ACE FREHLEY: 'TOMMY THAYER Used To Be In A KISS Tribute Band - And He Still Is!'

Roger Hillis of DelmarvaNow.com recently conducted an interview with original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

On his appearance in a hilarious Dunkin' Donuts television commercial in which he shoots fireworks from his guitar in an office board room full of corporate executives:

"That was a one-time-only thing. I'm not promoting KISS these days, I'm promoting Ace Frehley."

On his current solo tour:

"Everyone in my new band is starting to lock in together and we all get along great on and off the stage. Things are good. Sobriety helps. It's much easier for me to tour now that I'm not waking up with a hangover every day.

"There's an old saying, 'The more you do, the more you can do.' I just think it's important that I get out there and show everyone that I'm trying to make a comeback."

On why he's not playing new songs on the current tour:

"I'm going to wait until after the album comes out because I don't want everything on YouTube. I don't think we'll really be able to add more than three new songs to the set anyway. Everybody wants to hear certain songs from certain records. It's hard figuring out what to drop."

On his upcoming solo album:

"I've been recording late at night. The only down side to having a studio at home is that my family is nearby, so it always seems like there's some kind of crisis going on. When I do record at someone else's studio I can get away from it all and concentrate on the music."

On being replaced in KISS by Tommy Thayer:

"Tommy's a sweet guy; he used to be my road manager. Tommy used to be in a KISS tribute band — and he still is!

"Tommy is a friend; if someone is going to wear my costume and makeup, I guess I'd prefer that it be him. That's not to say that I agree with it, because I don't. But it is what it is."

On whether he keeps in touch with all three of his ex-bandmates:

"I still get along with everybody. I was always the peace maker, even back in the '70s. If guys in the band were fighting about something, I'd always try to get them to calm down and talk about it."

On re-appearing on stage in 2005 at a PEARL JAM concert where he jammed on an encore version of NEIL YOUNG's "Rockin' In the Free World":

"One day my daughter said, 'PEARL JAM is playing in Atlantic City (N.J.) and I want to go.' I remember her blasting their records out of her room in the '90s. She wanted to bring some girlfriends she hadn't seen in 10 years so I took them to the show. Next thing I know, the band is inviting me on stage."

On playing the KISS tune "God of Thunder" at VH1's inaugural Rock Honors ceremony in 2006 with an all-star band:

"That was a lot of fun. We didn't even rehearse it with Rob Zombie (on vocals). I went to L.A. and rehearsed with Tommy (Lee),Slash, Gilby Clarke and Scott Ian and then we flew a private jet into Vegas. It came off great. Sometimes spontaneity can give a song a little edge."

Unfortunately, Frehley said he also "fell off the wagon" at that show. He said he's been clean ever since, though. "I'm a lean, mean rock 'n' roll machine," he said. "I was going to the gym for a while, but my schedule is so busy right now that it's a workout in itself."

On having had more than one UFO sighting:

"I saw them a couple of times when I lived in Connecticut. I've seen them go straight and then stop and make a right-angle turn. You can come to your own conclusion as to whether we have any kind of aircraft that can operate like that. Maybe we do; technology has come a long way in the past 10 years.

"It's all speculation. But what I saw didn't look like it was from this earth."

On whether he spends much time looking back:

"I wouldn't mind writing a book at some point, but I don't know if I'd want it to be an autobiography. There are still some confidentiality agreements and contracts that I'm bound to, but I don't like to talk business. I don't have any interest in another reunion — but I never say 'never.'"