Mike Brunn’s latest interview with Ace Frehley reveals new details about the guitarist’s departure from KISS.
In this interview, Ace mentioned that his reason for leaving the band this time was related to no longer finding the band ‘fun,’ adding:
“People say to me why you quit KISS, and I go, well I wasn’t having fun anymore. I am having fun now. When I am not having fun anymore, I will either get a new band or I will retire.”
Ace also touched on the series of events that led to his departure from the band. He mentioned that after Peter Criss left the band, the sense of democracy was lost, and he felt he had lost his power within the group, adding:
“When Peter was in the band, it was a democratic group. And I didn’t even realize it, but when Peter left, I realized I had lost all my power in the band because pretty much Paul and Gene are workaholics and like to do things their way. So, if I don’t like the way something is happening, I get outvoted.”
‘The Elder’ Was A Mistake
In the remainder of the interview, Ace spoke about the mistakes made by Gene and Paul, stating that The Elder album was not a bad album but it was not the right album to release at that time. He explained the situation as follows:
“I was dead set against ‘The Elder’ [KISS’s controversial 1981 LP ‘Music From ‘The Elder’]; I didn’t think it was the right album for the right time. It’s not a bad record; I don’t think our fans were expecting a record like that. And I kept telling him during the recording process, I said, ‘I think it’s a big mistake.’ And, of course, it bombed.”
As for how he knew ‘The Elder’ was a mistake, he said:
“Because I’m the kind of guy that has this feeling of — I’m a street kid, and I have a sense of what kids wanna hear. And that’s why I think this new album is gonna be successful.”
You can watch the full interview below.
