Ace Embarrassed By KISS was a top story for this week. Here it is again: (antiMusic) Former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley is rocking the faithful with his solo shows. He made a true believer out of our very own Tony Kuzminski (read his review in the review section). Part of any tour includes talking to the press to let people know about the tour. Ace recently sat down with Chris Riemenschneider of the Star Tribune for a chat. In the midst of the discussion Ace revealed that he is a bit embarrassed by what his former bandmates KISS are doing as well as the difficulties of staying sober on the road. Here are those exchanges: Star Tribune: Was it harder to stay sober when you toured with KISS? * Ace: Not really. If I was having a good time and everybody was doing the right thing, I might've stayed. It just turned into the same nonsense that led to me leaving in '82. It all started happening again. For me, rock 'n' roll should always be fun. That's the reason I got into the business. When it's not fun anymore, it's time to move on. I just had to leave because it wasn't fun anymore and I wanted to move on with my solo career, which I left on the back burner when I rejoined the group in '96. It was time. It was billed as the farewell tour, and then the reunion tour. They're still doing shows in Europe now. That wasn't the whole concept of the way it was presented to me when I jumped on board again.
Star Tribune: How do you feel about [KISS] touring with [former roadie] Tommy Thayer in your place, with the same makeup? Ace: I really don't think about it [laughs], or I'd rather not think about it. I have no control over that. The fans don't seem too happy, though. What KISS is doing right now reminds me of like what some great fighters have done in the past when they come out of retirement, when they should have just rolled up the towel. That's the way it seems to me now. It's getting embarrassing. - Read the full interview here