of the band farting for 30 minutes. Detractors... well, they likely think the groupâs records already sound like 30 minutes of farting. But thereâs one thing uniting these two factions: KISSâs originalâand bestâlead guitarist, Ace Frehley.
Over the past year Iâve interviewed everyone from Mountain Goats drummer Jon Wurster to black metal legend Abbath Doom Occulta of Immortal, and they all agree that Ace Frehley is the baddest of them all. Hell, even Frehley knows it: âJust about everyone who came after me was influenced in some way by KISS,â he says. âItâs pretty amazing. I never realized Iâd have that much impact on people.â
And itâs still true, even if Frehley hasnât donned his famous Spaceman makeup since 2002. During that time, heâs rebuilt his solo career, kicked drugs and alcohol (he just celebrated 10 years of sobriety), and relocated from the East Coast to sunny Southern California. Frehleyâs kept busy, tooâin the past few years heâs released a studio record, 2014âs Space Invader, and an album of covers, 2016âs Origins, Vol. 1.
Frehley and his fiancĂ©e Rachael Gordon recently settled on an acre just outside of San Diego with a new home studio ready to roll. âIâm just putting the final touches on it,â he says. âI actually might even do some tracking before I hit the road. Iâve been writingâlittle by little itâll come together.â
These days, the Space Aceâs downtime isnât occupied by the sex, drugs, and rock ânâ roll of the â70s, when New York was a playground for glam, punk, disco, and, later, hip-hop. And while punk was the antithesis to the bawdy stadium rock behemoth KISS would become by 1976, Frehley says he still caught Ramones and Blondie shows at CBGB.
It doesnât take long for him to launch into a story about KISSâs kindred spirits, the New York Dolls. âI was good friends with [bassist] Arthur Kane,â Frehley says, his Bronx accent sneaking through. âWe became drinking buddies. When we toured together Arthur would be in my room, or Iâd be in Arthurâs room, and weâd break out a six-pack of Colt 45.â
While Frehley and original KISS drummer Peter Criss were crashing and burning, the more business-minded Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley were steering the ship. Eventually it caught up, and Frehley and Criss parted ways with the band in the early â80s, staying apart until KISS reunited in 1996. Those same tensions would soon surface again, and the original lineup split for good in the early â00s.
Of course, that doesnât keep diehard KISS fans from salivating at the thought of one more go. The closest theyâve come was in 2014, when the bandâs four original members appeared onstage together at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony. KISS didnât play, instead accepting the honor, posing for photos, and moving on. But last year Frehley recorded a cover of Freeâs âFire and Waterâ for Origins, Vol. 1 with Stanley on vocals. While itâs renewed the lines of communication, Frehley doesnât know what the future holds with his former bandmates.
âI donât rule out anythingâmy career has been so crazy. But the ball is in Paul and Geneâs court,â he says. âGene contacted me recently and told me he wanted to come to one of my shows in the Los Angeles area. So that was nice. Iâm gonna be fine if I donât do a reunion, but I really think if I did rejoin the band, KISS would go out with a bang.â
That said, thereâs an authenticity to Frehleyâs loose-and-sweaty club shows thatâs missing from KISSâs recent scripted, circus-like performances. Itâs ultimately what makes Ace Ace, and why heâs respected outside of the KISS world. Although fans may never be content, these days Frehleyâs just happy to have his health and creativity.
âYou know, in my mind Iâve lived 10 lifetimes,â he says. âI shouldâve died 10 timesâoverdosing, car accidents, all that crazy shit. So as far as Iâm concerned, every day I get up and walk around is gravy.â