Ace Frehley hasn’t been a member of Kiss for more than 15 years, but he still has major opinions of the band he first joined in 1973. Ultimate Classic Rock posted Ace Frehley’s response to founding member Paul Stanley’s comment last fall that the band could go on after all four of the original members are retired. In a new interview with Boston’s WZLX 100.7 FM, Frehley said the idea of Kiss without any original members is ridiculous.
“That’s the most ridiculous statement I’ve ever heard them make. I think the only reason they make those statements at this juncture is to try to validate the fact that they have two other guys in the band that aren’t the original members.”
Both Ace Frehley and original drummer Peter Criss are no longer with Kiss, and Frehley thinks Stanley and longtime bandmate Gene Simmons are trying to make sense of their revamped rock band, which now includes Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer.
“They’re trying to rationalize to the fans, ‘Well, you know, we replaced Peter and we replaced Ace and eventually we’re gonna replace ourselves. That’s like Mick Jagger saying, ‘Yeah, after me and Keith die, the Stones will continue on with two other guys.’ It’s a joke.”
Ace Frehley’s comments come after Stanley told Australian radio station 4KQ last year that he thinks both he and Simmons are replaceable.
“Well, I can see Kiss without Gene. As much as I’m a big fan of what I do and think I do it really well, I didn’t invent the wheel. Somebody is out there who can come in and take my place, and at some point, I don’t see a reason for the band to fold anymore than I can see a reason for a team to fold.”
And it’s not the first time the glam rocker has talked about the future of his famous rock group. In a previous interview with The Joe Rogan Experience , as quoted by TeamRock , Stanely said the iconic Kiss characters would outlive all of them.
“Arguably, you can go anywhere in the world and people know who Kiss is, regardless of whether they know who those people are. So to give up that because we found that those guys were no longer either capable or wanted to give it 100%, well, then who loses out? The fans. So, no. Those images are the images that will continue when I’m not here either.”
As for the signature Kiss makeup, Thayer has taken on Ace Frehley’s “Space Ace” Spaceman and Singer has taken on Criss’s former Catman persona. But according to Frehley, he gets a royalty for the trademarked makeup.
“All the makeups for each character are trademarked; they were trademarked many years ago. And my attorney told me that I license my makeup to Kiss and they pay me a royalty for that. I license it to Paul and Gene, so they can do whatever they want with it, as long as they pay me.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHkojuUSDO8
While they may not be in agreement over the future of their longtime band, Ace Frehley and Paul Stanley recently teamed up for Frehley’s upcoming covers album, titled Origins Vol. 1 , marking the first time the duo have recorded together in nearly 20 years. The album drops April 15.
Take a look at the video below to see Ace Frehley talking about interacting with his former bandmates at Kiss’s Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame induction.
[Photo by Peter Cade/Central Press/Getty Images]