Grooves

GR:: As a kid, were you tough? Were you a street kid? Were you a quiet kid or....class clown or what?

AF: I was anything but a quiet kid. I was a wild kid. I was, you know. I hung out at the corner store with the boys and we raised hell and we went to the park and drank beer and got in trouble.

GR: This was in the Bronx, right?

Ace: Yeah, I grew up around the Botanical Gardens, Bronx Zoo area.

GR: That's right near my grandparents.

ACE: It's really funny. You'd be surprised how many people come in and interview me, and they're from the Bronx or they have some connection there.

GR: Well, people who live in Westchester--because I was going to ask you when you were a teenager, did you move up there or.....

AF: No. I hung out there. I met my wife up there, and eventually I moved there. Once I could afford it, you know. (LAUGHS)

GR: Who was I talking to? Tiny Lloyd, the guitar player.

AF: What group?

GR: Real tall, skinny black guy.

AF: What group?

GR: I think it's called Matoaka now. Apparently the time Steve Tyler was in the Dantes and I don't know what group you were playing in.

AF: I used to go out with a girl who went to high school with Steve Tyler.

GR: It's probably all the same crowd of people.

AF: Do you all know his real name?

GR: Steve Tuilerico

AF: That's right. (LAUGHTER)

GR: As a teenager, were you happy or did you have grief in school, and how did you get along with teenage girls? Did you have some awkward experiences?

AF: I'd have to honestly say that I was really an ace ever since I was a kid. I hate to say it. I am trying to be modest. But you know how I got the nickname Ace?

GR: No.

AF: When I was about 18, I was in a group. I had a power trio like Cream. And I was with two other guys. They were good looking guys. But I had a way with manipulating people...not manipulating people, but I always know a lot of different people. I know people from all over. So they'd always call me up on weekend's and say. "What do you got lined up? What's happening? Is there a party?" So I'd have to set these guys up, you know. And we'll go here tonight and we'll meet these girl here, blah blah blah. So you know, the drummer--his name was Neil-- finally starts saying wow, you're really an Ace. Every weekend something's going on. So he started calling me ace. Blah blah blah. It stuck and everybody started calling me Ace. And then when I went down to audition for KISS, because I was the last guy to join the group, Paul was already in the group and his name was Paul. And my real name was Paul. So what happened was every time they'd say Paul we'd both turn around. So I said, "Look, do me a favor? Refer to me by my nickname, which is Ace. So now you can differentiate between me and Paul." So everybody started calling me Ace and that's how the name developed.

GR: You're lucky they didn't nickname you Yenta or something. (LAUGHS)

AF: Curly would be my second choice.

GR: So you were a smooth operator, you would say?

AF: You could call me that.

GR: Well, now that you're no longer a teenager, if you had a son or a daughter, how would you bring them up? I mean, did you learn some lessons from teachers and parents that you would never do to your own?

AF: Well, you know, I was kicked out of a couple of schools, not because I was really a bad guy. I always rebelled. My hair was always too long. My pants were always too tight. I wanted to wear Beatle boots when they wanted to wear regular shoes, blah blah blah. You know, I can't say enough to parents that they should really let their kids be creative, as long as it's not really harmful to them. If the kid has any type of creativity, a lot of parents stifle it. And it's not healthy. You gotta--I had to fight a lot of times with the establishment, including my parents. And I went through some changes. And a lot of kids do, growing up. There was pressure. You know, you had to get a haircut, when long hair was unpopular. And I said, "no, this is a statement I'm making. I am into rock and roll, and long hair and rock and roll are one. One in the same." At the time anyway. Now you can have any king of hair--purple hair, crew cut, I don't care. But in those days--you know, the late 60's--long hair and rock and roll were one and the same.

GR: And they figured you were headed for no good.

AF: Yeah. It's sad that a lot of times today a lot of parents equate rock and roll with drugs, which isn't necessarily so. You know, drugs are everywhere and rock and roll is not going to make you take drugs or make you not take drugs. It's just a form of entertainment. I would seriously think that TV would make you take drugs before rock and roll. (LAUGHS)

GR: Or you could turn into an ax murderer from watching television.

AF: Too much violence. Not enough love. Most of our songs are about love.

GR: I noticed. But I was going to say, do people accuse you of promoting violence because the stage show has a lot of fire and blood and explosions?

AF: Well, you know, the stage show that we present is very expressive of the times. Gene plays the role of a monster. And what do kids love more than anything else? TO see good horror films. Religious fanatics, when they see the show or they see pictures, equate us with the devil. Which is ridiculous. That's like saying Frankenstein or old horror movies are sinful. It's ridiculous. But we have gotten hate mail from religious fanatics saying we're in cahoots with the devil and we are preaching Satanism and all this. It's the most ridiculous thing. Somebody brought me a letter and said "KISS stands for Knights in Satan's Service." (LAUGHTER) And the word KISS has to do with making love. How can you turn that around? These are the kind of people who are in this country. There's all types.

GR: Basic middle American.

AF: But I just want to go down for the record that KISS is only promoting love and happiness and having a good time, and trying to forget about all of your problems. We're entertainment, you know. You go see a KISS show or you go see a movie, you know, you want to forget about all your problems. That's all we are.

GR: That's pretty much what Gene was saying. Tell me about all your personal rock and roll memories; can you think of your favorite moment?

AF: My favorite moment...one of my favorite moments was the first time we headlined in New York City. We did a two night engagement at the Beekman Theatre. That was a pretty exciting moment for me because all my friends and family were out in the audience.

GR: Beekman Theatre?

AF: Beacon

GR: Oh, Beacon.

AF: It's about a 3000 seat theatre. It's a little bigger than Fillmore. And that was a big night. Also the first night we played Madison Square Garden I had butterflies. I'm sure everybody else did. And then I would say Anaheim Stadium. We played for about 40,000 kids that night. That was pretty exciting.

GR: These were all a few years ago.

AF: Yeah. I don't believe how fast it's gone by.

GR: Okay. Oh, yes, about your fans. They're sort of hysterical. I was going to ask you if you think that by not going on the road for a year, that'll calm your fans a little bit? Like they won't be quite as crazy? Or do you think it'll just happen all over again when you come back?

AF: I think staying away...It's going to be more than a year...the last concert we did as a group, besides the one we did for the movie, was, Jesus, at least six or eight months ago. And we're not going to perform until next summer. So you're talking about a year and a half off the road. I think it's just going to make our fans crazier. You know how it is when there's something you like that you can't have, when you finally get it you go nuts. (LAUGHS) Exactly. So I think the next tour we do is probably going to be more crazy than ever as far as the audience response. Which is good because the more the audience responds to us, the more we put out. It's a give and take situation. Now if you walk out on stage and the audience is not very receptive, the band feels insecure and holds back. You know, if the front row is screaming and going crazy, all of a sudden your adrenaline rises, and you perform a much better show than you normally would. So the more they give us the more we're going to give them. It's always been that way.

GR: Is there a whole new stage show being worked out? New costumes and everything?

AF: I would think so. I'm working on some new ideas. I don't want to talk about it because I don't want to let anything out of the bag yet. But there'll be some new spectacles.

GR: Sounds like it.

AF: I mean you saw the last show, right?

GR: I saw the show with Destroyer and the Thunder God and that whole thing.

AF: Yeah, well the one that proceeded that--no, was it preceding or after? The one after that was better. And the next show is going to be better. So...

GR: How many vans are you going to need to carry this stuff around?

AF: Oh God, don't talk about it. It comes out of my pocket. We're lucky if we break even on tour with the amount of people we pay and the equipment we carry around. But we don't mind.

GR: Well, you have all these other things going for you. Do you think people were thinking, when the solo albums started to happen, that KISS was probably getting bored, or they're ready to go in their own direction? That it's the end of KISS. I know that's not really true. But can you tell why....

AF: Well, we've been working together as a band for five, maybe, six years, I don't know. Well, we've been together since '73...(LAUGHTER) I don't know what year it is. No, we've been together for at least five years. And within those five years we've done more than most groups do in ten, as far as the schedule for recording and touring. It has been unbelievable. It was time for a vacation, and you know, just to get away. We really didn't get on each other's nerves. It was just at the point, though, where we really needed a vacation from each other to try and express ourselves a little more personally. That's why we decided to do the solo albums. I think it was a very health exercise...a profitable exercise.

GR: Is that going to help make the group closer together?

AF: I think so. I think for me, you know, I've discovered sides of me, talent-wise, in doing my own album, that I didn't realize existed. And I think everybody's going to discover that. So when we come back as a foursome we're going to be even stronger. So I think it's going to be a very positive thing for the band.

GR: Do you spend time with them when you're not performing?

AF: I don't even have time to spend with my family, so I usually don't see the group when we're off the road. It's hard to...like during the album, I didn't even have enough time to see my friends and family, so...actually it should be family and friends. I don't want to get into trouble here. But we purposely keep out of each other's way because, you know, we see each other so much, it's better to take a vacation from each other whenever we get a chance to, because then when we don't see each other for a while we say, "wow, how you been doing?" We talked to each other on the phone all the time, but we don't see each other that often once we stop a tour or we stop an album. We try to take off in different directions. I think it is better that way.

GR: Cool out for a while.

AF: Sure.

GR: Do you have any trouble going out, people recognizing you without makeup?

AF: I tell you, ever since I did...I'm going to kick myself in the ass for this...ever since I did an interview where I did a...the editor talked me into doing a few pictures with my eyes coming through cards and a couple of stupid things like that...actually they weren't stupid. They were kind of cute. But ever since then I get recognized everywhere I go.

GR: Oh my God.

AF: I can't believe it. Because, I mean, it's just an eye.

GR: Yeah, I figured you'd have the least trouble. I mean, people started figuring out who Paul and Gene were.

AF: Well, Paul probably looks the most recognizable because if you cut his face in half, it's just basically him with makeup on and eyeliner and stuff. Me and Gene probably--well, Peter, you can't make out Peter either. I don't know.

GR: You look totally different. I didn't think people would recognize you. Now you're in for it.

AF: I'm in for it friends!

GR: Do you think that gradually you're going to stop using the makeup and the costumes some day?

AF: I don't know. The makeup really seems to work with the show. And I think if we all sent off in our own direction I'm sure the makeup couldn't--you know, three or four years from now I may decide I want to be an actor or have my own band. I mean, it's ridiculous to try to walk out on strange with that makeup. You know...I think the makeup is really terrific and it really works for the KISS idea. But we can't wear that makeup for the rest of our lives, obviously.

GR: Okay. Do you feel changes happening with yourself? I mean, you've..

AF: I've never been happier...I'm happier now than I've ever been in my live. I have my own solo album; I'm really coming out of my shell in a way. I surpassed my expectations because I played every instrument on my solo LP.

GR: Oh good, I was going to ask you about that.

AF: I played the lead guitar, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, synthesizer. I did all the lead vocals on a lot of the tunes. And I finally make a statement that everybody's going to hear, and I'm very proud of it.

GR: I only got to hear half of it, but it was really good. Really good.

AF: Thank you. The other side...

GR: You mean, he can sing like that?

AF: Yeah, that's what everybody's saying. They say, "well I thought he could just play guitar." But I sang...the other side is a surprise too. There's different things I do with my voice that I've never done. The first side is pretty much rock and roll. The second side has some different things to it.

GR: Did you write all the songs, or did you write with Shaun Delaney (Note: This is her spelling of the name, drs), your former road manager?

AF: Well, I co-write...no, I think I wrote five. It's on the album. I wrote five songs totally. I co-wrote three songs. And one song I did not write. But O wrote I would say 80% of the material.

GR: Did you have guest musicians?

AF: No. I know some of the other guys in the group had a lot of guests. My idea of a solo album was to do as much as I could on my own. I'm sure everybody looked at it different ways. But me, just being the lead guitarist of the band, you know, the lead guitarist can play rhythm guitar. And rhythm guitar can play bass. Anything I didn't feel proficient at I would hire someone to do. And that's what ended up happening. I played just about every track, and the thing I was mostly insecure about was the vocals. And I surprised myself on the vocals. I surprised Eddie Kramer. He was crazy. Boy, I didn't know you could sing like that. (LAUGHS) He cracked up.
GR: Did you do any of the production work with Eddie?

AF: Yeah. We co-produced the record. I was very much involved with the record from the beginning to the very end. I was even there when they mastered it and cut the grooves at the mastering studio. George Marino mastered it. He's done a lot of our records in the past. Excellent.

GR: He recorded it at the Plant in LA?

AF: No. I recorded the record in...Sharon, Connecticut. Me, the drummer Anton Fig and Eddie sent up there. And we laid down all the basic tracks. You know, it was almost like a live setting. We took over this big mansion, brought in a mobile unit and we set up two sets of drums, on downstairs and one upstairs. We got all sorts of very interesting sounds. And once we cut the basic tracks we decided to take the tapes down to Plaza Sound on 51st Street, and then we overdubbed. WE did the vocals and some guitar solos. And finished it up there. Pretty easy. We did that, we did this and it was done. We finished ahead of schedule.

GR: Unheard of.

AF: It will be released mid-September

GR: Are you involved in the business end of you career? Do you oversee the merchandising of the...

AF: Yes.

GR: Do you get involved with other projects?

AF: Better believe it.

GR: Is that interesting, or is it more interesting being...

AF: Well, the most interesting thing to me is to be a creative artist, obviously. But if you don't get a chance to okay something and it goes out, and a million people see a photograph and you're not happy with the way you look in it, it's frustrating. So we've basically laid down the law to all the people that work for us, saying we reserve the right to okay everything that does out, as far as the tour book, as far as any magazines that are put out by or merchandising company. So on and so forth.

GR: Eventually, do you think you're going to get into more stuff behind the scenes like producing or helping other artists?

AF: I would love to produce a record for a different band, probably three or four years form now, when I stop touring.

GR: Rock and roll?

AF: Oh, yeah. It would have to be rock and roll.

GR: Do you have any comments about rock critics and people who write for music magazines?

AF: I have thing to say about critics. And I direct this statement to all the people that read rock magazines. Everything you read in a rock magazine, take it with a grain of salt. Thank you.

GR: Oh, yeah. Some personal questions. We want to know a little bit about Jeanette, your wife.

AF: Well.....

GR: How long have you lived together? How did you meet and...

AF: Oh, God. You really want to know that! (LAUGHTER) I met her in the Bronx. We dated. We went steady for five years and then we decided to get married. What else do you want to know?

GR: That was it.

AF: You got it.

GR: Does she enjoy the life style of being the wife of a rock and roll star?

AF: You know, her biggest hang-up is that she doesn't get to see enough of me. Which is understandable, because I'm such a busy guy. Sometimes she feels, well, maybe she would've been better off...maybe she'd be happier if I wasn't a rock star and I could be with her most of the time. But she doesn't see me as much as she'd like to, and I feel the same way. But that's one of the drawbacks of the business.

GR: Do you have strange dreams?

AF: Strange dreams. I have strange ways. (HUMS MUSIC) That's a song I wrote called "Strange Ways." It's on the second album. "Strange Ways." We have some strange ways. "That the way you look at me" (SINGING), that's the introduction. Except I didn't sing it. I let Peter sing it because I was afraid to sing it. Now that I think back I could've probably sang it. You know how it is.

GR: You don't have weird dreams?

AF: Actually I sleep very well. I don't have to take sleeping pills to go to sleep at night. If I have a problem sleeping I'll get up and have a beer or two, and I fall right to sleep. I don't believe in drugs very often. I don't think they make sense to me.

GR: That'll make the magazine very happy.

AF: It will?

GR: Yes.

AF: Terrific.

GR: Let's see. I think I have enough information about the movie.

AF: What am I looking for?

GR: The album cover?

AF: Yes. I had it here.

GR: The art work or something?

AF: I lost it.

GR: Great.

AF: Anything else.

GR: Couple more.

AF: Okay, let's wrap it up. Weekend Wrap-up here with--what's your first name?

GR: Kris

AF: Kris is here and we have the Weekend Wrap-up

GR: Do you think that you've achieved everything musically you would like to, or do you have more areas to conquer?

AF: I feel that musically I've just scratched the surface. I'm sure I can go on to bigger and better things. And after hearing my solo album I think everyone will agree. People, I love you.

GR: Do you get worried about--well, you don't sound like you're worried about getting older and eventually giving up rock and roll.

AF: Hey, I'm 27 years old. I come from Tokyo....(LAUGHTER) No. I'm 27 years old, I came from the Bronx and made it big. I'm pretty happy. You know...I just think that I'm--what's the most exciting thing about being a rock star is--you know, when I read my fan mail, the kids just--they're so overwhelmed by the band. And we seem to give so much enjoyment to people when we do a live show, and they're just so thrilled with it. It makes me feel good that we can give off such good vibes. I've never gotten a hate letter in my whole career. I've never had any bad fan mail. And I think it's terrific. I feel like I'm doing a service to the community.

GR: We'll give you a key to the city.

AF: We have a few. Key to Detroit. Key from Florida somewhere. Couple of keys.

GR: So you'd like to just keep doing it.

AF: Now all I need is a key to the Playboy Club and everything will be...no, I can't say that. I'm a married man. No, don't print that.

GR: Okay, that will be edited folks. Thank you.

AF: (SINGING) Tokyo is a food town.

GR: Japan is nuts for KISS.

AF: I would say we're at least as big in Japan as we are in the United States, if not more so.

GR: I'd say you're probably number one over there.

AF: I would say we're probably accepted the way the Beatles were in the late 60's. They go around and talk to us like they want to die for us. They lie down in front of the limousine and want to be run over. They're okay, though. They're good eggs. (LAUGHTER)

GR: That's it.

AF: You got it?

GR: Yeah. That's terrific.