| Ace talks freely By Rich Byrne Rhythm & News Magazine January, 1996 When I first received Ace's press kit it warned, "Before you even ask, this is not a reunion, this has nothing to do with a KISS reunion the first one of you who mentions a KISS reunion will be forced to listen to the entire Wayne Newton catalogue." "So," I says, "Ace," I says. "Reunion tour?" "What reunion tour?" Does this mean no sequel to KISS Meets the Phantom? I must have been about seven or eight when I was introduced to KISS by Jimmy Coogan, one of the older cool kids I looked up to. The first KISS tune I ever heard was "Firehouse" - the rest is history. Ace has seen it all. 52 gold and platinum albums with one of the greatest bands that the planet has ever seen, immortalized in a comic book, a successful post-KISS career, as one of the most influential musicians Ace was rated the #4 guitarist in the world by Guitar World Magazine, and inducted into Hollywood's Rock Walk of Fame. Just think what the world be like if Ace didn't answer that ad in "The Voice" for a lead guitarist. Right now in some bizarro universe the Ace-less earth worships Richard Marx and dances to the somber melodies of Zamfir Psychedelic Funk. Then there was Halloween 1995: KISS with the original line-up jamming the classics. Not since the Paul Lynde Halloween special back in the seventies did Halloween take on such a special meaning. But what's this? Ace with an acoustic? "To be honest with you, I'm not that proficient on the acoustic. I don't get a chance to play it very often. But it was a nice change of pace and it was fun working with Paul and Gene again, they were real gracious to me and Peter and actually the chemistry was still there." Concerning Peter and Ace on their tour, Frehley says, "Well, we're not drinking buddies anymore, but we're still buddies, which is kind of nice. We grew up. We enjoy touring together, we can hang out and reminisce - everybody gets along." Ace is finishing up work on the follow-up album to "Trouble Walking", released in 1990. According to Ace the material is much heavier than the last album. At the recent show at The Last Chance in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Ace was in top form. "I'm playing better now than I ever have. I dropped a lot of weight, I'm in shape, I'm working out and playing better than I ever have or so I've been told." The current line-up doesn't hurt. Richie Scarlet on guitar, Karl Cochran on bass and Steve Werner on drums provide an extraordinary compliment to Ace's playing. When I asked Ace what he thought about the "KISS My Ass" album he replied, "Not much!" (Laughs). Have no fear seekers of true tributes. Somewhere in Japan as we speak, there are members of Pantera, Alice in Chains, Skid Row and a roster of names to many to mention here, putting together the long over-due Ace tribute album, untitled as yet. Ace remarked someone suggested calling it "KISS My Ace". So what about all the nasty things the boys have been promulgating in recent years? "Last year we buried the hatchet. When we did MTV we kind of talked about a lot of stuff. Actually prior to that we just kind of said all the negativity wasn't helping either of us. If we don't have something good to say about each other we'd rather not say anything. We've buried the hatchet." Still unsuccessfully pursuing the possibility of a reunion I hit the low point and asked if he ever considered putting on the make-up and jamming with one of the tribute bands that are out there for old times sake? "I jammed once with one in Canada - I figured what the hell. I find it flattering, Some of them are really good. I get a kick out of hearing them copy my solos. Usually the guys that play Gene are pretty good. "One band I found really funny," he laughs. "One guy had phony hair stuck to his chest." � DREZDON MEDIA. All rights reserved. |