The bitterness between the current and former members who founded Kiss will not be quelled anytime soon. It’s been a little over a week since the group announced that it would not perform “in any lineup” at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, following Ace Frehley’s comment that he would not perform with current guitarist Tommy Thayer wearing Frehley’s sometime makeup. Now, in a new interview with Guitar World, vocalist-guitarist Paul Stanley has questioned Frehley’s talent.
“What we had at the beginning was magical. . . Ace and I played great together,” Stanley said. “But in my mind it’s a crime what Ace did: He threw away incredible potential and talent. The Ace I played with when the band first started out was a comet – and not [Frehley’s late-Eighties band] ‘Frehley’s Comet!’ But he was burning bright and really had the ability – and this would rub him the wrong way – to be a real contender. But he stopped practicing. He got involved with a whole lot of things that really diluted and diminished his craft. I saw that comet grow dim.”
Stanley added that after KISS fired drummer Peter Criss in 1980, he decided the band needed to reinvent itself, and that’s why they removed their makeup in 1983. It’s a decision he now feels hurt the band. “Rather than saying, ‘We’ve built these iconic figures together and we’re going to continue on with what we built,’ we bought into the idea of, ‘We have to have a new character,'” he said. “That watered it down. Some people may argue with me, but I feel that Batman is Batman whether he’s played by George Clooney, Christian Bale, Val Kilmer and on and on.”
additional source: Rolling Stone
238 Responses
As I remember reading and hearing from Gene himself, they begged Ace NOT to leave the band the first time around. If that was the case, how bad could it have been? Gene and Paul are all about the money and were more than willing to “deal with Ace” as long as the money kept flowing. As it became more and more about the money, it became less and less about what KISS was about. Gene and Paul sucked the life out of the band. Ace and Peter were the casualties. Ace walked away from millions because it wasn’t enjoyable anymore. He left millions on the table because he saw what KISS had become. It seems hypocritical to attack Ace for his diminished skills after the fact when they begged him to stay.
At least without the makeup, they weren’t trying to pretend Ace and Peter were still with them. The farewell tour should have been just that. Instead Gene and Paul found a way to keep milking money from the KISS cash cow. They got the makeup back and Ace and Peter’s faces. It’s not the same.
Jaluciani
Qoute:
“were more than willing to “deal with Ace” as long as the money kept flowing. As it became more and more about the money, it became less and less about what KISS was about. Gene and Paul sucked the life out of the band.
I couldn’t have said it better myself !
What do you know of in this day and age that isn’t about money? Gene and Paul are less likeable. That’s the difference.
Milking money? Well, if people are going to continue to buy the product then why hate on the person selling it? Pretending Tommy and Eric are Ace and Peter…seriously? Has anybody ever been fooled by the fact that it isn’t Ace or Peter. Point them out, because they’ll quite possibly be the dumbest people on earth. The bottom line in all this is either you continue to buy or not. I stopped after the Farewell tour but I Gene and Paul have earned the right to do whatever they want with the band.
Well said. If your not a member already, you need to check ou Unhappy KISS Fans on Facebook.
well this goes out to all the people n their opinion well here’s mine …first off you must just not hear ace but understand that he for one is and really never was a technical player for those who missed that one, ace was more like a jimmy page , his style n sound is pretty basic and maybe with a touch of self taught / nasty n sloppy playing it all comes out brilliant in my world.. its pretty basic sounding , marshal stack /distortion / maybe reverb or something but thats basically it , ace never was no eddie van halen or george lynch but its arguably that he influenced many guys , just look at guys in antrax, skid row guys , dimebag darrell, many others…ace has not stop growing or failed as a player… i saw the guy on his last tour back in 08 i think twice and he was as good as ever..i always thought to that his solo in the song insane was just awesome, reminded me of his sound on dynasty or 78 solo…besides ace is no different then anyone else , critics always seem to bash people that the crap their bashing is no good when in fact paul you your self has wrote plenty tunes that you wish you could erase all together , when people are being creative and release stuff upon the world i see it with taking it with a grain of salt because not everything is going to be a shock me or lick it up or what have you.. in music as a listener and kiss started it for me when i was 6 and now 42 i say in music you take the good with the bad and anyone who dares bash it i say let me see you do any better.. einstein
Oh boy,
Here comes $immons & $tanley with their insults we’ve all heard before . And all because they are trying to downplay their ROF decision. The thing of it is; every Kiss fan knows the drill with you two..
Who are you trying to downplay the situation to ? The people that go see your brand now ; ” Joe the Plumber “who only owns Kiss’ Greatist Hits ?
We all heard this when Ace & Peter exited last time. And any other time they are ever questioned about anything to do w/ Ace and Peter in a interview.
This only insults the fans who supported you from the 70’s to 2001-2002 . You know, the ones that kept you alive !
Everytime they open their mouths I dislike them more. And this is comming from a 39 year fan that saw them live 13 times from 96-01 alone
$tanley & $immons are so predictable
I may be going out on a limb by saying this, but I really don’t think they care if you are disliking them more and more.
Agreed. Also, Peter and Ace are two money hungry idiots.
Do you really think they did the reunion tour “just for the fans”? They were also trying to milk the dollars out of the KISS tities!
I’m sorry, but somebody’s got to say it … Gene and Paul are becoming the poster boys FOR drug and alcohol use. As the two most visible members of that very exclusive rock and roll club of drug and alcohol abstainers they are effectively making the countless members of the opposite gang look good by comparison.
Whether it is about trust, loyalty, musicality or integrity, Gene and Paul are exemplifying the worst of human nature with these petty, vindictive attacks on their co-founding fathers of what we thought was the greatest band in in the land.
You know what? At this point I’m far more comfortable with Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones, Keith, The Beatles, Chuck Berry, Bon Scott, Bonzo, Michael Schenker, Johnny Thunders, Tyler, Perry, Andrew Wood, and countless other “abusers” including the self-admittedly fallible Peter and Ace over these two schmucks who have showed us that sobriety is over-rated. To Paul and Gene, you are petty little children showing great jealousy that the world recognizes that Peter and Ace were substantially responsible for the dramatic success of KISS. How do you even sleep at night after making these asinine statements?
Your conscious is going to kill you.
All this shit with KISS really makes me respect and appreciate MOTLEY CRÜE that much more!!! You don’t think they get sick of each other? Shit Tommy and Vince hate each other most of the time. But guess what? They respect each other and THIER fans. They know its not all about them. They also know have the Crüe together all original members makes better business sense. And I just want to say this. Look at Mick Mars people!! This dude was almost dead with some bitch sucking him dry in his own home before Nikki tracked him down. Mick had given up on life. You sure as hell don’t hear Mick complaining about shit. Watch him on stage. He’s like a doctor up there performing the perfect surgery with his guitar playing. A true professional. It would of been easier for the other 3 members of the Crüe to say hey man Mick just can’t cut it. We better get a younger healthier guitar player. No. They showed love and compassion and loyalty to Mick. AND TO THIER FANS!!! This is a band that will be truly missed. And on more thing. NIKKI SIXX GOD BLESS YOU BRO FOR TRACKING MICK DOWN AND BEING A TRUE BROTHER AND SAVING HIS LIFE!!! NIKKI IS A VERY GOOD PERSON!!! It’s just sick to see KISS be so petty. Peter was sick with cancer and never heard a word from Gene and Paul. That’s just sad man!!! Yet you many times hear Peter saying he will always love Ace Gene and Paul. Peters the real deal and so is Ace! Fuck Gene and Paul!!
Comparing Motley Crue to KISS is like comparing Baloney to Steak
kiss is not kiss unless it is the original four. any other lineup sucks.