As one of the original four members of KISS, guitar legend Ace Frehley, aka The Spaceman, forged a successful solo career after his departure from the group in 1982, first with Frehley’s Comet and then under his own name. Though he returned to KISS for another stint between 1996 and 2002, he has continued as a solo artist. His recently released album, 10,000 Volts, sees Frehley firing on all cylinders.
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Featuring a barrage of guitar riffing, catchy melodies and smoking guitar solos, it retains all the hallmarks of Frehley’s signature style. On one song, Cosmic Heart, Frehley reflects on his life thus far.
“The message is kind of about me, as it talks about my life,” he says.
“There is one line in the song where it goes, ‘one day I woke up and my soul wasn't mine’, I had pretty much hit bottom.
“So, I wrote the lyrics about myself.
“I love the song and think it is very powerful.”
And, as is the norm with every Frehley album, it closes with an instrumental — this one called Stratosphere.
“It’s kind of become a tradition with me to include an instrumental on every album I’ve recorded,” he says.
“For this album, I’d written three or four different instrumentals, but I wasn't crazy about any of them.
“Then Steve Brown, my co-producer of the album, wrote this guitar picking part, and we ended up developing the part that he wrote and it became Stratosphere.”
While famed for his guitar playing, Frehley has another side to his creative life: a life-long love for computer graphics and animation, something he puts his hand to on many of his albums’ artwork.
“I really didn’t have much to do with the graphics on this album, though,” he says.
“The last computer graphic I did was for KISS’s Psycho Circus album.
“I did the animation for when all four of our make-ups morphed from one to the other.
“And I did that on my laptop!”
Never one to rest on his laurels, Frehley is already looking to his next project.
“Once this album has had its run and I have finished touring and promoting this record, I’ll go into the studio and start working on Origins Volume 3, another covers album,” he says.
“Those records are a lot of fun to do because I don’t have to write the songs and I don’t have to write the lyrics.
“They’re just songs that I loved and grew up with and enjoyed playing when I played bars and church dances.
“It gives me a chance to put my own stamp on a song that I admired from day one.
“Or as someone best described it, to ‘Ace-i-fi-it’.”
During his 50-year career, Frehley has experienced both highs and lows, but he has remained resolute.
“I always had a feeling, no matter what I did, that eventually I would be successful,” he says.
“If I wasn’t successful with KISS, I would’ve been successful with another band.
“I was destined to be a rock star.
“I knew that when I was 16 years old, and I never deviated from that idea in my mind.”
For more info: www.acefrehley.com
Ville Valo live review
It had been 10 years since Finnish love metal exponents HIM led by the charismatic Ville Valo last performed in Australia before the band called it a day on New Year’s Eve 2017. In its aftermath, Valo embarked on a solo career under the moniker of VV. Last week, Valo returned to our shores in solo mode, performing to a sold-out crowd at the Northcote Theatre in Melbourne.
As the lights dimmed, and the intro music played through the PA speakers, the anticipation reached fever pitch before Valo hit the stage to ear-deafening applause. Backed by a high-calibre and tight-sounding band, Valo ploughed through a set list that seamlessly alternated between material from his debut solo album Neon Noir, such as Echolocate Your Love and Run Away from The Sun, to popular HIM classics, such as The Funeral of Hearts and Rip Out the Wings of a Butterfly.
As soon as the opening notes of Join Me in Death sounded, the handheld devices lit up the room, the crowd erupting into an almighty sing-along. Rather than any in-between song banter, Valo let his music do the talking, the power of which resonated with his dedicated and enthusiastic audience, many of whom were resplendent in their gothic-esque costumes and T-shirts sporting Valo’s signature and newly updated Heartagram symbol. Valo is blessed with an impressive vocal range, the strength and flexibility of which was on full display on the night. With equal parts ferocity and tenderness, topped by emotive melodies, it was a love metal fest at its glorious best.
Music news
Blondie are currently in the mixing process for their next album, which is due out later this year.
Also, busy in the studio recording a new album is Lady Gaga. The album will be a follow-up to 2020’s Chromatica.
American business magazine Forbes has named Journey’s 1981 hit Don’t Stop Believin’ as the biggest song of all time. It is also the best-selling digital track of the 20th century!
Former Dire Straits main man Mark Knopfler has released a star-studded re-recording of his 1983 solo single Going Home: Theme of the Local Hero, which features a who’s who of the guitar-playing world, with names such as Brian May, Eric Clapton, Ronnie Wood and Tony Iommi all adding their own six-string contribution to the song.
Farewell to Steve Harley of Cockney Rebel fame, who sadly passed away last week at the age of 73. I was honoured to be considered a friend of Harley’s (whom I had known since the early 2000s) and to have played guitar for the English singer/songwriter on his 2012 promo tour of Australia. Harley’s signature hit, Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me), reached No.1 on the UK chart in 1975, while in Australia the song peaked at No.17.
Music charts
U.S Billboard Hot 100: No.1 We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love) — Ariana Grande
UK Official Top 100: No.1 Beautiful Things — Benson Boone
Australia ARIA Top 50: No.1 Beautiful Things — Benson Boone
Fun fact
While the bagpipes are thought of as a traditional instrument of Scotland, their exact origin remains a mystery. Several historians believe the bagpipes may have originated in ancient Egypt, later making their way to Britain via the Romans.
Joe Matera is a local singer/songwriter, recording artist, guitarist and music journalist providing readers with all the latest music news.
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