NEW YORK GROOVES

Ace Frehley's six greatest Kiss-era guitar moments

- ANDREW DALY

ONE OF OUR favorite Ace Frehley quotes is something he told us last year: "If I'd known I was going to influence thousands of guitar players, I woulda practiced more!" He was joking, of course, but there's an element of truth to the Spaceman's words. No one ever could've accused Ace, a free-spirited (and, in his youth), hard-partying type, of being meticulous when it came to his playing. The Spaceman was more of a grip-it-and-rip-it guy.

“I’m always flattered when people tell me I influenced them,” Frehley told GW in September 2024. “I've had so many players come up to me and say, 'You are the reason I play guitar,' and I’m always like, ‘Wow…’

To Frehley’s point, everyone from John 5 to Marty Friedman to Richie Kotzen to Tom Morello to Nuno Bettencourt (should we keep going?) was encouraged to pick up the guitar because of Frehley's electrified antics.

No, the man from Planet Jendell didn't possess the skill of Eddie Van Halen, the work ethic of John 5 or the business acumen of Paul Stanley, but it didn’t matter. Frehley had a vibe, look, style and tone that transcended all that other stuff. He also had a knack for writing catchy riffs, solos and songs that many kids-turned-rock stars learned in their bedrooms and still play professionally today. Here are six of our favorites.

Cold Gin

Kiss (1974)

It's no secret that Frehley liked to drink in his younger (and yes, some of his older) days. Alas, one of his earliest contributions to Kiss's catalog was “Cold Gin,” a hard-riffing drinking song tailor-made for biker-bar singalongs. There have been rumors that Frehley used an Ovation Breadwinner on 1974's Kiss, but he ended those rumors last year, when he told