The rock band KISS, more than anything, defined several periods of my life, beginning as far back as first grade, at which time they were busy taking the world by storm. My fellow schoolmates and I lived, breathed, and ate KISS – collecting records, trading cards, t-shirts, and any other toy that could be marketed. I actually enjoyed the music too. This of course is why no matter who they put behind the make-up these days, KISS will always be Gene, Paul, Ace, and Peter. I accept no substitutes. I have already covered my two-plus encounters with drummer Peter Criss, and now I will finally bring to light two encounters with guitarist Ace Frehley.
My first encounter with Ace Frehley was the very first encounter that I ever had with any KISS member, and even pre-dated me seeing a later incarnation of the band for the first time in concert. It happened on the afternoon November 3, 1987. Ace Frehley and his band Frehley’s Comet were in town playing alongside Faster Pussycat as the opening act for Alice Cooper at the Hara Arena. I didn’t have tickets to the show, but I did convince my good friend George to drive me to Dingleberry’s record store by the Dayton Mall to attend the signing that the band would be doing before the show.
There’s me on the right, scoping out this crazy line that twisted around the building
I had bet George that there would be at least one fan dressed in KISS make-up, but amazingly enough when we arrived to the site of the record store, not one of the fans who were snaking around the building were wearing make-up. George and I lined up alongside fellow fans Dale Sherman and Mickie Newnam, both of who had been working on the local KISS fan magazine Strange Ways. It was fun to chat with them and spout off KISS trivia. Dale would later go on to write several books about KISS and KISS collecting.
Our first glimpse of Ace, as we peered over the records
Ace Frehley and bandmate Tod Howarth had recently appeared on MTV as guest VJs, and they had featured an Ed Norton look-alike as part of their shtick. In hopes of getting some attention, I made sure to wear my Honeymooners t-shirt.
There were no restrictions on how many items could be signed by Ace and the band, so I brought along six, having George handle half of them for me: a 12′ single to 2000 Man, the 45rpm single and picture sleeve for Into the Night, the CD for Frehley’s Comet, the picture sleeve for I Love It Loud, KISS View Master slides, and the cassette tape for Creatures of the Night.
The Frehley’s Comet CD cover; the rest of the band signed inside the cover
Into the Night single, signed by Billy Ward (over the photo of Anton Fig), Ace Frehley, John Regan, and Tod Howarth
I Love It Loud 45rpm picture sleeve
KISS View Master slides, with later signature of Peter Criss, who did his best to obliterate Ace’s signature
I couldn’t help but smile when I got up to Ace and saw him crunching away on a bag of potato chips, drinking a Coke, and silently signing all that was put before him, seldom uttering a word. Tod Howarth noticed my t-shirt and commented, but Ace said nothing. His bandmates Jon Regan and Billy Ward were also present, although Billy had not played on the album and had recently replaced drummer Anton Fig in the band. The signing went off without a hitch and I end up with all six items autographed, two of which I have since traded away. Although I didn’t ask Ace to pose for a photo, George snapped one of us as Ace was signing my items. He printed the photo as a transparency, and it wasn’t until 2006 that I was able to get it converted digitally.
My first photo ever with a member of KISS; it would be the last for well over 20 years
I finally was able to see Ace perform live at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, on May 13, 1994, watching the show with Christi & Billy and his friend Kyle, who actually performed in the opening band. Of course, I’d see Ace perform again later three times when he re-united with KISS in the late 90’s and early 2000’s.
There were a whopping 25 years between my two meetings with Ace, when the second one came around again on October 27, 2012 at the Chiller Theatre show in Parsippany, New Jersey. Naturally, things get harder rather than easier and the circumstances of our encounter were vastly different and this time there would be no free autographs or photo ops. This time I had to plop down $30 for each of two autographs, and an additional $30 for a posed photo op. It was one of those idiotic situations where the handler took the photo with their camera and then posted it online. I was extremely nervous about his, as I noticed that the cameraman didn’t use a flash. Fortunately, although not of optimal quality, the photo was much better than I was expecting.
How Ace feels about meeting me again
I had Ace sign my KISS Unplugged CD, which would now bear four KISS member autographs (still lacking Gene and Paul), plus the Destroyer photo that I had obtained from artist Ken Kelly in 2009. I would have Peter Criss add his signature to the photo less than one month later. 2012 was obviously a good year for KISS encounters.
KISS MTV Unplugged CD inner cover, now signed by Ace Frehley, Eric Singer, Peter Criss, and Bruce Kulick
The one I’d love to get signed by all: the artwork from Destroyer. Peter would sign this less than a month after Ace.
Parenthetically, as my friend Peter and I waited in the long slow-moving line at Chiller for Ace, we noticed a man work his way through the crowd, exiting the queue area, and saying “tell Ace you’d like to see a Frehley’s Comet reunion!” I later realized that this man was Ace’s former Frehley’s Comet bandmate Jon Regan. Naturally, I missed the photo op since I didn’t know it at the time, but I was able to snag the photo that the two of them had just taken off of Ace’s website.
Ace reunites with John Regan
Now if only Gene and Paul would make themselves available somehow, I can complete a bucket list of KISS encounters that I had only dreamed of since 1979.
Celebrity encounters of the Fall 2012 Chiller Theatre show will continue…
1987 will continue… (under construction)
Ace certainly had quite an entourage with him for the Chiller encounter. Come to think of it, Peter Criss did as well. I particularly appreciate being able to contrast those to your previous encounter with Ace at Dingleberry’s.
Thanks for sharing.
Peter
January 24th, 2013