“I consider myself friends with Paul and Gene – we’re like brothers, brothers have arguments”: Ace Frehley offers an olive branch to his old Kiss bandmates, takes a swipe at backing tapes and avatars

Former Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley with an inset of Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley — (Image credit: Press/Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Live Nation)

Former Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley says that he still considers himself friends with ex-bandmates Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, despite the recent war of words between the two camps.

In a brand new interview in the current issue of Classic Rock ahead of his new solo album, 10,000 Volts, Frehley addresses the recent spat with Stanley, in which the latter told Howard Stern that the band would have to rename themselves ‘Piss’ if the guitarist and original Kiss drummer Peter Criss joined them onstage for their farewell gig at Madison Square Garden in December 2023.

“I was very pissed off at what he said about calling the group Piss,” Frehley tells Classic Rock. “Come on, I’ve been making albums and touring for years, I could get up and play two or three Kiss songs flawlessly.

“But for some reason, he insulted me, and I called him out on it. I said, ‘I demand an apology.’ He called me up and said, ‘Fuck you, Ace, I’m not giving you an apology’ and hung up. He wouldn’t even give me the chance to give him a rebuttal or talk to him. Prior to that, me and Paul would talk on the phone three or four times a year.”

Despite the friction, the guitarist doesn’t rule out reconnecting with his ex-bandmates in future.

“I consider myself friends [with Simmons and Stanley],” he says. “We’re just like brothers. Brothers have arguments, brothers have misunderstandings, they curse each other out and then they make up.”

While the interview finds the guitarist in conciliatory mood, he shoots down the idea of a Kiss-style Ace Frehley avatar – and took a swipe at bands who chose to use backing tapes during live shows.

“Never in a million years,” he says with regard to avatars. “That is not what I’m all about. I’m about amps, guitars, singing, If I can’t sing anymore, I’d hire a lead singer, no big deal. But my voice is stronger than it has been in a long time.

“When people come to see me, they deserve a live show. The groups that use backing tapes, I guess they use them because they have to because they can’t cut it anymore. I not gonna name any names, but you know who I’m referring to…”

Ace Frehley’s latest solo album, 10,000 Volts, is out on February 23. Read the full interview in the brand new issue of Classic Rock, out now. Order it online and have it delivered straight to your door.

Classic Rock issue 324 — (Image credit: Future)

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