‘We Can Still Talk to Each Other Civilly… If We Have to’: Ace Frehley Opens Up on Relations With Kiss
“We used to really be very closely knit.”
For the past few years especially, there have been countless barbs traded between the Kiss camp, namely Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, towards former original members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, and vice versa.
For those who forget, Criss exited the group in 1980, and Frehley followed in 1982, while Simmons and Stanley remained in the band throughout, with replacement members. A highly successful reunion of the original line-up in the late ’90s and early 21st century seemed to work for a few years before Simmons and Stanley continued on with Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer donning the Spaceman and Catman makeup.
During an interview with the Guitar Tales Podcast, Frehley discussed his current relationship with his former bandmates and whether he is still in touch with them.
“We can still talk to each other civilly… If we have to,” admits Frehley (transcribed by Ultimate Guitar). “When Gene got sick in South America and he collapsed on stage, he was dehydrated. I got very concerned, because I’m very close with Gene to this day. I sent him an email, and I said, ‘Gene, are you okay? I just read that you collapsed.'”
“And within 10 minutes, he got back to me from South America, and he goes, ‘Ace, we were playing in the jungle. It was 106 degrees. And very high humidity. I was completely dehydrated.’ And his costume weighs about 30 plus pounds. So he said pretty much he just needed a lot of Gatorade. He had to hydrate himself. And after that, he was okay, thank God.”
Despite all the not-so-nice insults between the camps, nobody can take away what the original line-up created back in the ’70s and also how their accomplishments will continue to live on.
“We created something that will endure way after we’re all dead. I try to let the negative stuff go and focus on the positive memories. We had a lot of fun. We used to really be very closely knit. And we’d have weekly band meetings and get the stuff off our chest that was bothering us.”
“But like I said, once we became rich, we all became millionaires. Everybody started going their own way. Everybody had their own limo. Everybody had their own bodyguard. So, you know, nothing can last forever.”