Ace Frehley interview: street gangs, stabbings, and Paul Stanley’s IQ

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Henry Yates | Metal Hammer

hqtvh8n4c0uct8d0-fill640x320xWith his intergalactic face-paint and rocket-launching Les Paul, Ace Frehley’s ‘Spaceman’ stage persona of the 70s suggested a man who had fallen to earth. The truth was more prosaic. Paul Daniel Frehley was born in April 1951 in the notorious Bronx district of New York, but escaped a life of crime and menial labour when, in 1972, he spotted a small-ad in the Village Voice – ‘Lead guitarist wanted with flash and ability’– and joined Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley and Peter Criss in Kiss. By 1982 he’d left the Kiss line-up in a narcotic haze. Today he’s sober, promoting a new Gibson Les Paul signature model, and has, as the title of his recent autobiography says, no regrets.

This interview originally appeared in Classic Rock 170.

Do you think you’re ageing well?

Yeah. I think the fact I don’t drink any more helps a lot. After a while, in your 50s and 60s, drinking really ages you. I miss the insanity of it, and some of the crazy situations, but I still have fun today, it’s just controlled mayhem. The more I abused alcohol and drugs, the more blackouts I had. So those areas of my book were hardest to write. Probably the biggest black spot was after I left Kiss, so my friends, family and the people who were around at the time had to jog my memory.

What regrets do you have?

None, really. I probably wasn’t a good role model, because my career got in the way of my family life and it’s hard to do both well. That’s not a regret, though, because if I hadn’t chosen my career I wouldn’t be where I am today. You can’t change the past.

Wasn’t it a bit harsh to reveal in your book that Gene had pubic lice?

Well, we all had them, but it originated with Gene. Actually, most people who know Gene have said I went pretty easy on him. I sent him a copy for Christmas but I haven’t gotten any feedback yet. Gene’s heart is in the right place a lot of times, and on a personal level we get along fine, but he makes business decisions I don’t agree with and that’s when we run into problems. We had lunch a few months back and just reminisced about old times. But Gene likes to hear himself talk, y’know? He talks about three people: me, myself and I. You have an IQ of 163. How come you’ve done so many stupid things? That’s where addiction comes in. Kiss once took an IQ test, and I was on top. I guess my brain was working good that morning – thank God for good genes. I think Paul got the lowest score. No, that didn’t surprise me. A frontman doesn’t have to be a genius, he just has to have the right moves. But with an IQ test, there are people who are brilliant that would probably do real shitty on them. I mean, Gene has the best business brain, absolutely. I don’t consider myself a very good businessman. When I start doing numbers I get a headache. I’m ruled by the creative side of my brain, not the analytical side.

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Gene Simmons Calls Rush ‘One of My Favorite Bands of All Time’

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Annie Reuter | Radio.com

Gene Simmons is not one to shy away from sharing his opinion and recently the Kiss rocker talked about the band Rush.

In a nearly two-minute clip taken from the new documentary Rush: Time Stand Still, Simmons spoke highly of the Canadian trio.

“You know I love Rush,” Simmons says. “Always have. When we first heard Rush we were struck. It was like Canadian Led Zeppelin. Rush was a hard rockin’ band. It felt English. We thought they were English.”

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KISS Expo Tokyo 2016: How the Band’s First Official Exhibition Came About Read More: Kiss Expo Tokyo 2016: How the Band’s First Official Exhibition Came About

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Annie Zaleski | Ultimate Classic Rock

screen-shot-2016-11-03-at-11-50-11-amFrom Oct. 13-31, the first-ever band-sanctioned Kiss Expo took over the top floor of Laforet, a boutique-filled shopping mall in the Harajuku neighborhood of Tokyo.

The Expo was arranged like a museum exhibit, with memorabilia, artifacts and interactive elements, as well as a gift shop stuffed with exclusive merch — from a toilet paper holder featuring Gene Simmons‘ visage (the unfurling roll mimics his tongue) to T-shirts and prints reflecting a Kiss collaboration with the beloved cartoon character Astro Boy.

During the expo’s opening weekend, Ultimate Classic Rock received a guided tour of the exhibit from Hanako Tabata, an executive producer in the strategic marketing division of Sony Music Entertainment Japan. After walking by a gigantic Kiss logo — and mannequins dressed in familiar Kiss outfits — visitors were greeted with a trio of gems from band lore: Kiss’ 1976 formation contract, the legal documents which served as trademark registration for the band member’s distinctive faces and Simmons’ concert-used fire sword.

Lucky for fans, however, the members of Kiss were meticulous about keeping everything that might be of interest in the future. The Expo’s offerings included early show posters hand-drawn by Simmons and Paul Stanley; Kiss fan-club flyers; scrapbooks and photos; call sheets for TV appearances; and an impressive, colorful array of backstage passes from across the years. One glass case even contained a bunch of cassette demos and recordings — including one featuring Simmons’ collaboration with Bob Dylan.

Elsewhere, the Expo highlighted the costumes, clothing and tour ephemera that made Kiss so one-of-a-kind — from a Peter Criss satin jacket (compete with vintage dirt and a rip) and Simmons’ Spector “Love Gun” bass to an entire wall highlighting Kiss’ history of broken guitars, from 1976 through 2015. And, of course, there were no shortage of awards: a gold 8-track, Simmons’ gold discs and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction trophy and a wheel of platinum discs signifying 30 million albums sold.

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Podcast Rock City KISS Kruise Special

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Podcast Rock City

**CANT MAKE THIS YEARS KISS KRUISE?**

Good news!! PODCAST ROCK CITY KISS KRUISE SPECIAL on KGFROCKS.com

Starting on November 3rd at 8:30 pm est! 4 days of KISS KRUISE UPDATES and tons of ROCK AND ROLL from the HOTTEST BAND IN THE WORLD–KISS!! Bookmark the website and check out PODCAST ROCK CITY AND KGFROCKS FACEBOOK PAGE FOR TONS OF UPDATES!! Everything GETS STARTED Thursday night live from The Gathering in Miami! Getting excited in 3-2-1 PEACE!!

http://player.streamlicensing.com/2532?l&stream_id=4302

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