This new series highlights on-the-record conversations that didn’t make it into the published feature, with text directly lifted directly from the transcript. Anything off the record remains off the record.
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By the time I interviewed Ace for his February 5 Albums I Can’t Live Without feature, the weekly series was in its third year. He would have been around my 150th (or so) 5 Albums interview, most of which are completed via template. Ace’s was via phone. And Ace made his own call, no publicists placing the call for him, putting him in an even higher echelon of cool.
There have been so many beautiful tributes to Ace since his passing on October 16, and there’s a good reason why: he was a warm, honest person who had some out-of-this-world stories to tell. In my 2024 end-of-year editorial roundup I pointed to Ace’s conversation as one of my favorites, a career highlight during my time at SPIN.
There are a few things he asked me not to publish, so I’m leaving those out, but throughout his years he’s been open about his close encounters with alien life and uniquely positive perspective on life, and we talked about that.
But what was more remarkable to me was how, after initially discovering that we lived pretty close to one another outside New York City, that Bronx-born Ace was one of the most down-to-earth interviews I’d ever had.
This conversation took place several months before I moved into my new office, which I decorated with SPIN’s ’96 KISS covers (all four members received their own cover, a newsstand revolution). So now, for well over a year, when I sit at my desk, I look to my right and am greeted with Ace’s kind, very wide-eyes, and reminded of the story behind the photo, which he talks about here.
Liza: Bob Guccione, Jr. [SPIN founder] asked me—this has nothing to do with your interview—but he asked me to ask you if you remember doing the SPIN cover. There were four of them. Each one of you guys was on a cover. It was completely revolutionary at the time.
Ace: Yes. I thought I looked stupid in that picture because I looked too bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
Liza: [laughs]
Ace: Maybe it was because I just did a couple of lines of coke. I don’t know.
[laughter]
Liza: I’m going to tell him you said that. I don’t know if I agree, but that doesn’t matter. I’m not you, so it’s pretty funny.
Ace: Yes, life is funny.
My whole life has been like a movie. I never know what’s around the corner.
Liza: That’s good, right?
Ace: Yes. I don’t like repetition. I get bored real easily. Thank God I have so many different hobbies; computer graphics, I like to go fishing, I like to go shooting, I like to drive fast cars.
Liza: Do you have a favorite car?
Ace: Right now, the two fastest ones are the Bentley and Jaguar XK, it’s the one with the long front. The Jaguar is actually more fun to drive because it’s not as insulated as the Bentley. You don’t hear the engine as much, but when you’re driving the Jaguar, you really hear the roar of the engine. I think probably the Jaguar’s more fun.
Liza: I’m learning so much about you.
Firstly, I’m just so excited to have you do this feature. We’re doing 5 Albums I Can’t Live Without. I thought, if you want, we could start off with intro questions.
Ace: Yes.
Liza: The first one is “best known for.”
Ace: Personally, I’m known for playing lead guitar, and as a solo artist, but I don’t know. I like coin collections.
Liza: You do?
Ace: I like stamp collecting. I like coin collecting. I like collecting knives.
Liza: Oh. I didn’t know that.
Ace: I have knives that I bought in Paris in the ’70s that are unbelievable.
Liza: Really?
Ace: You can just say I collect knives, but I have a lot of coins. I love collecting coins. It’s amazing that if you really look at the coins you have, just regular change you have in your pocket, sometimes there might be a gem in there that’s worth thousands of dollars and you could just give it away.
Liza: Really?
Ace: Yes. If you go on the Internet and start checking out valuable coins. I just found the 1911 penny that I have. It’s called the wheat penny because the back of it is different than the more recent pennies. I found some dollar coins that I have that are worth a couple of grand. It’s just crazy. I probably have…I don’t know…250 to 300 silver dollars. I’ve been collecting coins for years.
Liza: Are you one of the people with the metal detectors?
Ace: No, I don’t have the time for that, walking around the beach. I used to sit in my bedroom, and I had that network on where you could buy coins or buy any crazy stuff. I once bought this whole set of John F. Kennedy 50-cent pieces, and that was like 25 years ago. They’re worth a lot of money now. They’ve quadrupled, at least in value. I don’t know. Before that, it was stamps. Me and my brother used to collect stamps. I’m a collector. [laughs] Right now, I have 120 guitars. Like I need 120 guitars like I need a hole in the head.
[laughs]
I’m insane. People ask me, “What’s your favorite?” How can I have a favorite? I have about a dozen that are probably my favorites that I use mostly to record with.
I get most of my guitars from pawn shops. I’d say 75% of my collection, I bought in pawn shops. The guys in pawn shops don’t really know what they got. I went to one pawn shop in Chicago, and I bought 15 guitars from them for $125 apiece. Some guitars are worth thousands.
The craziest thing about that day is I bought a Versace diamond watch and nobody believes me, but I have photographic proof. That it was the yellow gold. It was all diamonds and yellow gold. I remember, my bodyguard, he swears to it and I have the photographic proof because we got in the car, I took a video of it. The watch fit me perfectly. It was like it was made for me. I fell asleep with it on. I woke up the next day, and it was white gold.
Liza: What?
Ace: I swear to God.
Liza: That’s pretty trippy.
Ace: Look, you have no idea what I’ve seen in my lifetime. [laughs]
Liza: I don’t. But I want to know.
Ace: It didn’t freak me out. It’s just, “Hey. Okay.” I’ve seen UFOs. I’ve seen it all.
What are we supposed to talk about, albums?
[Note: We are only one intro question in at this point, so we move through those pretty quickly, chatting about his touring plans, details about his home.]
Ace: I’m psychic. You want me to try to guess your age?
Liza: Yes.
Ace: I’ve never met you, I don’t know you, but I’m listening to your voice and you sound like you’re 27, 28.
Liza: Oh, dear.
[He is decades off.]
Ace: Wow, well, okay. You’re like me. My voice hasn’t changed, but I’m 72.
Liza: Do you believe in astrology?
Ace: Yes.
Liza: I’m a Taurus like you.
Ace: April 27th. 27 follows me everywhere I go. Every time I go out driving, I see 27 on license plates. Side of trucks. It doesn’t even phase me anymore. People that know me, that hang out with me, it happens to them, too. There’s something to numerology. I don’t know.
Liza: I think so, too. I think that’s very affirming.
Ace: Although, the one time I went to jail and spent the weekend in jail, believe it or not, my cell was A27. [laughs] I swear to God. What are the odds of that?
I grew up in a little apartment in the Bronx. I’m probably one of the most famous guitar players in the world.
Liza: Absolutely.
Ace: I just take things in stride. It’s always been crazy. Upside down.
Liza: You make your own phone calls, which is I think a testament to the coolest people ever.
Ace: I don’t have a manager. I had a manager for several years and he just wasn’t cutting it, and I fired him. Managers take 15%. All of a sudden, I realized I’m getting all this extra money that my manager was taking. I said, “Maybe I can do this without a manager.”
If I don’t make the phone call myself, it usually becomes something misconstrued. I have an assistant that obviously does a lot of my calls for me, but if it’s an important call, a lot of times, I’ll just get on the phone. It’s amazing how the response I get when people know it’s me talking than just somebody else. I dig it. [laughs]
Liza: It just means you’re a regular human being.
Ace: Oh, yes. I’m a street kid from the Bronx. I don’t even think of myself as a celebrity, but everybody else does. I don’t get it.
Playing guitar always came second nature to me. Every one of my family played an instrument. I was the youngest of three kids. It’s just been like this rollercoaster ride. Especially when I joined Kiss, I designed the Kiss logo.
Liza: Oh, I didn’t know that.
Ace: I’m a graphic artist. I would really consider myself a Renaissance guy.
Liza: You are. I didn’t know a lot of this stuff about you.
Ace: The recording studio I’m in right now looks totally built by a professional, but I built the whole thing myself. I’ve built a couple of studios in the past, and I’ve had architects do it. Then I just said, “Hey, I know how to do this now.”
Liza: You’re not afraid to get your hands dirty.
Ace: No. Sometimes, I put sheet rock up. I had a bandsaw here where I can cut two by fours. This basement alone is 3,000 square feet with a nine-foot ceiling, so I got a stage. I got a drum room. I got the studio. Dance room, a foyer—and then there’s another 1,200 square feet or more.
I could live down here. [laughs] Everything I need is right here.
You were going to ask me about five albums.
Liza: Oh, I’m going to do that right now.
Are there any albums that you would say have stories behind them?
Ace: Are You Experienced, Hendrix’s first record. I used to walk around in high school with that under my arm and stare at it. I don’t know what was so fascinating about that cover, but it’s a pretty interesting cover. Ironically, in 1970, there was a peace concert on Randall’s Island in Manhattan. I snuck backstage, and they put me to work as a roadie. I ended up setting up Mitch Mitchell’s drums from the Jimi Hendrix Experience. I know that sounds like bullshit.
I tell people the story and they go, “That’s impossible.”
Liza: It’s impossible, but I guess that’s your life, right?
Ace: My life has always been so fucking weird. Then it was late. It was really late and my friends had left because they couldn’t get backstage.
Somehow, I looked at the guy and I had hair down to my waist. He figured I was in one of the bands, so he let me go backstage. They were going to throw me out, but the guy goes, “Can you do anything? We’re a little shorthanded.” I said, “Yes, I can set up guitars, change strings, set up amps, set up drums.” He goes, “All right, I got a job for you.” Next thing, I’m setting up Mitch Mitchell’s drums.
I didn’t even know it was Mitch Mitchell. It was right around the time Mitch Mitchell changes his look from the afro to the headband with a beard. I had never seen him in that new look that he had. He walked over and started helping us set up the drums. He’s hands-on guy, too. I heard the English roadie goes, “Hey, Mitch, which snare are you going to use tonight?” I like froze because I had no idea I was setting up Mitch Mitchell’s drums with Mitch Mitchell.
Then at the end of the night, I had no way of getting home, so I just walked to where the car…there was just a few cars left. I put out my thumb, and the first car that stopped, the guy lived five blocks from my house.
The first guy that stopped for me, he goes, “Where are you going?” I go, “I’m going to the Bronx, Bedford Park Boulevard.” He goes, “Oh, that’s where we’re going.”
Liza: That is just insane.
Ace: I think I may have been abducted by aliens, too.
Liza: For real?
Ace: I used to live in Yorktown, which is considered an alien hotspot. One day, I woke up, I had been drinking, but that doesn’t matter. I woke up and I was halfway in my house and halfway outside my house. I’ve never done anything like that. I remember at least I made it into the door [in the past], through the door, and crashed on the couch or something, but laying on the ground, halfway inside and halfway out. It was just mind-boggling to me. Then I looked around the front yard, and there was like a depression, about 30 feet, a circle.
Liza: Wow.
Ace: I don’t know. They had wiped my memory, I think, but a couple of weeks later, I started getting dreams about being inside a UFO.
Liza: Oh, wow.
Ace: Who knows? You see, I take that in stride, like going down and buying a gallon of milk. [laughs]
If it happened, it happened. If it didn’t happen, it might still happen. Who knows? Maybe they’ll come back and visit me again. I don’t know.
When I write song lyrics, sometimes, I feel like they’re being beamed into my head. I can’t write them down fast enough. I can write the lyrics for one of the songs on my new record, I wrote it in 30 minutes.
It’s so easy for me that I start to wonder what the fuck is going on. [laughs]
[We go through his next four albums pretty quickly, most of that text is in the feature so it’s taken out here.]
Ace: I saw Zeppelin a couple of times and was just blown away. Jimmy Page is one of the few guitarists I haven’t met. I met Hendrix. I met Pete Townshend. I met Beck, and who else? I don’t think I’ve ever met Eric Clapton. I should have.
Liza: There’s still time.
Ace: I don’t like to bother people. I remember seeing Jimmy Page. He was sitting at the bar having a drink with somebody. I didn’t want to bother him. I know how I feel when I’m having a drink with somebody and some fan comes over and wants an autograph or a picture.
Liza: Of course.
Ace: I set my standards high when it comes to others, but I’ve met just about every other band I’ve toured with. Those guys are the top in their fields. They’ll never be another Led Zeppelin. They’ll never be another Jimmy Page.
Liza: No. They’ll never be another Ace Frehley.
Ace: I guess so, but I have a feeling I’m going to be around for a while.
Liza: Oh, me too.
Ace: I have longevity on both sides of my family. My dad lived to be 96. My mom lived to be 86, but she died of a broken heart.
Liza: Oh?
Ace: Her older sister lived to be 99. It’s in the genes. I got it on both sides. If I take care of myself, which I do, I’m good for at least another 10, 15, 20 years.
Liza: Yes. I hope so. Oh, yes. Before I let you go, one of the earlier questions which is quick, I promise, is if you have a preferred format you like to listen to music in? Do you like vinyl? Some people say cassette, believe it or not. Reel-to-reel, could be anything.
Ace: Vinyl sounds the best.
Liza: Yes. It absolutely does.
Ace: I got an acetate of my album a couple of weeks ago and put it on and listened to it through the speakers. It just sounded so much better than the digital version. The nice thing about tape, I really like recording drums on tape.
When you record drums on tape, there’s a bleed-through that happens sometimes. There’s a warmth that the drums get that it doesn’t get when you record them digitally, but it’s such a hassle.
I have a 24-track recorder here, but to set it up and reroute all the wiring, record the drums, and you got to transfer it to digital anyway, it’s just like it becomes a little overbearing, especially when you’re trying to finish something quickly.
Liza: Yes. That makes sense.
Ace: I don’t know [laughter] — I just take life one day at a time. I don’t know.
Liza: I just want to say this was such an absolute delight. You are so much fun and so down to earth. You’ve had such an extraordinary life, really incredible.
Ace: It’s not over yet. [chuckles]
Liza: No. No, not at all.
Ace: This new album I feel like I’m just starting over. It’s crazy.
Liza: That’s so nice. How long have you been playing music?
Ace: I got my first guitar when I was 13. 60 years [ago]. I have this power of foresight. This is going to be my most popular record to date.
I’ve just spoken to too many people that have heard it and they just said there’s no filler on this record. It’s unbelievable.
Liza: Oh, yes. I believe that.
Ace: I’m just hoping you can get an assignment to talk to me about the success of my new album. [chuckles]
Nobody tells stories like me. [chuckles]
Liza: No. People don’t tell stories. Isn’t it weird?
Ace: You see all these idiots walking around staring at their phones all day. The art of conversation is completely lost.
I enjoy talking.
Liza: Yes. My goodness. I don’t know anybody who’s lived a life quite like you because not only have you had this extraordinary career, but then you have like literal outer space stuff.
Ace: Yes. [chuckles] Go figure.
I just take it one day at a time because you never know what’s going to happen, but the future looks bright at this juncture.
To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here.
