Original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley has once again said that he is up for a reunion of the original band, but only if the price is right. During an appearance earlier today (Thursday, September 16) on SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk”, Frehley stated about the chances of him playing with his former bandmates: “Anything’s possible — I’ve always said that. That’s the first question so many people have asked me over the years: ‘Would you ever consider doing a KISS reunion?’ I said, ‘I never closed the door on anything.’ If the money’s right and it’s presented to me in the right way, anything can happen.
“I’m on good terms with Paul [Stanley, guitar/vocals] and Gene [Simmons, bass/vocals], which is nice, because we created something really special in the early ’70s that has outlasted so many other bands. And God bless ’em. They’re still doing it; I’m still doing it. Peter [Criss, drums] is still around. I’m not quite sure why Peter hadn’t toured over the years as much as I have, but it is what it is.”
In the three years since KISS announced its “End Of The Road” farewell tour, fans wondered openly if original members Frehley and Criss would be involved in the trek, especially considering the apparent recent goodwill between Stanley and Simmons and Frehley. Ace‘s latest collection of original material, “Spaceman” — a title suggested by Simmons himself — featured two songs the pair wrote together, and the duo completed a joint summer 2018 tour of Australia, after which Frehley fired his solo backing band and hired Simmons‘s.
Three years ago, Frehley told VintageRock.com that “the only way” he would “seriously consider” taking part in “End Of The Road” is “if I took back my make-up and costume and my character — which I designed.” He added that current KISS guitarist Tommy Thayer “is not a bad guitar player, but he basically just mimics everything I wrote, and tries to imitate my persona. He’s been doing it for 15 years,” he said. “But the reality is I’m the original guy. And nobody can really copy the way I play guitar.”
Asked if he would still consider participating in the tour if Criss was not involved, Ace said: “I think it would be great if Peter was involved. Obviously, at this point in his life, he wouldn’t be able to do a two-hour show. But I can see if we worked out a situation where Peter came out at the end and did three or four songs — sang ‘Beth’, did ‘Black Diamond’ and a couple of others, I think that would be fun.”
KISS‘s current lineup consists of original members Simmons and Stanley, alongside later band additions, Thayer (since 2002) and drummer Eric Singer (on and off since 1991).
Formed in 1973 by Stanley, Simmons, Criss and Frehley, KISS staged its first “farewell” tour in 2000, the last to feature the group’s original lineup.
(Thanks: Bob Suehs of Rock N Roll Experience)
