A solo Frehley ready for a goodbye KISS
A solo Frehley ready for a goodbye KISS

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By Gene Triplett

Published: May 9, 2008

Ace Frehley doesn't do the Kabuki spaceman KISS-shtick anymore. He's put away the greasepaint and studded leather costumes and decided to act his age.

So, let's get the obligatory KISS reunion question out of the way up front.

"Uh, I don't see it happening,” the guitar hero said last week from a tour stop in Cincinnati. "I never say never, but I just turned 57. I don't see myself getting up onstage with tights on and putting on the makeup and jumpin' around like, you know, a kid again. Because I don't physically think I can do it.”

The last time Frehley re-teamed with all three of his original comic-book-character cohorts (Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Peter Criss) was for the KISS Farewell Tour in 2000, one of the largest concert draws of that year. But old tensions within the band caused drummer Criss to take his leave in early 2001, and caused Frehley to walk out a year later, that time for good.

"On the last reunion tour, I saw a couple of videos,” Frehley said. "I think we looked a little tired, you know? I think it's maybe better to put that segment of KISS to sleep.”

So, while Simmons and Stanley are soldiering on for the diehard KISS Army (with a couple of guys wearing Criss and Frehley's old makeup designs, much to the dismay of many fans), the Ace is concentrating on rekindling his career, preparing to release his first solo album in nearly 20 years this summer as he takes his "Rocket Ride” tour to cities across the U.S., Canada and Europe.

Frehley lands at the Diamond Ballroom on Saturday night. Then he'll circle back to the Sooner State in July for the massive Rocklahoma festival near Pryor.

"The first show I did in over five years was last year, Halloween, New York City,” Frehley said, his raspy voice still heavy with Bronx accent. "Played the Hard Rock Cafe. And I had so much fun doin' that, I booked four more shows on the East Coast at the end of December and then, you know, we put together this real tour.”

Frehley had already begun work on a new studio album with bassist Anthony Esposito in spring 2007, his first since 1989's "Trouble Walkin'.” He's hard put to explain his long silence, except to say, "Every time I was ready to do it, something came up.”

Not that he's been completely idle. Recognized as a talented graphic artist and creator of the famed KISS logo, he recently designed the official T-shirts for the annual Myrtle Beach Bike Week, has worked in computer animation and is contemplating the creation of an animated feature and a musical score to go with it. Frehley has also appeared in a national ad for Dunkin' Donuts, and he played his cards right on VH1's "Rock and Roll Celebrity Poker Tournament.”

"I'm a good poker player,” he said. "I never played Texas Hold 'em before. It's OK. I mean, I'm not crazy about it. I'd rather play seven-card stud. Or just, you know, five-card draw. I don't think it takes as much skill to play Texas Hold 'em as it does seven-card stud, because there's more variables.

Frehley managed to knock four players out of the tourney before he got knocked out, and he says that was only because the officials moved him to a different position at the table.

"You're never supposed to change your seat when you're playin' poker,” he advised. "It's bad luck. It really threw off my equilibrium, man. I just said, I can't do this, you know? I just made a crazy bet, and I lost.”

Now, he's betting that the batch of songs on the as-yet-untitled new album will rake in some winnings.

"There's some current songs, some songs I wrote this past year, some songs I wrote as far back as 10, 12 years ago,” Frehley said. "It's great because I had a lot of different material to choose from. Probably had 20 songs. So I'm gonna pick the best dozen.”

But don't expect to hear the new material in the live show.

"No, no, no, no, not with YouTube, you know? Every time I do a show, it winds up on YouTube. Since this album has been such a long-awaited record, I didn't wanna give it away.”

Frehley said he has plenty of material to choose from in his past catalog, including the songs he penned for KISS and all the material from his four solo albums. "It's hard to figure out what songs not to play, almost,” he said.

Meanwhile, he says he no longer harbors any hard feelings toward Simmons or Stanley, despite some harsh words exchanged in the past. He still speaks on the telephone to all three on occasion, and he wishes every one of them well.

"(KISS) was a big part of my life and, uh, most of the times were good so, you know. I'm just kind of ‘that was then and this is now,' you know? ... The most important thing is, if you're just happy with what you're doin' with your life, that can make things so much better. I'm havin' more fun than I've had in years. I'm doin' it my way.”