REPLAY | Ace Frehley's 2018 Interview

No Guitar Is Safe

Jude Gold

Music

4.8 • 869 Ratings

🗓️ 22 October 2025

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Back in October of 2018, I plugged in with Rock-and-Roll-Hall-of-Famer Ace Frehley at his hotel suite in Hollywood, California. Having just re-listened to my hour with the Kiss legend, I have to say: Wow, it's a cool episode — a great hang, and one that is all the more meaningful now that the Spaceman has passed. To honor Ace's life and music, I am re-posting the episode here for you to re-enjoy. I think you'll find it's a powerful portal through time that puts you in the room with the true rock star and the true New Yorker that was Ace Frehley — the true rock legend who inspired legions of young people to pick up the electric guitar, including many who have gone on to become famous rockers themselves. Here is the show exactly as it ran seven years ago. ORIGINAL 2018 SHOW NOTES: Founding Kiss lead guitarist ACE FREHLEY, aka "the Spaceman," has released a hard-rocking new solo album called just that — SPACEMAN. Plugging in one of his favorite ’59 reissue Les Pauls, Ace sits down with me to jam a little, as well as detail the writing and recording of Spaceman, reflect on reuniting (for two songs) with Gene Simmons, and, of course, look back on his legacy — a wild ride that spanned everything from a youth spent surviving the streets of the Bronx to adult years surviving adventures with the Hall-of-Fame rock band that made him famous. Hope you enjoy it! —JUDE GOLD, host and creator, No Guitar Is Safe

Transcript

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0:00.0	Episode 81 of No Guitar is Safe, in which we plug in and play guitar with Rock and Roll
0:10.3	Hall of Famer and Kiss founding member Ace Frey.
0:13.6	It's brought to you by Guitar Player magazine and GuitarPlayer.com.
0:18.1	Guitar player, play better, sound better.
0:19.9	No guitar is safe. guitar player.com. Guitar player, play better, sound better.
0:24.8	No guitar is safe.
0:31.6	Hey everybody, welcome to No Guitar is Safe. My name is Jude Gold. Thanks for listening. Today we're plugging in with Ace Fraley, Rock and Roll, Hall of Famer. What an amazing cat and an amazing time I had playing with him at his hotel suite in Hollywood. He was in town to do promo. That's right. The Spaceman was songs from his famous fanmate, Gene Simmons. A lot of originals and cool tracks, lots of guitar,
1:13.8	even a cover of an Eddie Money tune on there called Wanna Go Back.
1:18.5	I caught up with Ace at this hotel on the afternoon after he had just rocked the Jimmy Kimmel show the night before,
1:24.8	so we talk a little bit about that.
1:26.3	You know, he was trading licks with Toshi Yanagi, sitting in with Clito and the Clitones, the house band.
1:31.5	And then after we did our interview, he went over to Musicians Institute and Ace did a cool sit down in a packed room.
1:47.2	And so many people were there, not just from the school, but all kinds of visitors came to the school to watch Ace freely hold court.
1:54.7	And he is really great in front of an audience, man.
1:57.3	He is so comfortable and just kind of cantankerous and hilarious and all heart
2:04.5	and definitely all rock and roll. Ace was so welcoming when I finally arrived upstairs there
2:15.3	too at his hotel off the Sunset Boulevard.
2:18.3	I need my rock and roll.
2:23.3	I want it every day.
2:28.3	Just give me.
2:29.3	I tribute to him and the guitarist that he loves, I brought a Les Paul, my Les Paul black beauty.
2:33.3	Really my only Les Paul. It's got the three pickups you know and all the binding and the big block inlays and he loved it and then he was very sweet he offered to buy it from me but then I told him like listen you know this thing's not even like 15 years old and it had a neck break you probably don't want it it. And he was like, you know what? I don't
	...

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