Former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley has parted ways with the solo band that has backed him on his most recent tours: Richie Scarlet on guitar, Chris Wyse on bass and Scot Coogan.
He tells The Cassius Morris Show (via blabbermouth.net), “I’m changing the lineup in my band. I’m actually gonna start working with the band that backed up [KISS bassist/vocalist] Gene [Simmons on his recent solo tours]. I worked with them in Australia, and they also did eight shows with me in Japan. And I realized that… I think they were better than my current lineup, so I’ve decided to make a change. They’re younger and more hungry.”
Backing Frehley and Simmons on the Australian tour were Philip Shouse on guitar/vocals, Ryan Cook on guitar/vocals, Jeremy Asbrock on guitar/vocals, and Christopher Williams on drums. After the Aussie dates, Shouse, Cook, Asbrock and Williams accompanied Frehley on the Japan trek. Shouse switched from guitar to bass for Frehley’s show.
Frehley — whose new solo album, Spaceman, will be released on October 19th through eOne— first left KISS in 1982. He rejoined in 1996 and parted ways with the band once again in 2002 after the conclusion of their first “farewell tour.”
Listen to the entire interview below.
8 Responses
Hmm… My brother Ace sounds like he just woke up out of the “Ozone!” Really surprised about switching his band with Gene’s, I thought Ace’s band was really good. Oh well, Ace is the pilot on his spaceship. 😉
Wow just saw Ace a month ago and the band was pretty damn awesome, weird.
Maybe K.K. is available, too? 😉
I love Ace to death…but…Richie Scarlet has busted his ass on stage for Ace for many years. He is a hell of a showman, singer, writer, etc on his own and with Ace. Let’s face it, Ace is the least exciting guy in the band, and that’s ok, but firing Richie is a low blow. I know he hasn’t been on every Ace tour, but it’s always a treat when he is. Plus, Richie’s wife is severely ill, and I don’t give a crap about this being “just business” if you will, it’s downright shameful. You take care of your friends. Supposedly GOOD friends. This is my take: Ace toured a bit with Alice Cooper and saw he still has a younger band and thought hmmm…and/or Gene got in his ear that this new lineup, well, you can pay them less. The guys in Ace’s old band are seasoned veterans of music of varying degrees. That’s worth more. Lastly, Richie has always, without trying, upstaged Ace. He can’t help it, he’s The Emperor of Rock And Roll! It’s what he does naturally. Maybe Ace couldn’t deal with that. Whatever the case, it was, is and always will be one of the lousiest moves I have ever seen any musician do. His band was solid, what the hell is the problem? These new guys are “young and hungry”, huh? Hey Ace, maybe you should apologize to especially Richie, AND his wife. The timing of all this concerning YOUR FRIEND is terrible and shouldn’t have happened. What a dick move.
Mr. Rock And Roll, you hit the nail on the head; it’s Ace’s band, not Richie’s and it looked to Gene that Richie was trying to upstage Ace. Ace got a taste of working with a real support group and if it makes him happier that can only make the shows better. I think Richie is a great musician, a killer guitarist, but Ace was the guitar sound for Kiss and that’s just in some other universe. I hope Richie and his wife have adequate insurance and she gets better.
In other words, this younger band is cheaper than the current band. Ace is listening to the master finally.
Gene’s band is incredibly tight and did some great work on The Demon’s latest tour. Business wise this is a smart move by Ace.