No Regrets (36 page)

The attraction between us was undeniable; amazingly enough, I discovered she lived only a few short blocks from me back in the Big Apple. When I got home we began dating, and by the end of the month we had decided to move in together. One of the fringe benefits of our relationship was that other fashion models were always visiting the house and sometimes spending the night.

On one weekend, one of Kim’s girlfriends stopped by, and I ended up shooting a video of the girls lip-synching to “Rock Soldiers.” They were both sitting in a small rubber raft in my living room, playing guitars in their underwear. We all had a great time that night, and over the years that video became affectionately known as “The Seahawk.”

While Kim and I were living together in New York, I began recording the next Frehley’s Comet studio album,
Second Sighting
. It was my only solo album on which Anton Fig didn’t play drums. Someone suggested using Jamie Oldaker, and when I learned that he had worked with Eric Clapton, I decided to give him a shot.

Megaforce also wanted me to put out a live video, so we flew over to England and recorded a live performance in London at the Hammersmith Odeon. Around the same time period, we also shot a video for “Insane,” the first single released off
Second Sighting
. It was shot at SIR studios in New York and featured more than a dozen models dressed up as nurses. I asked Kim to participate, and she agreed. Unfortunately, the pressure of touring eventually took its toll on our relationship, and we went our separate ways later that year.

Since Kim was out of the picture, I ended up spending a little more time with my other friends in the city. One day I went over to Anton Fig’s house and we started drinking. His wife was out of town on a trip, so… well, you know how it is:
When the cat’s away, the mice will play!

I had previously given Anton a taste of my favorite cough syrup, and he enjoyed it as much as I did. I had just gotten a new prescription, and told Anton about this harebrained scheme I had concocted. Luckily there was an empty bottle lying around, which was all I needed to complete the task. We took a walk down the street to the local pharmacy to see if it would work.

In those days cough syrup bottles were made out of glass instead of plastic. I figured that after I had the prescription filled, I could quickly run around the corner and pour most of it into the empty bottle, then smash the original bottle inside the bag, and immediately run back into the pharmacy yelling, “I almost got killed by a fuckin’ cab.”

Upon handing the pharmacist the paper bag, which was dripping with cough syrup and broken glass, I asked him if he could please replace it. This entailed a little bit of further acting by me, but after a few seconds of deliberation, he bought the story. He handed me a freshly
filled bottle and we headed back to Anton’s place, laughing at our good fortune.

“I can’t believe it fuckin’ worked!” Anton exclaimed. And for the rest of the evening, we had twice the fun.

In support of
Second Sighting
, we went out on the road with Iron Maiden, but they canceled the tour prematurely. The last show was in New Orleans, and the band and crew boarded the tour bus back to New York. I never enjoyed taking long bus rides, so I opted to stay behind and fly out the following day. I was feeling a little down since the tour had ended so abruptly, and by the time I got back to the hotel my feelings of despair had escalated. I started drinking and took some sedatives to relax.

As far back as I can remember, I had always sensed a strange voodoo vibe in New Orleans. It was nothing tangible, but being a sensitive guy I could pick up on that kind of shit. As the evening progressed, I became really fuckin’ depressed; by midnight I was toying with thoughts of taking my own life. Everyone, from time to time, has experienced moments of despair and sometimes even fleeting thoughts of suicide, but this was different. It was something I couldn’t shake, and I almost felt possessed.

In my darkest hour, I remembered that I could always draw strength from a higher power. I was brought up in a religious household, and even though I had stopped going to church regularly a long time ago, I still kept in conscious contact with God. I opened the drawer of the nightstand and reached for the Bible. As I began reading some of my favorite passages, all the feelings of hopelessness began to dissipate, and eventually I came to my senses. After saying a few prayers, I fell asleep. I woke up the following day and thought to myself,
What the fuck was I thinking?! Thank God for Gideon!

In 1989, I went back into the studio with Eddie Kramer
to record
Trouble Walkin’.
I decided to bring back Richie Scarlet on guitar
as well as Anton Fig on drums. The album also included some very special guests—most notably Peter Criss, along with Sebastian Bach, Dave Sabo, and Rachel Bolan from Skid Row. My old friend Eddie Solan (KISS’s original sound mixer) assisted Eddie Kramer in the production process, and my buddy from the Bronx, Peppy Castro of the Blues Magoos, added some great background vocals. I also invited Eric Carr to play drums on one track, and he instantly accepted. He was really excited about the prospect of working with me again. Unfortunately, a few days later, I received a phone call from Eric, who sounded very upset. He informed me that Gene and Paul were opposed to the idea; therefore, he had to regretfully decline the invitation. I was also upset, as Eric’s situation brought back unpleasant memories of how fucked up they could be at times.

The album’s first single was a cover of the Move’s song “Do Ya,” and I had the pleasure of shooting the video at the historic Apollo Theater in Harlem. I also covered a track called “Hide Your Heart,” which was written by Desmond Child, Holly Knight, and Paul Stanley. During the mixing process I received an interesting phone call from Gene Simmons. I couldn’t believe he had the balls to request that I take my version of “Hide Your Heart” off the record. His reasoning was that they had recorded a version of it as well and were planning on releasing it as the first single off their new album. I informed him that I had invested a lot of time and money in the recording process and was thrilled with the results, so I wasn’t about entertain his request. I was dumbfounded. Un-fucking-believable!

After the release of
Trouble Walkin’
, I embarked on a successful tour, during which it was a real treat performing again with Richie Scarlet. I opted not to record another studio album for quite some time, although I continued performing live on the “Just 4 Fun Tour” in 1992 and the “Kick Ass Tour” in ’94.

During this period, I began spending much of my downtime in Danbury, Connecticut, hanging out with Richie Scarlet and his circle of friends. I was introduced to a cute hairdresser named Colette, and
we began spending a lot of time together. Colette was good friends with Richie’s wife, Joanne, and we all enjoyed hanging out and having a few laughs. Eventually, Colette and I decided to get a place together.

One Sunday afternoon, while we were out a ball game, I locked my keys in my 4x4. I had to smash the side window to unlock the door, and when I got home I sealed the hole with gaffers’ tape and quickly forgot about it. The following night I hung out with Richie and some other buddies at a local bar. We ended up leaving around closing time. The cops must have been staking out the place and watching my SUV, thinking it might have been stolen because of the broken window. I got only a few blocks from the bar when I spotted flashing lights in my rear-view mirror and was directed to pull over. My survival instincts kicked in; without even batting an eye, I threw my push-button knife and a vial of coke under the rubber floor mat.

I was approached by two officers and asked to produce my license and registration. After some checking, there appeared to be a problem with the paperwork, and I was asked to exit the vehicle and place my hands on the hood. While I was being questioned, the other cop began searching the interior of the SUV. I remembered what was under the floor mat and feared it would be discovered; then the officer who was questioning me told me to put my hands behind my back. He pulled out a set of handcuffs.

“Hey, what are you doing?” I exclaimed. “I’m Ace Frehley! This is my car, and I was the one who smashed the window!”

The other cop, whose interior search was now moving perilously close to the floor mat, suddenly stopped.

“Are you serious?” he said.

I told him to check the glove compartment and he’d find some 8x10s and a couple of CDs. After checking it out and seeing that I was the guy in the photos, both cops realized that I wasn’t a car thief. A few minutes later, after asking for some autographs, they decided to let me go. As I pulled away from the side of the road, I couldn’t help but imagine what would have happened if I hadn’t opened my mouth as quickly as I did.
I would have been charged with possession of a lethal weapon and an illegal substance. Either charge alone would have been sufficient to get me thrown in jail; together they would have sealed my fate.

As I continued down the road, I realized that my guardian angel had once again intervened. And I couldn’t help but wonder:
How many more close calls will I have before my luck runs out?

In 1995, I embarked on a co-headlining tour of the
United States and Canada with Peter Criss. It was billed as the Bad Boys tour. Each night, at the end of my set, Peter would return to the stage and joined me for one of the encores. Around this same time, Paul and Gene began a tour of “official” KISS conventions. When the tour hit Los Angeles, Peter made a special appearance with his daughter, performing “Hard Luck Woman” and “Nothin’ to Lose.”

Peter and I were both invited to attend the New York KISS convention in late July, but our tour scheduling made it impossible. A month later, KISS was scheduled to appear on MTV’s popular
Unplugged
series. Peter and I were again given an invitation to participate, and we decided to accept. We headed to New York after finishing the Bad Boys tour, and our first actual reunion with Paul and Gene took place at SIR studios, where we began rehearsing for the show. The event was well documented on video, and it is part of the
Unplugged
DVD that was released a few months later.

On August 9, 1995, the
Unplugged
concert took place at Sony Studios in New York. KISS’s current lineup kicked off the show, and after a while Paul got on the microphone and announced that some members of “the family” were backstage. The crowd immediately started cheering, and as Peter and I walked out, they went crazy! After getting a hug from Paul and Gene, I greeted some of the cheering fans in the front row, including my daughter, Monique. After taking a seat next to Paul, I grabbed the microphone and yelled, “I don’t think anybody expected this, did they?” We immediately broke into “2000 Man” and followed it up with an acoustic version of “Beth.”

After a few more songs, we ended the show; then some fans in the audience began yelling, “Reunion tour!”

After the
Unplugged
performance, negotiations started between both camps in hopes of a possible reunion tour. The fans wanted it, and I thought it might be fun to throw on the Spaceman costume and makeup for old times’ sake. Discussions went on for several months, culminating with a meeting in Manhattan, at which Peter and I talked to Paul and Gene in Los Angeles via videoconference. It was the first time I’d ever experienced that type of technology, and I found it fascinating. During the meeting we discussed various subjects, and by its conclusion we’d come to a verbal agreement to move forward with the reunion tour. The final details of the contracts would be handled by our respective attorneys. In retrospect, I realize I could have negotiated a better deal for myself, but I agreed to their terms for the benefit of all concerned, and especially for the sake of the fans.

Nothing was announced to the press at that point. Instead we built upon the excitement of all the rumors by making an unannounced appearance at the Grammy Awards in full makeup and costume. We finally dropped the bomb at a huge press conference aboard the USS
Intrepid
in Manhattan. It was hosted by Conan O’Brien, and broadcast via satellite around the world. The response was overwhelming, and when tickets went on sale for the first show at Tiger Stadium in Detroit, all 40,000 tickets sold out in only forty-seven minutes.

The anticipation leading up to that show reached epic proportions among our fans, and they weren’t disappointed. Opening night was electric! I decided to fly in Jeanette and Monique so they could be part of the whole experience. I was especially excited for Monique since she was just a baby when the KISS phenomenon was at its peak, and I had always wanted her to better understand exactly how crazy the whole thing was. When Monique was growing up, I’d sometimes show her pictures and videos, but I don’t think she ever fully understood it. Tonight was her chance, and I was more excited for her than I was for myself. This was my second time around, after all.

The closer it came to showtime, the more a strange sense of déjà vu permeated the air. From the moment we hit the stage, 40,000 screaming fans stood up, and the excitement continued until the final encore. When the show was over, we congratulated each other backstage; there was a genuine feeling of camaraderie in the dressing room. The tour continued throughout the year and was the highest-grossing tour of 1996.