Ace Frehley
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| Ace Frehley | |
|---|---|
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| Born | April 27, 1951 (age 55) The Bronx, New York, USA |
| Genre(s) | Hard rock Glam rock |
| Affiliation(s) | KISS |
| Notable guitars | Gibson Les Paul, Epiphone Ace Frehley Les Paul Custom |
| Years active | 1965 – Present |
Paul Daniel Frehley, aka Ace Frehley (born April 27, 1951) is an American guitarist best known as a founding member and lead guitarist for the rock band Kiss. Frehley played with the group from its inception in 1973 until his departure in 1982.
After leaving Kiss, Frehley embarked on a moderately successful solo career, which was put on hold when he rejoined Kiss in 1996 for a highly successful reunion tour. His second tenure with Kiss lasted until 2002, when he left at the conclusion of the band's Farewell Tour. He has since resumed his solo career, although to date he has not released any new music.
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Early years
Ace Frehley was born and raised in The Bronx, and was the youngest of three children. As a youth, Frehley was in a New York street gang called The Duckies with Steven Edward Duren (aka Blackie Lawless, who would later become frontman for heavy metal band W.A.S.P.). The Frehleys were a musical family, and when Ace received an electric guitar as a Christmas present in 1964, he immersed himself in learning the instrument. Frehley has cited guitarists such as Pete Townshend and Jeff Beck as his major musical influences.[1]
When Frehley's band, Cathedral, started earning a series of paying gigs, Frehley dropped out of high school. At the insistence of his family and girlfriend, Frehley eventually returned and earned his diploma. After graduation, Frehley held a string of short-term jobs—mail carrier, furniture deliverer, messenger, and liquor store delivery boy.[1]
Music career
Kiss
Frehley spent the early 1970s in a series of bands, none of which achieved any success. In January 1973, best friend, Bob McAdams, spotted an advertisement for a lead guitarist in the Village Voice. Bob showed the ad to Ace. Both Bob and Ace went to 10 East 23rd Street above the Live Bait Bar. Ace auditioned for the trio of Paul Stanley (rhythm guitar), Gene Simmons (bass guitar) and Peter Criss (drums). Frehley (who showed up wearing one red sneaker and one orange sneaker) (documented in the book Kiss & Tell by Gordon G.G. Gebert and Bob McAdams - isbn# 0-9658794-0-2) was less than impressive visually, but the band liked what they heard from his playing. About three weeks after Frehley auditioned, the new group named him their lead guitarist. By mid-1973, the unnamed band decided on a name - Kiss. Frehley designed the band's unique, double-lightning-bolt logo.[2] The band quickly decided to paint their faces for live performances, and Frehley decided to start painting silver stars on his eyes. When the group eventually decided to adopt stage personas to go with their makeup designs, Frehley became "Space Ace," an alien visitor from the planet of Jendel.
While Kiss spent their early days rehearsing and playing in empty clubs, Frehley took a job as a part-time cab driver to pay his bills. In September 1973, Kiss began to receive a salary from new manager Bill Aucoin that paid each member $75 a week. This enabled Frehley to quit his job.
Kiss released their debut album, Kiss, in February 1974—Frehley's sole songwriting contribution was "Cold Gin." Due to Frehley's lack of confidence in his own singing voice, however, the vocals were performed by Simmons. Frehley wrote or co-wrote several of the band's songs over the next few years but didn't record his vocals on a song until "Shock Me" (inspired following his near-electrocution during a concert), which appeared on 1977's Love Gun.[1]
As lead guitarist, Frehley was known for his frenetic, atmospheric playing, becoming one of the most popular guitarists in the 70s and spawning a generation of new players. Indeed, Frehley stated in the book Kiss: Behind the Mask that many guitarists have told him his playing on 1975's hit Alive! prompted them to pick up the instrument.
Along with the three other Kiss members, Frehley released an eponymous solo album in 1978. His was the best-selling of the four, and the album's lone single (the Russ Ballard written "New York Groove") reached the Top 20 in the United States.
Frehley's songwriting presence within the group increased in 1979, contributing 2 originals and a cover (The Rolling Stones' 2000 Man) for 1979's Dynasty and 3 originals for 1980s Unmasked. While this was not the best time for Kiss on a commercial level in the United States, they were only just beginning to take off in other countries (mostly in Australia where Dynasty and Unmasked are their highest selling albums). But even as his songwriting role within Kiss was increasing, Frehley found himself increasingly at odds with the musical direction of the band. After Peter Criss left Kiss in 1980, Frehley was often outvoted 2-1 in band decisions, as replacement drummer Eric Carr was not a partner in Kiss and had no vote. Frehley's participation in the recording of 1981's Music from "The Elder" was far more limited than with previous albums. This was, in large part, due to his unhappiness with the band's decision to create a concept album rather than a straightforward rock album.
Exacerbating the situation was Frehley's escalating erratic behavior and substance abuse. In April 1982, Frehley was involved in a serious automobile accident (although Anton Fig was the driver). In May, he led police on a 90-mph car chase on the Bronx River Parkway. This incident led to a $600 fine and a six-month suspension of his driver's license.[3] Although Frehley appeared on the covers for 1982's greatest hits album Killers and studio album Creatures of the Night, he had no involvement with either project. Frehley's last appearances with the band were the video for "I Love it Loud," a series of European promotional appearances in November 1982 and a band interview with MTV in early 1983 promoting their world tour.
Solo career
Although Frehley was no longer a legal member of Kiss as of March 1983 (he was replaced by Vinnie Vincent for the start of the Creatures of the Night tour in December 1982), he retained a one-quarter share in the Kiss partnership until mid-1984. Wanting to avoid any potential legal or monetary entanglements, Frehley did not actively begin his solo career until he was out of the partnership.[3]
In 1984, Frehley started his post-Kiss solo career by assembling a band that included, among others, drummer Anton Fig (who had performed on Frehley's 1978 solo album and on two Kiss albums). Bassist John Regan (who had worked with Peter Frampton), whom Frehley met in 1980, was also an original member of the band as was guitarist Richie Scarlett.[3] The group, whose name alternated between 'Ace Frehley' and Frehley's Comet, recorded a series of demos throughout 1984 and 1985.[4] The band performed their first ever live show at S.I.R. Studios in New York City, NY on November 20, 1984.
After a few unsuccessful attempts at securing a recording contract, the group eventually signed to Megaforce Records and released their first album, Frehley's Comet, on July 7, 1987. The album was co-produced by Eddie Kramer, who had produced not only a number of Kiss albums, but Frehley's 1978 album and some of his 1984-85 demos. Before Frehley's Comet's release, Anton Fig left the band to become the in-studio drummer for David Letterman's late-night television show, but did perform on the album. He also played on the 1987 tour in the U.S. when Frehely's band played a double bill with Y&T, and new band (at the time) White Lion opening the shows.
Frehley's Comet, a mixture of hard rock and pop metal, was a successful return to the music scene for Frehley. The album peaked at #43 on the Billboard 200 (selling nearly 500,000 copies[3]), and the single, "Rock Soldiers," reached #27 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. "Rock Soldiers" was an autobiographic song, written partially about Frehley's April 1982 car accident. The video for "Rock Soldiers" received moderate airplay on MTV, particularly on Headbangers Ball.
Despite the positive reviews and healthy album sales of Frehley's Comet, Frehley was unable to maintain much commercial momentum. Two 1988 Frehley's Comet albums—the live EP Live+1 and sophomore studio album Second Sighting peaked at #84 and #81, respectively. A pair of tours in support of Alice Cooper and Iron Maiden ended prematurely, with the band claiming lack of payment in both cases.[5]
In order to reverse his band's declining commercial fortunes, Frehley dropped the Frehley's Comet moniker and issued 1989's Trouble Walkin' under his own name. Tod Howarth also decided to leave before recording started on the album, and was replaced by Richie Scarlet. Despite the return to a more traditional hard rock style, Trouble Walkin' continued the pattern of declining sales, and peaked at #102.
One notable aspect of Trouble Walkin' was the guest appearance of Peter Criss, who provided vocals for the track "2 Young 2 Die." It was the first time Criss and Frehley had performed together on an album since Kiss's 1979 album, Dynasty, although Peter had shown up briefly at a Frehley's Comet show in Los Angeles in 1987, playing drums on a final encore of "Deuce". In contrast to the somewhat adversarial relationship Frehley had with Kiss (particularly Gene Simmons) throughout the 1980s, he and Criss had maintained good ties during the decade. In June 1995, Frehley's and Criss's bands embarked on the "Bad Boys Tour." The shows ended with Frehley and Criss joining each other to perform "Nothin' to Lose" and "Rock and Roll All Nite."[5]
Kiss reunion and beyond
The beginning of the "Bad Boys Tour" was followed a few months later by Frehley and Criss both performing with Kiss for their August 8, 1995 appearance on MTV Unplugged. It marked the first time the original members of Kiss had performed in public since the end of the Dynasty tour in 1979. Fan response was overwhelming, and rumors of a full-fledged reunion circulated. By December, the paperwork for the reunion was completed, although no official announcement was made at the time. In January 1996, Frehley underwent plastic surgery in preparation for the upcoming reunion.[5]
On February 28, 1996, the original members of Kiss appeared (in makeup and costumes) at the Grammy Awards, to a standing ovation. On April 16, Kiss officially announced their reunion and plans for a tour during a press conference aboard the USS Intrepid. The Alive/Worldwide Tour kicked off on June 28 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit, Michigan. The tour lasted through July 1997 and was a financial windfall for the group, earning $43.6 million.[6]
The reunited Kiss issued Psycho Circus in September 1998. Frehley's lone song on the album, "Into the Void," was performed during the subsequent tour. The Psycho Circus tour commenced on November 12, 1998 (a Halloween show on October 31 at Dodger Stadium had several songs simulcast live on FOX's Mad TV), and was followed by the "Farewell Tour" beginning in March 2000. Frehley, expecting that the tour would be Kiss's last, chose not to remain in the band when it ended. His last performance with Kiss was on February 24, 2002, during the closing ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Frehley was soon replaced by Tommy Thayer, who had served in a variety of roles for Kiss and had helped Frehley relearn some of his guitar parts for the Alive/Worldwide Tour. Since Kiss owned the copyright to Frehley's makeup and costume designs, Thayer became the second "Spaceman."
Frehley's guitar style was influenced by Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton, but he's just as familiar for his visual effects, such as the smoke bomb hidden in his guitar pickup, sparks and rockets fired off from his guitar head, and others. Frehley has been a significant enough influence on the hard rock and heavy metal guitarists who followed him. In the mid-1990s, Gibson struck a special-edition model of its Les Paul guitar for Frehley (who has played Les Pauls since the beginning of Kiss), with his famed Space Ace face in the head and the Kiss-style lightning bolts in the fretboard inlays.
In an appearance on Howard Stern's pay-per-view program in 2005, Ace said that he left Kiss at least partly because Gene and Paul wanted Kiss to open for Aerosmith, Kiss had opened for Aerosmith twice before in March 24 and April 7 1974. They have never headlined over their biggest rivals. In reality, the two bands enjoyed playing together, with Joe Perry becoming the only outside member of Kiss to join them onstage for "Strutter", twice near the end of the tour. Ace also said that Thayer's use of the character he created "didn't matter" because "I created the character." Frehley had gone on Stern's show thinking that he would mostly be talking about the DVD release of his movie Remedy, but when Stern continually talked about Kiss, Ace's business manager called the show, stating that the continuous mentions of Kiss were "upsetting Ace". Behind-the-scenes personal report that Frehley agreed to come on the show on the contingency that there would be no mention of the books Kiss & Tell (by Gordon G.G. Gebert and Bob McAdams) and/or Into The Void... With Ace Frehley (by Wendy Moore). Stern's staff members had Gordon Gebert and Wendy Moore on the phones waiting to confront Frehley. Also, Stern continuously tried to get Ace to admit that he hated Gene Simmons; Ace responded with "Not true; I love Gene." Frehley, learning of the confrontation about to unfold, left the show pre-maturely. Gary Dell'Abate stated that "the Frehley interview was one of the worst in Howard Stern history" and "I would never have Frehley return as long as I work here".
Frehley appeared with Rob Zombie, Tommy Lee, Scott Ian, Slash, and Gilby Clarke on VH-1's Rock Honors special on May 31, 2006. This supergroup played Kiss's "God of Thunder."
Frehley has also attempted acting (not counting a walk-on in Millennium or his part in the ancient Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park), making his debut in 2005 in Remedy, an independent crime drama. According to Eddie Trunk Kissmass special 2005, Frehley has been sober for several years, and is supposed to be working on a new solo album, scheduled tentatively for a 2006 or 2007 "spring" release. [1]
Discography
Kiss
- Kiss (February 18, 1974)
- Hotter Than Hell (October 22, 1974)
- Dressed to Kill (March 19, 1975)
- Alive! (September 10, 1975)
- Destroyer (March 15, 1976)
- Rock and Roll Over (November 11, 1976)
- Love Gun (June 30, 1977)
- Alive II (November 29, 1977)
- Ace Frehley (September 18, 1978)
- Dynasty (May 23, 1979)
- Unmasked (May 20, 1980)
- Music From "The Elder" (November 10, 1981)
- Creatures of the Night (October 13, 1982)[7]
- Kiss Unplugged (March 12, 1996)
- Psycho Circus (September 22, 1998)
Solo/Frehley's Comet (studio & live)
- Frehley's Comet (July 7, 1987)
- Live+1 (1988)
- Second Sighting (1988)
- Trouble Walkin' (October 1989)
- Greatest Hits Live (January 24, 2006)
Solo (compilation)
- 12 Picks (1997)
- Loaded Deck (1998)
Guest appearances
- "Eugene" – Song on the 1981 self-titled album by Crazy Joe and the Variable Speed Band. Frehley played drum machine and co-produced.
- "Bump and Grind" – Song on the 1984 Wendy O. Williams album W.O.W. Frehley played lead guitar.
- Cat #1 – 1994 Criss album. Frehley played lead guitar on three songs: "Bad Attitude," "Walk the Line" and "Blue Moon Over Brooklyn."
- "Cherokee Boogie" – Song on the 1996 compilation album Smell the Fuzz: Guitars that Rule the World 2. The song was written, produced and engineered by Frehley, who also played all guitars on it.
- "Rocker Room Theme" – Song on the 1998 Still Wicked album Something Wicked This Way Comes. Frehley played rhythm and lead guitar. CD also features Ron Leejack (Wicked Lester), Gordon G.G. Gebert, MaryAnn Scandiffio and Michael Sciotto.
- "Foxy Lady" – Song on the 1998 ESP (Eric Singer Project) album Lost and Spaced. Frehley played lead guitar.
- "Freedom" – Song on the 2000 Karl Cochran album Voodooland. Frehley played guitar.
- Insanity of Life – 2002 Richie Scarlet album. Frehley played guitar on "Johnny's in Love" and lead guitar on "Too Far Gone." He also co-wrote "Too Far Gone" with Scarlet.
- "Know Where You Go" – Song on the 2002 Anton Fig album Figments. Frehley played lead guitar.
- "Bad Choice" – Song on the 2005 Kathy Valentine album Light Years. Frehley played the lead guitar solos.
- In 2005, Ace played a new version of "2,000 Man" on Eddie Trunk's "Merry Kissmas" special.
Notes and references
- ^ a b c Leaf, David and Ken Sharp. KISS: Behind the Mask: The Official Authorized Biography, Warner Books, 2003. ISBN 0-446-53073-5
- ^ It has been speculated that Frehley was inspired by the Nazi SS logo when designing Kiss's logo. Frehley has consistently denied this.
- ^ a b c d Gill, Julian. The KISS Album Focus, Volume 1 (3rd Edition). Xlibris Corporation, 2005. ISBN 1-4134-8547-2
- ^ KISS Related Recordings and Discographies - Ace Frehley. KISS Related Recordings. Retrieved June 27, 2006.
- ^ a b c "KISS Chronology". KISSFAQ.com. Retrieved June 27, 2006.
- ^ Associated Press. (Dec. 30, 1996). "Kiss is top concert draw of 1996". USA Today. Retrieved April 16, 2006.
- ^ Although Frehley is shown on the original cover art, he did not participate in the recording of the album.
External link
| Preceded by Original |
Lead Guitarist of Kiss 1973–1982 |
Succeeded by Vinnie Vincent |
| Preceded by Bruce Kulick |
Lead Guitarist of Kiss 1996–2002 |
Succeeded by Tommy Thayer |
