Sphere of influence

Frehley’s fretwork inspired a generation

By Eric Lochridge, Journal staff | Saturday, March 22, 2008

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Ace Frehley cites a familiar list of guitarists as his influences — Pete Townshend, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Keith Richards.

In turn, the former Kiss guitarist has inspired a new generation of players — Pearl Jam, the Foo Fighters, Lenny Kravitz and Pantera among them.

But Frehley downplays the notion that he has become an elder statesman of rock.

“It’s really flattering. I probably would have practiced a little more if I knew I was influencing a generation of guitar players,” he said.

With a persistent buzz around his current tour and a new album set for a May release, it seems that Frehley’s influence is waxing once again.

 “I’ve tried to get into the mindset of where I was with the first solo album, which had ‘New York Groove,’” he said.

That song, a fan favorite, was the only hit from the solo albums each member of Kiss released in 1978.

“I’m trying to incorporate the elements of that album into this new one,” he said.

The still-untitled new album will be his first new solo music since 1990’s “Trouble Walkin’.”

Inactivity is not to blame for the lag time between new albums. Frehley embarked on a solo career after leaving Kiss in 1982. After four well-received solo albums, he rejoined Kiss in 1996 for a reunion tour, which became the highest-grossing tour of the year. He left the band again in 2002. Being back on the road for six years postponed his solo career.

“I was on tour with Kiss for a while. I was ready to go into the studio before the reunion tour,” he said. “It took me a while to recover from that.”

Since 2002, Frehley has taken his talents in different creative directions, but he never gets far from the iconic Spaceman persona he made famous with Kiss. In fact, he donned the Kiss makeup again for a Dunkin’ Donuts commercial in 2007.

And Kiss music is a notable part of the current tour.

“I’m doing ‘Cold Gin,’ ‘Rocket Ride,’ ‘Love Gun,’ ‘Strange Ways,’ ‘Deuce.’ I’m doing a good cross-section of early stuff, through the years to my early stuff also,” he said.

Despite some turbulent times, he looks back on his tenure with Kiss and recognizes its unique place in rock history.

“The old days were great,” he said, noting that he is still in touch with and on good terms with his former bandmates. “It was a roller coaster ride. By the early ’80s, I started getting tired of the whole thing.”

One element of the Kiss legacy can be frustrating, though. The makeup, costumes and theatricality of the band’s concerts often overshadowed the music.

“We were a very visual band, and sometimes the music almost got lost in the show. I remember reading reviews on the road. A lot of times, they talked about the show more than the music,” Frehley said.

And even though he still uses some of the same pyrotechnics and smoking-guitar effects that he did with Kiss, the music is the main priority.

“I’m a musician first and a performer second. The first and foremost thing for me right now is the music,” he said. “I’m just focused with my new band on this tour and the CD.” As the tour makes its way through Rapid City and beyond to festivals in Europe this summer, Frehley is optimistic about the immediate future and some changes in lifestyle.

“Everything is just falling into place,” he said.  “I’m feeling good — clean and sober. I’m healthy. I can remember what I did the next day.”

He said an interviewer recently commented that he must have played everywhere in the world by now.

“I said, ‘Yeah, but I don’t remember a lot of those places.’”

The Spaceman’s inspirations

Ace Frehley’s musical aspirations began after the budding graphic artist saw The Who’s first New York appearance for a “Murray the K” show at the RKO 58th Street Theater. Seeing Led Zeppelin’s first New York appearance at the Fillmore East also proved to be a milestone of his teenage years. But his initial live introduction to The Who still burned in his memory. Knocked out by the band’s power and theatricality and dazzled by Pete Townshend’s showmanship, Frehley knew his future was in rock music.

“I always knew music was the way for me to go,” he said.

The last member to join Kiss, Frehley assumed the Kabuki visage of the Spaceman. An accomplished artist, he also designed the famous Kiss logo, one of the most  recognizable in all of music.

Armed with his Cherry sunburst Les Paul, Frehley’s incendiary fretboard theatrics with Kiss became legendary. Frehley’s Kiss compositions — “Cold Gin”, “Shock Me,” “Rocket Ride” and “Parasite” — are routinely cited by fans and critics as among the band’s best.

Since embarking on a solo career in the mid-’80s, Frehley released a string of well-received albums.

If you go

Who: Ace Frehley in concert, with opening act The Trews

Where: Rushmore Plaza Civic Center theater

When: 8 p.m. Saturday, March 29

Tickets: $25.50 to $35.50 at the civic center box office, 1-800-GOTMINE and www.gotmine.com.

Contact Eric Lochridge at 394-8321 or e-mail eric.lochridge@rapidcityjournal.com.