ACE FREHLEY Instructional DVD Coming In The Fall

Matt Mrowicki of Chorus And Verse recently conducted an interview with original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Chorus And Verse: You've been cited by an endless list of guitar heroes as a primary influence not only in getting people to pick up their first guitars, but also shaping their sounds. Are you comfortable with owning such legendary "guitar god" status and is it something that you feel an obligation to live up to?

Frehley: The ironic thing is I've never taken a guitar lesson in my life! (Laughs.) What can I say? I'm blessed to have musicians, some very successful, some just starting out, say that my playing is the reason they picked up a guitar. I recently filmed an instructional DVD where I teach, or attempt to teach (laughs),my KISS songs "Cold Gin" and "Shock Me". It'll be out in stores around the same time as the CD ["Anomaly"].

Chorus And Verse: On September 15th, you're going to be releasing your fifth solo album, "Anomaly". How long have you been working on this material? After four other solo albums and your work with KISS, does it still excite you to release new material and seeing how fans react to it?

Frehley: I feel the same way I felt when I was about to release my 1978 solo album. These are strong songs, man. Some songs I arranged a few months ago, some date back to 1994. What's great is, not one particular track sticks out as the obvious favorite. Everyone that's heard the entire record has his or her own favorite song. That's never happened to me before. "New York Groove" was the standout hit in '78. Who knows which song will be "The One" off of "Anomaly"? That's up to the fans.

Chorus And Verse: You produced most of "Anomaly" and are releasing the album on your own Bronx Born Records. Did you enjoy the production and technical aspects of doing the album? As someone who is so well-known for your live shows, do you think about how songs will work on stage when you're in the studio, or do you go all-out in the studio and worry about recreating the tracks on stage later?

Frehley: I know if I had had an outside producer, I would've finished this record years ago, but it wouldn't sound like it does today. It was hard work assembling the musicians and the song arrangements myself, but in the end I can say this is a true Ace Frehley album.

Chorus And Verse: How do you hope fans will react to "Anomaly" and what are your plans to promote the music? Do you expect to tour with the new material and are there any other projects that you'd like fans to watch out for in the months ahead?

Frehley: I've teamed up with Rocket Science in Los Angeles and their marketing team is doing a great job getting the word out about "Anomaly". Today, everything is Internet-driven. In the old days, a press release could take up to a week to circulate; now I've done video blogs that can be uploaded and seen around the world in a matter of minutes. It's crazy! I just did a web commercial for "Anomaly" and there's a guy wearing a "Trouble Walkin'" t-shirt who says he's been waiting 20 years for my new album. I think that speaks for a lot of my fans, but I'm sure "Anomaly" will be worth the wait.

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