ACE FREHLEY Says Lousy Treatment At ROCK HALL Led To Better Album

According to The Pulse Of Radio, Ace Frehley says that Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley's mistreatment of him at KISS's 2014 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction actually inspired him musically. Frehley, who released the covers collection "Origins, Vol. 1" back in April, received great reviews and scored a Top 25 hit with the set. To the surprises of many, Paul Stanley has joined forces with Frehley on the album, taking the lead on a cover of FREE's classic 1970 track "Fire And Water". The recording marked the first time the KISS co-founders appeared on an original album together since the band's 1998 set, "Psycho Circus".

Ace Frehley revealed to The Pulse Of Radio that the impetus for "Origins, Vol. 1" reaching its potential actually came from his treatment by his former bandmates at the Rock Hall induction. "As you probably know, we were asked to perform at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame ceremony, by the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, and me and Peter [Criss] were up for doing that and Paul [Stanley] and Gene [Simmons] shot it down, y'know?" he said. "They made some innuendos that maybe me and Peter weren't up for the task, and that just made me do a better record. [Laughs]"

The Pulse Of Radio asked Frehley how his sobriety improved the recording process this time around. "I'm a lot more focused and I think when people listen to this album, they're probably going to say that — in fact, a lot of reviewers have already said that," he said. "I'm a lot healthier than I was ten years ago. Not everybody can say that in their 60s, y'know, that they're healthier than they were in their 50s. So, I mean, it's a big plus. Y'know, I got a beautiful lady that I'm engaged to, who co-wrote two songs on the record with me and, y'know, life's good today."

During an interview with KNPR News, Stanley was asked why he declined to perform with Criss and Frehley at KISS's Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction. "It's a tough question to answer, but there's so much involved in it," he replied. "Firstly, the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame wanted nothing to do with us; they begrudgingly let us in. And my sense was that we were going to be a dog-and-pony show. They wanted to have the original guys play in the band, and all of us in makeup, and, quite honestly, I think it would have done the band a disservice. That lineup has not been together for 14 years, and physically, perhaps, wouldn't have looked that great, and musically, undoubtedly, probably, would have sounded a bit suspect. So, to have people watch it on television and identify that as KISS because there's four guys in makeup would not send a great signal to the people who are not following the band in its current permutation, or what it is today."

He continued: "Look, we just did 42 shows and played to 600,000 people in America, and I would hate for those people to turn on a TV show where we were an unwanted guest in the first place and see us strong-armed into doing something that really does a disservice to something that I worked at for 40 years.

"I never quit the band twice, once, and to dilute what I've worked on all these years just to make a committee happy that really was not all that thrilled that we were there in the first place, it sent the wrong message and it endangered something that I hold very dear to me."