In a recent conversation with Guitar World, Kathy Valentine reflected on Ace Frehley’s appearance on her 2005 solo album, ‘Light Years.’
“Ace was gentle and kind,” the bassist revealed. “I met him at a birthday party of mine he came to. He offered to play on my solo record, and I thought, ‘Sure, he’ll never show up.'”
Kathy continued, “But he did, and he was amazing. We recorded at Gilby’s studio. He came in and noodled some solo takes on ‘Bad Choice,’ and after a few, Gilby and I looked at each other slack-jawed and said, ‘That’s it.’ He wanted to do more, so I said, ‘No, this is the one. Thank you.'”
In a 2005 interview with Classic Rock Revisited, Valentine again talked about working with Ace. She said, “I really like that Ace is playing on a track that is not anything like a KISS song. It is more like a Blondie song. He really did a great solo that is in a really different context than people are used to.”
Valentine co-produced, wrote, and played guitar and vocals on the album. Besides Frehley, it included other guest musicians like Guns N’ Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke, Lenny Kravitz, Craig Ross, and Clem Burke.
A broken wrist caused Kathy to be replaced on the Go-Go’s 2012 summer tour. In March 2013, the Go-Go’s website announced that ‘irreconcilable differences’ led the bassist to leave the band. In May 2013, she sued her former bandmates for mishandling her share of the band’s benefits and revenues.
In early 2014, Valentine’s lawsuit against her former bandmates was settled out of court. She rejoined the Go-Go’s in 2018 and toured with them that summer.
