Gene Simmons recalled an incident where Ace Frehley’s frustration peaked after being compared to Eddie Van Halen during a new chat on Artists On Record Starring Adika Live!
The bassist talked about a time when he was working with the Van Halen brothers on some demos, which included the solo for KISS’s song ‘Christine Sixteen.’ Gene disclosed:
“I did demos with Alex and Eddie Van Halen, actually. You can Google and shmoogle it. And the guitar solo in ‘Christine Sixteen,’ note for the note, I had Ace [Frehley] learn that solo. And he was furious. ‘I want to write my own solo!’ ‘Yeah, but it’s not as good. Eddie’s got a better one.’ And to this day, those notes, that was Eddie’s note-for-note solo.”
In the later part of the interview, Simmons also shared an encounter with Eddie Van Halen from the early days of Van Halen’s career. Before a show, Simmons asked to play Eddie’s guitar, only to find it significantly out of tune. Eddie’s response showed his ability to literally bend the guitar neck into tune, a feat that left Simmons in awe.
The Making Of ‘Christine Sixteen’
Reflecting on the creation of ‘Christine Sixteen’ previously in a video, Simmons detailed an impromptu recording session with the Van Halen brothers that took place in the dead of night, saying:
“In the middle of the night, I wanted to go in and record the three songs that I’d written. I called up Edward – he likes to be called ‘Edward’ – ‘You guys want to help me put this demo together?’ ‘Sure!’ And literally in the middle of the night, the Van Halen brothers came down, and it was a trio, the Van Halen brothers and Simmons. I guess the only time that’s ever happened. We recorded those three songs in about two hours … and the solo Eddie played on ‘CS’ was so wonderful that I, unfortunately for Ace [Frehley], forced him to play note-for-note that solo.”
The KISS bassist played an important role in Van Halen’s early success. After discovering the band in a Los Angeles club in 1977, Simmons brought them to New York to produce their first demo. This support from Simmons came at a crucial time for Van Halen, helping to launch them toward their eventual status as rock legends following the release of their debut album a year later.
You can check out Gene’s entire conversation below.
