Ace Frehley Bio - Biography

Name Ace Frehley
Height
Naionality American
Date of Birth 27-April-1951
Place of Birth The Bronx, New York, U.S.
Famous for Singing
Ace Frehley is an American musician best known as the former lead guitarist of the rock band Kiss. He took on the persona of the "Spaceman" or "Space Ace", and played with the group from its inception in 1973 until his departure in 1982. After leaving Kiss, Frehley embarked on a solo career, which was put on hold when he rejoined Kiss in 1996 for a highly successful reunion tour.

His second tenure with Kiss lasted until 2002, when he left at the conclusion of what was purported to be the band's Farewell Tour. His latest album Anomaly, was released on September 15, 2009. Guitar World magazine ranked him 14th Greatest Metal Guitarist of All Time. In a 2009 interview with Rock N Roll Experience Magazine, Ace stated, "I'm an Anomaly, I'm an un-schooled musician, I don't know how to read music, but I'm one of the most famous guitar players in the world, so go figure." Frehley was soon replaced by former Black 'n Blue guitarist, Tommy Thayer. Thayer was an assistant of the band at the time, and had previously served in a variety of other roles, as well as having played Frehley in the Kiss tribute band Cold Gin. Since Kiss now owned the copyright to Frehley's makeup and costume designs, they placed Thayer on lead guitar as the "Spaceman," and had him perform Frehley's well-known tricks (such as shooting rockets from his guitar) and sing Frehley's signature song, "Shock Me", moves which generated controversy and anger among some of the fan base.

Frehley appeared with Rob Zombie, Slash, Tommy Lee, Scott Ian, and Gilby Clarke on VH1's Rock Honors special on May 31, 2006. This supergroup played Kiss' "God of Thunder." He has also attempted acting (not counting a walk-on in the "...Thirteen Years Later" episode of Millennium or his part in Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park), making his debut in 2004 in Remedy, an independent crime drama produced by actor/producer Jonathan Doscher, with Sopranos stars Frank Vincent and Vincent Pastore, playing a drug dealer with a heart of gold named Johnny. In July 2007, a Dunkin' Donuts television commercial directed by Zach Braff began airing that featured Frehley playing in his Kiss makeup and costume. In 2007, Peter Criss dedicated the final track of his new solo album, One for All, to Frehley. The song is titled "Space Ace" and features biographical lyrics and a very Pink Floyd-like atmosphere.

Ace Frehley is noted for using Gibson Les Paul guitars with three DiMarzio pickups. Typically, one Super Distortion pickup in the bridge position and two PAF pickups; one in the middle position and one in the neck position. Only the pickup in the bridge/treble position was actually wired to produce sound; being wired directly to the volume control, skipping the tone control and then directly to the output jack.

Ace Frehley Photos