ACE FREHLEY Says KISS's Current Lineup Is 'Half Of A Cover Band'

Former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley has confirmed to Goldmine that he would willing to take part in the band's just-announced "End Of The Road" world tour "if the numbers were right."

Frehley 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." Since his departure, guitarist Tommy Thayer has assumed the role of the Spaceman.

Asked how he would like to see KISS's final tour pan out, Frehley said: "When I read the comments the fans make on the Internet — every once in a while I'll spend a half hour or an hour reading comments — invariably 80-90 percent of the KISS fans want a full-blown reunion. I don't know if that's possible; it could be a variation of it. There's no way KISS is gonna go out with a bang with the lineup they have now. It's half of a cover band. I love Eric [Singer, drums] and I love Tommy, but it's half of a KISS cover band. Paul [Stanley] and Gene [Simmons] are the two original guys and they've got two guys playing my part and Peter's [Criss] part. I think it works better overseas or in South America where the people aren't as educated as to who is in the band, but it's getting tired in America. Ever since 2014, when we were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, pretty much all of America realized that I was not in the band and Peter's not in the band and I think a lot of people in America weren't even sure that I had left. When they made the switch between me and Tommy, they really didn't publicize it and I don't think they wanted to. I mean, I remember getting phone calls in 2008, 2009 and people would call me up and say, 'Hey, you're playing my hometown. Can you get me tickets?', and I'd go, 'No. I'm not in the band anymore.' I mean, that happened multiple times. My departure from the band the second time around wasn't highly promoted."

Still, Frehley does not rule out playing with KISS again if asked to come back. "I would be up for it if the numbers were right and if it was presented to me in the right way, sure," he said. "It's not necessarily something that I am craving to do, but I want to do it for the fans because the fans are the ones who made us all famous and rich and turned us into superstars. I want to do what the fans want. I want to make the fans happy and it seems like that's the direction they are pointing towards. I'd be willing to do anything to make the fans happy."

Frehley's new solo album, "Spaceman", was released on October 19 via eOne. Simmons co-wrote two tracks on the disc, "Without You I'm Nothing" and "Your Wish Is My Command", the latter of which also features Simmons's bass playing.

Back in October, Frehley told Yahoo! Entertainment that he had "nothing bad to say about Tommy… You know, it'd be one thing if Tommy would have invented his own character, invented his own guitar solos," he said. "But unfortunately, he's copying everything I do, note for note. There's not much leeway for anybody to say what he's doing is original. I don't know how I could handle that, you know? I don't think I could step into a situation and be somebody else. It's almost like being a robot. Poor Tommy. My heart bleeds for him."