The following story is courtesy of Steve Baltin from Spinner.com:

Once upon a time, ACE FREHLEY stood atop the hard-rock guitar-player mountain, delivering thunderous riffs on Kiss staples such as 'Calling Dr. Love,' 'Strutter' and 'Detroit Rock City,' songs that helped lead the makeup-wearing quartet to '70s rock-god status. But while Gene Simmons created a business empire that rivaled Disney in merchandising, Frehley went the way of so many '70s rock stars, namely into drugs and drink. It was a point that reached home a few years ago when Simmons started saying publicly he wouldn't work with Frehley again because of the substance abuse.

Today, though, having completed a successful tour, currently working on a new album and being feted by a new generation of guitar slingers, Frehley is getting some sweet vindication. The "Space Ace" talked to Spinner about the wild ways of his past, his own guitar heroes and a recently resurfaced memory of being a roadie for JIMI HENDRIX.

Spinner: Why are people still picking up on the music 30 years after you started?

Frehley: "I don't completely understand it, but I know in a lot of those guitar solos and other stuff I did I put my heart and soul into it. So maybe that somehow comes through the speakers."

Spinner: How old were you when you started playing guitar?

Frehley: "I was 13, and actually my brother and sister both played folk guitar, they were, like, folkies back in the hippie days and they were doing Peter, Paul and Mary songs and folk songs, they both played the piano and I was going, 'Get me out of here!' And a friend of mine bought, like, a $25 Japanese electric guitar with a little amp with, like, a six-inch speaker. And I had been fooling around with my brother's acoustic, but acoustic didn't really do it for me. When I plugged in this electric guitar, put the amp on 10 and then just hit a note, it was like love at first sight. I was hooked, and from age 13 on it's been a love affair with me and the electric guitar ever since."

Spinner: Who were the guitarists that turned you on?

Frehley: "Keith Richards and THE STONES were big. Then, of course, you get the whole English invasion with THE BEATLES and a little later on Jimi Hendrix, ERIC CLAPTON, CREAM, THE WHO, huge influence. I never considered Pete Townshend a brilliant lead guitarist per se, but when it comes to chords I learned how to play rhythm guitar from Townshend. I listened to his chord work because it's just brilliant."

Spinner: What are some of your favorite guitar moments in your own work?

Frehley: "That solo in 'Strange Ways,' 'Fractured Mirror,' I was just listening to that the other day. We were trying to work it up for the show, we were gonna do that and 'Ozone,' but I think we're gonna hold off on that until the next tour cause I don't wanna do it unless it's perfect. I'm not that good at critiquing my own work, I'd rather let other people do it. What do you think?"

To read the entire interview head to this location.