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Ace Frehley

Personal Profile

Ace Frehley
  • Birth Name:
    Paul Daniel Frehley
  • Common Name:
    Ace, Space-Ace, Spaceman
  • Nickname:
    Kiss
  • Date of Birth:
    April 27, 1951
  • Zodiac Sign:
    Taurus
  • Place of Birth:
    The Bronx, New York, United States
  • Height:
    6' 1"
  • Sex:
    Male
  • Hair Color:
    Blonde
  • Eye Color:
    Blue
  • Nationality:
    American

Family

Ace Frehley
  • Father:
    Karl
  • Mother:
    Esther
  • Brother:
    Charles
  • Sister:
    Nancy
  • Spouse:
    Jeanette Trerotola - Divorced
  • Daughter:
    Monique

Career

Ace Frehley

Trivia

Ace Frehley
  • K.I.S.S. was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 7080 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
  • Lead guitarist for Kiss 1973-1983 and 1995-2002.
  • A member of the Rock band, Kiss.
  • When Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley heard Ace's audition for KISS and decided to make him the lead guitarist, they asked him what his name was. When he said his name was Paul Frehley, they told him that the band couldn't have two Paul's. Frehley then told them to call him "Ace Frehley." The nickname "Ace" comes from his school days, when he displayed an uncanny ability to get his friends dates.
  • Is 'Space Ace' In The Hard Rock Band, KISS.
  • Is a self-taught guitarist, started playing at age 13.
  • According to Gene Simmons' autobiography "Kiss and Make-Up", the lightning bolt guitar strap that's used by so many in the music design is actually Frehley's design. He is considered to be a very gifted graphic designer.
  • Previous bands: Molimo, the Muff Drivers and Frehley's Comet.
  • Has an IQ of 164.
  • His face is on the cover of the KISS album "creatures of the night" even though Vinnie Vincent played all the songs on the album. KISS begged Ace to put his face on the cover because he wasn't officially gone and they weren't sure about Vinnie being a permanent replacement.

Quotes

Ace Frehley
  • "I've recorded 25 or 30 albums. I know that sometimes when you work with producers who are kinda dictators, it doesn't help you make a better record."
  • "I've never read anything about heroin where, yeah, it's a good experience, and you can do it for 20 years and enjoy it, like having a cold beer. It doesn't work that way with heroin."
  • "I'm the kinda person, you gotta fight for everything you get. You gotta believe in yourself."
  • "I'm not here to perform. I'm here to sign autographs. You have to wait till I come back with my own hand."
  • "I'm just a kid from Bronx who got lucky."
  • "I'll get up there and I'll do my guitar solos in one of those space outfits."
  • "I went to my friend's house one day, and he had an electric guitar he had just bought with a tiny little amp. I turned the volume up to 10 and I hit one chord, and I said, I'm in love."
  • "I think the fans really wanna hear the songs the way they sound on the record."
  • "I think most of the people, once you see a Kiss show, you kinda get spoiled because I don't think there's anybody out there that's doing a bigger or a better show than us."
  • "I just didn't expect an acoustic version of Rock'n'Roll All Nite."
View all Quotes: Ace Frehley

Biography

Ace Frehley
Last Updated: Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Ace FrehleyFormer lead guitarist for hard rock super group "KISS", best known for his "space ace" character, on stage stagger, cackling laugh and smoking guitar effects. Frehley was born Paul Daniel Frehley on April 27th, 1951 in The Bronx, New York City and received his first electric guitar at age 14. A creative and gifted teenager, he counts the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin as early influences on his musical tastes. Frehley answered a newspaper ad in early 1973 for a then unnamed group seeking a lead guitarist with "flash and balls", and successfully auditioned in front of bassist Gene Simmons and rhythm guitarist Paul Stanley to become the fourth member of what would become "KISS".

Soon after the group was joined by drummer Peter Criss and the four set about launching themselves . After mediocre success from their first three albums, Kiss Alive (a double live album) was released in 1974, and the rocket ride had begun! KISS were the most successful US group from 1975 to 1980 with platinum selling albums and sold out stadium tours. However, cracks appeared in the band and Peter Criss left the group in 1980, followed by Frehley in 1982.Frehley put together his own band ("Frehleys Comet") and they regularly toured the New York City club circuit and released several albums, predominantly purchased by KISS fans still loyal to Ace!

However, after several years of icy relations between ex-members Frehley / Criss and band founders Simmons / Stanley, all four original members reunited for a 1995 MTV Unplugged Special that was met with huge interest. This prompted a full blown reunion tour (Kiss - Alive Worldwide) that was the biggest grossing tour of 1996/97!! Met with such keen enthusiasm from fans, the band toured relentlessly into the new century, however Peter Criss was not satisfied with his salary, and was replaced by drummer, Eric Singer, in 2001. Frehley stuck around another year or so, however the old issues of Ace's unreliability caught up with him once again, and he once more exited the band to be replaced by Tommy Thayer.

Filmography

Ace Frehley

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