ACE FREHLEY On Opening For KISS On Their End Of The Road Tour - "If I Can’t Regain My Throne, I’m Not Going To Do It... I Invented It"
October 17, 2018, 5 years ago
Founding KISS guitarist and Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame member, Ace Frehley, spent an hour with the Monsters of Rock morning show earlier today.
Ace spoke with host Izzy Presley about everything from his stellar new solo album, reconnecting with Gene Simmons, covering Eddie Money and the Rolling Stones, firing his entire band and living a sober life.
Ace also finally ended speculation on the proposed rumours of him being the opening act on KISS' End Of The Road Tour. Ace told Izzy, “I will not open that tour and you can tell them I said that! If I can’t regain my throne, I’m not going to do it. I invented it!”Listen to Monsters Of Rock Radio live on DASH!, here.
Ace recently released a music video for "Rockin' With The Boys". Filmed live in Detroit Rock City, this is the first music video we've seen from The Spaceman since he released the video for "Fire And Water".
That video featured KISS frontman Paul Stanley and was off of Origins, Vol. 1, released in 2016. The video was done by veteran director Justin Reich.
This is the second song Frehley has released this year, from his forthcoming all-new Spaceman album, due October 19th, via Entertainment One (eOne). Frehley previously released the track "Bronx Boy" in April.
“No need to worry, I’ll be home soon, ’cause I’m rockin’ with the boys,” Frehley sings on “Rockin’ With the Boys”, which tells the tale of life on the road. Ace says he wrote the original version of the song back in KISS’s heyday in the ’70s. Both "Rockin With The Boys" and "Bronx Boy" are available on all streaming platforms today, and are iTunes instant grat tracks for fans who pre-order the album.
An Ace Frehley "Spaceman" pop up store powered by Looney Tunes is planned for Friday, October 19th at the Sam Ash Music store, located at 333 W 34th St. in New York City. Ace will be appearing from 5 - 7 PM, EDT signing copies of his new album.
Spaceman LPs and CDs will be available to purchase as well as the limited edition Orange Vinyl only currently available at indie store locations in the US.
Ace will also appear on AOL Build Series on Tuesday, October 16th, at 4:00 PM in New York Cty answering questions about his new LP. Click here to RSVP.
Spaceman, Frehley’s eighth solo LP, features nine new original tracks, plus a cover of Eddie Money’s “I Wanna Go Back,” a ripping power pop makeover of the original.
In addition to Ace's distinctive guitar sound on each track, Ace played bass on all of the songs on Spaceman except for two. The listener might recognize the mighty dinosaur growl of a bass tone belonging to Gene Simmons on the album opener, “Without You I’m Nothing,” which Gene also co-wrote, and "Your Wish Is My Command." Both songs were recorded at Frehley’s home studio in Rancho Santa Fe, California.
Ace’s reconnection with Simmons and fellow KISS vocalist-guitarist Paul Stanley (who joined Ace on a cover of Free’s “Fire and Water” for 2016’s covers LP Origins, Vol. 1) might be chalked up to the fact that Frehley has been sober for more than a decade (he celebrates 12 years of sobriety in September). Ace’s clean living no doubt has a lot to do with his productive streak, which began with the release of his top 20 Anomaly album in 2009.
Spaceman (a title suggested by Simmons, himself) serves as the first collection of all new Frehley-penned material since 2014’s Space Invader, which debuted at #9 on the Top 200 Chart. The LP scored the highest charting position of any former or current KISS band member ever and marked Frehley's first return to the Top 10 since KISS's 1998 Psycho Circus reunion album.
Widely known as the original “Space Ace" and founding guitarist for 16 cumulative years (over 2 tenures) of the multi-platinum selling rock band KISS, Frehley is demonstrably the most popular original member. In addition to having the best-selling solo album career (vintage or current) among the original foursome, Frehley’s self-titled Ace Frehley, released in 1978, went on to sell over one million copies, producing the only Top 40 single, “New York Groove”, from any of the legendary KISS solo albums (peaking at #13).
Tracklisting:
"Without You I'm Nothing"
"Rockin' With The Boys"
"Your Wish Is My Command"
"Bronx Boy"
"Pursuit Of Rock And Roll"
"I Wanna Go Back"
"Mission To Mars"
"Off My Back"
"Quantum Flux"
"Bronx Boy":
Tour dates:
October
31 - Nov. 5 - Miami to Key West and Nassau, KISS Kruise VIII
November
9 - Clearwater, FL - Capitol Theatre
10 - Melbourne, FL - King Center for the Performing Arts
11 - Miramar, FL - Miramar Amphitheatre
(Photo - Jay Gilbert)