New York City-born Ace Frehley has wowed onstage with his band KISS as pyrotechnics exploded and amplifiers blared the big rock songs out into the universe. A co-founder of the band, Frehley was the group’s original lead guitar player.
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As part of KISS, Frehley, 72, has done a lot and seen even more. He has also enjoyed a solid solo career, as well, founding the band Frehley’s Comet. So, with all that behind him, one might wonder what Frehley has to say about life and love, his craft, his band, and the world at large. Here below are the best 20 Ace Frehley quotes.
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1. “My life has been a roller-coaster ride, but somehow I’ve always been able to land on my feet and still play the guitar.”
2. “I’ve been around a long time, so I guess I’ve touched a lot of people’s lives—hopefully for the better.”
3. “I’m the kind of person, you got to fight for everything you get. You got to believe in yourself.”
4. “That’s what KISS is all about—not just music, but entertainment, y’know? We’re there to take you away from your problems, and rock and roll all night and party every day for those two hours you’re at the concert.”
5. “I don’t see this planet being. … They’re talking about how they’re turning around the environmental problems here, but I think it’s already too late.”
6. “As long as I know what key the solo is in, I try to kind of empty my mind and not think about anything. I just play without thinking.”
7. “Whenever I start to really think about what I’m playing, I may play it better musically, but the feeling isn’t there.”
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8. “I had a feeling it was going to work out because not only did I enjoy the music and hit it off with the guys, but I was into theatrical rock and was willing to wear makeup and do anything to make it.”
9. “I’ve recorded 25 or 30 albums. I know that sometimes when you work with producers who are kind of dictators, it doesn’t help you make a better record.”
10. “I can’t even read notes. But I can teach someone how to make a guitar smoke.”
11. “I knew I was destined to be a rock star. I just knew it, like I’ve always had the power of foresight. I feel right now exactly the way I felt after I finished mixing my first solo album.”
12. “It’s always good to walk in a room and know everybody kind of looks up to you because I guess I’ve earned it.”
13. “One of the greatest gifts I’ve ever gotten is my daughter.”
14. “People, y’know, they either love us or they hate us; there’s no middle ground.”
15. “I went to my friend’s house one day, and he had an electric guitar he had just bought with a tiny little amp. I turned the volume up to 10 and I hit one chord, and I said, ‘I’m in love.'”
16. “When you take a shower in space, you have to press the water onto your body to clean yourself, and then you gotta vacuum it off.”
17. “I loved playing the guitar and I knew I was pretty good at it, so that’s what I wanted to do with my life.”
18. “I’ve learned a lot of tricks from working with a lot of great producers over the years, and I think I should write a book about it!”
19. “I don’t like to practice; I like spontaneity. When I don’t play guitar for a week and I pick it up again, I play better.”
20. “For me it’s about the music, and it always has been. Maybe for some other people it’s more about money.”
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