Peppy Castro, longtime friend and mentor to Ace Frehley, has spoken out about what he described as Steve Brown’s belittling of Frehley’s legacy following the guitarist’s passing. Castro addressed the issue during an interview with Artists On Record With Stefan Adika, responding to a question about his final conversations with Frehley.
Castro recalled confronting Frehley directly about Brown’s public comments. “Well, one of the last conversations I had, I f*cking read him the riot act about Steve Brown and I said, ‘Dude, put a muzzle on this f*cking guy. Holy shit,’” Castro said. “You know, and that was my thing, you know? I don’t care you’re loving it, you’re Steve Brown, you got this great thing. Your statures up with Ace and all this stuff. Shoot your horn. Knock yourself out. But don’t throw me under the bus. And don’t throw Ace under the bus.”
According to Castro, Frehley was deeply upset by Brown’s remarks, and those tensions may have affected their professional relationship.
“Ace was pissed [about what Steve said about him]. Why do you think he went back to Alex? I heard that he was really pissed. And I heard that people were cold shouldering Steve at the at the, you know, he showed up for the wake, not the funeral because I don’t think he got invited to the funeral,” Castro continued.
Castro went on to acknowledge Brown’s abilities while sharply criticizing his attitude and public statements.
“I mean, he cooked his own goose and the guy’s talented and I don’t take it away from him. Sure, it’s good, but he’s not the songwriter I am. No way. And he’s not the vocalist that I am, you know? I mean, you know, I’m Emmy nominated. I got awards from theater magazines. I got my gold records. He, you know, from writing songs and I’ve worked with so many different people. And this guy’s going this like, you know, he didn’t have a mindset for it. He was like, you know, a Central Park horse, you know, that’s it. You don’t see the rest of the city.”
Castro also addressed Brown’s claims regarding songwriting contributions, referencing a recent podcast appearance.
“There’s this podcast. The three sides of the coin or something. They put it came up on my feed like maybe a week and a half ago. They put up just the segment. They edited just the segment of where Steve’s going off on like how he wrote everything. I wrote … 95% of was me. I did all this. I did all that,” Castro said. “And his childhood friend and the rest of the songs that he had were not even on the same planet.”
Castro added that the response to Brown’s podcast comments appeared overwhelmingly negative, with many viewers expressing visible discomfort.
The dispute traces back to March 2024, when controversy erupted over Frehley’s album 10,000 Volts and Brown’s role in its creation. Louder Sound reported that Frehley was “shocked” after Brown claimed on the Three Sides Of The Coin podcast that he wrote “about 97 percent” of the album’s material. Frehley publicly disputed that assertion and clarified his own contributions.
According to Blabbermouth, Frehley handled lead vocals on all tracks and performed most of the guitar solos on 10,000 Volts, while acknowledging that Brown played “a couple of” solos. Frehley addressed their age difference at the time, stating, “Yeah, he’s only 50 or 51. I’m 72. So a couple of solos, he did play.”
Following Frehley’s passing, Blabbermouth reported that Brown spoke fondly about their relationship, describing how they became “so tight” and shared personal moments, including dinners and card tricks. Those reflections stand in sharp contrast to Castro’s account of unresolved tensions before Frehley’s death.
The controversy underscores the complex disputes over creative credit and legacy that often surface in the music industry, particularly when collaborators hold differing views on their respective contributions.
