Ace Frehley Reacted To KISS Farewell Snub (2024 In Review)

12-02-2024

Original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley shared his regret in a Rock Candy Mag cover story that the band did not invite him to join them on stage at what was billed as their final concert late last year, which earned him a top 24 story of January 2024 in our look back in the Year In Rock:

The magazine sent over the following details and excerpt: Speaking exclusively to Rock Candy Mag as part of an in-depth 14-page cover story, founder member and much-loved guitarist Ace Frehley explained to writer Andrew Daly why he never made it on stage one last time with Kiss for their final show at Madison Square Garden last December after last leaving the band back in 2002.

"Fans would constantly reach out to me and say, 'Ace, please come back to the band,' Frehley explained. "So the fans were and are my primary motivators, and I want them to know that I did try, but I couldn't make it happen. They never asked me." Frehley dismisses the idea that his well-documented troubles with drugs and alcohol could ever have been a reason for former bandmates and Kiss leaders Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley not reaching out to him.

"I'm sober, and all my friends and associates will tell you as much," he states categorically. "I got to the point in life where drugs and alcohol had taken me over, and I'm just so happy to be away from all that."

Despite the much-reported rifts with Simmons and Stanley over many years, nevertheless Frehley insists that he still has affection for both of them.

"I want people to know that I do love Paul and Gene," he says. "I wish things would have been different, but it wasn't to be..." Nor does Frehley hold any animosity towards his replacement Tommy Thayer.

"He's a good guy and deserves a break. He's not me, but he was never going to be me. In a lot of ways, his task was impossible."

With a new solo album, '10,000 Volts', just released, Frehley is excited about his future away from the band that made him a star.

"My new music will be a smash hit," he insists. "The cheques might not be flying in, but I'm satisfied with what I'm doing musically. I can wake up each day and know that my soul is mine... I got my soul and my music back."