Ace Frehley says he, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons are “just like brothers” – despite their feuds
“Brothers have arguments, brothers have misunderstandings, they curse each other out, and then they make up.”
Credit: Glenn Koenig/Getty Images
Former Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley has opened up about his relationship with Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, saying they’re “just like brothers” who “curse each other out” and “make up”.
Speaking in a new interview with Classic Rock, Frehley reveals that the last time he spoke to Paul was “ a couple months ago”, as he was “very pissed off at what he said about calling the group Piss”.
Frehley here refers to when Paul Stanley commented on the Howard Stern Show last year that the band’s original lineup would sound more like ‘Piss’ than Kiss.
“Come on, I’ve been making albums and touring for years, I could get up and play two or three Kiss songs flawlessly. But for some reason he insulted me,” he says. “And I called him out on it. I said: ‘I demand an apology.’ He called me up and said: ‘Fuck you, Ace, I’m not giving you an apology’ and hung up. Prior to that, me and Paul would talk on the phone three or four times a year.”
As for the band’s bassist, Frehley says that “The last time I sent Gene an email was when he had to stop the show in South America [in April 2023] because he was dehydrated, and I was concerned about his welfare. I said: ‘I hope you’re okay, Gene,’ ba-da-bing, ba-da-boom. He got back to me in five minutes. He said: ‘I’m okay, Ace. Thanks for caring.’ I’m closest with Gene.”
Asked if he’ll reconnect with the members someday as friends, even if music were out of the picture, Frehley replies: “I consider myself friends. We’re just like brothers. Brothers have arguments, brothers have misunderstandings, they curse each other out, and then they make up.”
And while Kiss officially said goodbye to their touring days at New York’s Madison Square Garden last December, Frehley says that he isn’t convinced that the band is actually done for good.
“You think they retired? I don’t think they’re gonna retire. They’ve been retiring for the last twenty years,” he says.
“I heard some crazy rumour that they’re coming out of retirement again. I hope not.”