As his latest solo album is released, 10,000 volts, as of Friday (February 23), Ace Frehley is also set to fly the Kiss flag now that his former band has retired from the streets.
“I'm the only game in town because Kiss is supposed to have retired — which I don't think is going to happen,” says Frehley. Advertising sign. “But anyway… I added two more Kiss songs to my set. We added “Shout It Out Loud” and “Rock and Roll All Nite” because talking to people, they go…you've got to do those songs live — and I did and it did fantastic. We ended the night with three Kiss songs: 'Shout It Out Loud', 'Deuce' and 'Rock and Roll All Nite', and everyone was singing along and it was great.
“As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't even matter who wrote the song. I played lead guitar on those records and that's good enough for me.”
And, as Frehley indicated, he's not sure how long he'll be the only game in town.
“I wouldn't be surprised if they reformed,” says Frehley, who was part of Kiss from its inception in 1973 to 1982 and then rejoined from 1996 to 2002. “There were times when I'd had enough and had to leave and do it. doing my own thing,” he adds, although bandleaders Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley have indicated that Frehley was fired. They did not include Frehley (or drummer Peter Criss) on any of the dates of their farewell End of the Road World tour.
“I really don't want to trash these guys,” Stanley said last year, “because we wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for them, if they weren't in the band and we wouldn't be here today. if it was still. They are part of the foundation, but at some point, the foundation turned out to be flawed and you have to make repairs…and you did.”
For his part, Frehley feels that “Paul and Gene are driven by different things than I am. I'm driven by the quality of the music and in some cases they're driven by money and that doesn't sit well with me. But they've admitted it, so it's not a big deal.” In fact, Frehley says his relationships with his former teammates aren't as vicious as they're often made out to be.
“We're still friends,” he says. “I know a lot of people think we hate each other, but that's not true. We are just like a family but sometimes brothers and sisters have fights and so on. But when the sh-t hits the fan, we're there for each other. I wish them only the best.” He's not, however, particularly optimistic about the avatar performance concept Kiss announced during its final show on Dec. 2 in New York, which is expected to be released in 2025.
“Deep down in my heart I have a feeling that it might not be as successful as they think it will be,” predicts Frehley. “It's not just me talking. A lot of people I've talked to feel that way, but let them prove us wrong. I want them to be happy and do their job, but as far as I'm concerned, there's nothing like a live band on stage with real amps and singing into a microphone. This is just my opinion.”
Frehley will do a lot of that to back it up 10,000 voltshis first album since the covers Origins Vol. 2 in 2020 and his first original material since then Spaceman in 2018. Save for 'Life of a Stranger', originally sung by French actress Nadia for the 2002 action film The Carrier, Frehley wrote and produced 10,000 volts' 10 more tracks with Steve Brown of Trixter. the two played most of the instruments on the album, along with a handful of drummers and other musicians.
“Steve and I clicked so magically that I really can't put it into words,” notes Frehley, whose fiancée introduced him to Brown. “He lives 40 minutes away from me. He has a studio in his basement. I have a studio in my basement. We bounce back and forth. He is a great engineer, strong writer, singer, guitarist. Each song came together very easily. If I couldn't come up with a great solo, he'd play something that was really similar to how I would play, and sometimes I'd double it or play it. I think I left one or two of his solos on the record because they were so good.”
10,000 volts ends with his only instrumental album, “Stratosphere,” though Frehley says he had more of those tracks the two were working around.
“I had three or four instruments that are probably just as good,” says Frehley, “but the record company was nervous. The record was really back. It was months ago. So I just said to Steve, “What's the instrumental you want to do?” He said, 'Let's do 'Stratosphere' and I'll try to do some interesting guitar under the guitar you wrote,' and boom, we had our song.”
Frehley predicts the other instruments will “probably be used on a future record,” though he has his sights set on a third next. Origin volume, covering songs by artists who influenced him. He's already signed up Brown to work on it and hopes to have it in by 2025. This year, meanwhile, everything will be 10,000 volts and an anticipated world tour to support it.
“You know, here I am at 72 and I'm putting out one of the best records I've ever recorded. The playing is great and the singing is some of the best vocals I've ever done. It really doesn't make sense, but I'm the type to always break the rules, you know?'
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/ace-frehley-kiss-tour-10000-volts-1235613994/
