Days before KISS’ final farewell show, Ace Frehley opened up about his views on the band and its followers. In a chat with SiriusXM’s ‘Trunk Nation,’ the guitarist talked about fans’ awareness of his departure from KISS in 2002:
“A lot of KISS fans aren’t the brightest people of the world [while] Ace fans are sharp. As little as a few years ago, I used to get phone calls from people, and they would ask for KISS tickets. And I said, ‘You know I’m not playing in the band anymore?’ And a lot of people don’t even know it.”
He commented on how his former bandmates handled his absence:
“When I quit the band the second time, they kind of buried it and really didn’t make a big press release about it… Tommy [Thayer] was wearing my makeup, and they kind of just wanted people to think that maybe it was still Ace Frehley.”
KISS Farewell Without Frehley
After his exit from KISS, Frehley pursued a solo career. Meanwhile, the band continued with Tommy Thayer as his replacement and completed a four-year farewell tour on December 2 at Madison Square Garden.
The 72-year-old guitarist’s recent interview took place before the final show, but having seen one of their farewell performances online, he shared his views on the tour by saying:
“I think the fans go for the show– but now, with the canned vocals… I mean, I couldn’t believe it. Paul Stanley was… doing ‘Love Gun.’ He wrote that song [but] he’s not even singing on the choruses. He was like dancing around on this platform. And that’s absolutely bewildering to me… that’s like me performing ‘Shock Me’ and not singing it!”
The Future Of The Band
Frehley also expressed relief that the farewell tour was ending, but KISS has new plans for the future. At the end of the last concert, the band left the stage in a flurry of fire, leaving the scene to the avatars of the Demon, Starchild, Catman, and Spaceman.
While the video screens showed a message that read, ‘A New Era Begins,’ Pophouse Entertainment revealed that they will be responsible for KISS’ virtual shows in the upcoming period.
