When he was asked what people should expect seeing Ace Frehley in concert, he laughed and didn’t hesitate with in his response.
“We’ll be loud,” Frehley said.
Listeners old enough to remember the last time Frehley put out an album can understand from this that at least one of the fundamentals of his music hasn’t changed.
“I’ve influenced generations of guitar players,” he said. “If you wanna see the real deal, come on down.”
Ace “The Spaceman” Frehley got his start as the original lead guitarist of the legendary rock band Kiss and gained worldwide recognition for his guitar skills before taking a hiatus from the band in 1982 to work on separate solo projects.
As a solo artist, from 1987 to ‘89 he released three albums before taking the opportunity to tour and develop a production career. But years of relentless interest from a combination of Frehley’s fans and the “Kiss Army,” the moniker used to refer to the fans of Frehley’s former band, helped motivate him to return to the studio in 2007 and begin recording another album.
The result, titled “Anomaly,” debuted Sept. 15 this year at 27 on the Billboard 200.
“It’s been long time coming,” he said. “This is my baby.”
In addition to those legendary fundamentals, Frehley admits he is still learning and trying new things all the time.
“I definitely got into new territory this album,” he said.
Frehley wrote and produced most of “Anomaly” under his own label, Bronx Born Records.
He said he gets his inspiration for songs from his everyday life. Lately he has been listening almost exclusively to vinyl and old blues records.
The first single off the album is Outer Space and other favorites include a cover of the 1975 classic Fox on the Run by the band Sweet and one of Frehley’s personal favorites, the euphonic guitar–laced Genghis Khan.
The trick with any artist whose career spans generations is to be able to attract a new audience.
“I toured last year without even a Web site, which is kind of insane,” he said.
During his days with Kiss, Frehley used the persona of “The Spaceman” to energize the crowd and his signature on–stage antics include a guitar that lights up and bellows smoke during solos. Those classic elements, partnered with the sound of his new album, will appeal to the diversity of fans he has developed through his rock career, Frehley said.
“I’ve noticed lately [at concerts] there were older fans bringing their kids,” he said. “I get a real wide cross section of people.”
Along with Derrek Hawkins (guitar), Anthony Esposito (bass) and Scot Coogan (drums), Frehley has scheduled nine U.S. tour dates, mostly in the Midwest, before touring Europe and Australia through early next year and coming back for a North American tour. They will play their sixth show of the tour Nov. 12 at Newport Music Hall, 1722 N. High St. The show is at 7 p.m. and tickets are $20.
