Gene Simmons shared a memorable story about Ace Frehley’s audition for KISS on the first episode of Billy Corgan’s The Magnificent Others.
Simmons recalled Frehley plugging in his guitar during another audition. “We’re hearing that sound and we auditioned players and this guy comes in, who plugs in, we had double stacks Marshall Major 200 watts. We had money. Ace plugs in and starts playing while we’re talking to another guy. I walked up to him and I said, ‘Buddy, you better sit down before I knock you out. What are you doing? We’re talking.'”
Frehley didn’t take kindly to the other auditions happening. “He was oblivious that there was another meeting going on that he had to cit there civilly and wait for his turn.”
Simmons and Paul Stanley were shocked by what came next. “When he got up, ‘Listen pal, we’re gonna do a song called ‘Deuce,’ here’s the riff, A major, we’ll do two verses, bridge, and when the riff starts ill point to you. Youve heard it enough, and you do a solo based on that riff.’ He said, ‘Ah, okay.’ And he talked like that. And we’re going, ‘Boy, he’s a weird guy. He’s got one orange sneaker, one red sneaker. Just pigeon toed and all. Oh, boy, this guy is gonna be…’”
Frehley’s Comment To Stanley’s Words
But then Frehley dug into the solo. Simmons and Stanley exchanged glances, impressed by his stage presence. “And then he dug in. And his head, like he is on stage just that rubbery thing. Paul and I looked at each other and went, ‘Wow.'” Simmons recalled.
Reposting the video on his own Instagram account, he wrote in the caption, “I didn’t know any other way.”
Frehley’s Solo Dedication
Simmons also praised Frehley’s commitment to his solos. “He would play note for note with the right vibrato and everything. That’s when he was committed to it, and that’s one of the things live fans kept pointing to. ‘Wow, it sounds just like…’ You bet it is, ‘cause he cared enough to learn his own solos,” he said, noting Frehley’s influences from Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck.
Frehley is currently on a solo tour, with his next show on February 21 in Middleton, Florida.
