Kaleb's Back!!!!

[kaleb]

I have took sometime in this last week or two to mature a little (fourmite wise!). And I miss the forums. I love posting my 2c (stating the obvious. I know, my posts are LONG!!!!!) and giving my personal opinion. And if it makes ya' feel any better, I never joined another forum. I have always wondered about joining MLP (MyLesPaul), but the Gibson forums are very possibly the best, along with The Gear Page. And I promise that I won't talk about Ace Frehley or anything Kiss-related in super excess like I have been.

[damian]

All of your posts have always been top shelf.........Welcome back....

[stein]

Dude:

 

If Ace's music turns your crank, then you SHOULD go on about it. That's what makes it happen.

 

We don't all have to dig the same things, and feel the same way about things. I don't have to LIKE Ace the way you do, that's why YOU should be the one to talk about it. Somebody has to carry the flame. I learn about ACE, you learn about....whatever I (and others) might go on about. We all win here.

[kaleb]

Dude:

 

If Ace's music turns your crank, then you SHOULD go on about it. That's what makes it happen.

 

We don't all have to dig the same things, and feel the same way about things. I don't have to LIKE Ace the way you do, that's why YOU should be the one to talk about it. Somebody has to carry the flame. I learn about ACE, you learn about....whatever I (and others) might go on about. We all win here.

 

Yeah, you're absolutely positively correct! His music does make me feel at ease (it even makes me glow! Shock Me reference!). But when I get fixed on something (beit Ace, Rush, or back when I was the biggest Kiss fan in town. Oh, I mean Gene Simmons/Paul Stanley incorporated!), I hardly ever listen to anything else. And I am fully aware that they're are better and more proficient musicians than Ace (as in I love Ace, as he steered me towards the art of lead guitar, but I'm sure that EVH or Lynch could stomp his Les Paul into his gut. They were influenced by Ace though. I can hear Ace's Alive II solo in Eruption. They're like Aces on STEROIDS!!!), but listening to him ignites the gas. Even though EVH's solos are more challenging for me to learn and make the other guitar players feel like getting day jobs (Lynch could tell ya' all about that! Just like Clapton, Townshend, and Beck when they first saw Hendrix play!), Ace is more interesting for me to listen to. I consider all of Ace's solo work and Kiss up till Alive II (with their best records being the first one thru Alive!, although I love Rock And Roll Over and consider it my favorite Kiss studio release. I have the record. Love Gun could compete with that, but Christine Sixteen and And Then She Kissed Me ruin it for me. I don't consider Destroyer to have the KISS sound, although it had some good songs. R&R Over is one of those records where I can listen to it all the way through, without interference from Beth or I Was Made For Loving You!) I gotta go listen to some other stuff as I am ACEing myself out. Oh, and anyone who disses his talent should listen to his post-Kiss solo albums (Trouble Walkin'!) and the song Fractured Mirror. That one is like a really simple Rush song!

[STAR CHILD]

Yeah, you're absolutely positively correct! His music does make me feel at ease (it even makes me glow! Shock Me reference!). But when I get fixed on something (beit Ace, Rush, or back when I was the biggest Kiss fan in town. Oh, I mean Gene Simmons/Paul Stanley incorporated!), I hardly ever listen to anything else. And I am fully aware that they're are better and more proficient musicians than Ace (as in I love Ace, as he steered me towards the art of lead guitar, but I'm sure that EVH or Lynch could stomp his Les Paul into his gut. They were influenced by Ace though. I can hear Ace's Alive II solo in Eruption. They're like Aces on STEROIDS!!!), but listening to him ignites the gas. Even though EVH's solos are more challenging for me to learn and make the other guitar players feel like getting day jobs (Lynch could tell ya' all about that! Just like Clapton, Townshend, and Beck when they first saw Hendrix play!), Ace is more interesting for me to listen to. I consider all of Ace's solo work and Kiss up till Alive II (with their best records being the first one thru Alive!, although I love Rock And Roll Over and consider it my favorite Kiss studio release. I have the record. Love Gun could compete with that, but Christine Sixteen and And Then She Kissed Me ruin it for me. I don't consider Destroyer to have the KISS sound, although it had some good songs. R&R Over is one of those records where I can listen to it all the way through, without interference from Beth or I Was Made For Loving You!) I gotta go listen to some other stuff as I am ACEing myself out. Oh, and anyone who disses his talent should listen to his post-Kiss solo albums (Trouble Walkin'!) and the song Fractured Mirror. That one is like a really simple Rush song!

 

Hey Kaleb,

 

I'm a big KISS fan too! I love ACE, and I got to meet ACE and shake his hand outside of the REGENCY in San Francisco back in 2008.

Rock and Roll OVER was my first KISS Album back in 1977, and it probably is my favorite. Dynasty really has some great guitar work

from Ace if you really listen to the songs? The Then she Kissed Me solo really is a beautiful melodic solo, really flowing!

[Searcy]

Welcome back man. If we all agreed there wouldn't be much need to talk right? We'd all just look at each other and go "I know".

[kaleb]

Hey Kaleb,

 

I'm a big KISS fan too! I love ACE, and I got to meet ACE and shake his hand outside of the REGENCY in San Francisco back in 2008.

Rock and Roll OVER was my first KISS Album back in 1977, and it probably is my favorite. Dynasty really has some great guitar work

from Ace if you really listen to the songs? The Then she Kissed Me solo really is a beautiful melodic solo, really flowing!

That's awesome. Was he a cool dude? I saw him last August in Three Forks, MT at the Rockin' The Rivers festival. Great. I can talk about how much I love Rock And Roll Over all day long (its my favorite Kiss studio album even if Ace didn't write any songs on it!). The track Makin' Love is right up there with the gods IMHO. As a rock player, I feel that Ace is just as talented as Jimmy Page (not including the latter's forays into other types of guitar). IMHO, Page, as much as I love him, is not great along the lines of Hendrix, Beck, or EVH, but is overrated. Ace lacks the virtuosity of those players I mentioned too, but he's way underrated if you ask me. Just need to look past the gimmick and Gene's personality (ever watch his show? I do not recommend it. I hate reality tv anyways), and listen to his solo albums (like the Frehley's Comet records). The solo in Makin' Love is still mind boggling for me to figure out for some reason. And yes, Dynasty has some great tunes on it, not just Ace's songs either. Dirty Livin' (only tune contributed by Peter) and Sure Know Something are great too. But I Was Made For Loving You, and the rest of the songs aside from the ones I mentioned put me off. That and I don't care for the production. There is only one producer who can reproduce the Kiss sound and that is Eddie Kramer. That explains why Ace's solo albums sounded more like great Kiss records then the other solo albums or the stuff Kiss did in the 80s (which is great because of Eric Carr and Bruce Kulick. RIP Eric Carr!!!). Even Bob Ezrin failed to do so. Destroyer doesn't sound like Kiss. And I didn't like it when he put pressure on the band and replaced them with studio musicians (we all know the Ace/Peter stories from Destroyer and on The Elder, Carr was replaced on one song.). That is low. Eddie captured the sound of Kiss live. Rock And Roll Over sounds like the Kiss live sound, only more enhanced and refined. I should go listen to And Then She Kissed Me now that I think about it. Nice to see more Ace fans, as he is often overlooked. I'm not in the Kiss Army, but I am a Rock Soldier (my name for true Ace fans). Anomaly is a great album BTW. Rock On!!!!!!!!

[WahKeen]

Pffft KISS MY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[SlashPerryBurst]

Big Kiss fan and Ace fan too. I agree about the dynasty album. Some spectacular work on there. A particular highlight was dirty livin'. It really got me interested in feedback. Ace is one of my biggest influences. I haven't had the pleasure of meeting him, but I did get to see him at the Download festival in 2008 (I think) the day after Kiss.

 

Having been woken up that morning by torrential rain, the rain finally died off about an hour before Ace's set began. After a few songs he said "good job it didn't rain" to the collective amusement of the crowd.

[kaleb]

Big Kiss fan and Ace fan too. I agree about the dynasty album. Some spectacular work on there. A particular highlight was dirty livin'. It really got me interested in feedback. Ace is one of my biggest influences. I haven't had the pleasure of meeting him, but I did get to see him at the Download festival in 2008 (I think) the day after Kiss.

 

Having been woken up that morning by torrential rain, the rain finally died off about an hour before Ace's set began. After a few songs he said "good job it didn't rain" to the collective amusement of the crowd.

 

When I saw him he cracked some jokes about Montana's dryness in comparison to where he lives. He also threw his water bottles in the audience. WHO'S THIRSTY! Followed by the famous Ace chuckle!

[SlashPerryBurst]

When I saw him he cracked some jokes about Montana's dryness in comparison to where he lives. He also threw his water bottles in the audience. WHO'S THIRSTY! Followed by the famous Ace chuckle!

 

Yeah, his "good job it didn't rain" was followed by a chuckle too.

[kaleb]

Yeah, his "good job it didn't rain" was followed by a chuckle too.

 

Yep, good ol' Ace, always cranking out the one liners! Even if you don't like Ace (there's a lot of Kiss fans that either prefer Tommy over Ace and or like Bruce Kulick or Vinny Vincent better. I like em' all. Mostly just Ace and Bruce though. Vinny, Tommy, and Mark St. John don't blow me away. Vinny never played anything that had feeling or taste in it IMHO, and I didn't like the VV Invasion either. I never liked Black n Blue. I don't support Kiss now even though I love Kiss. But Gene and Paul do things that put me off and no one, not even someone as awesome as Eric Singer should wear the Cat and Spaceman makeup. All about money. As far as Mark goes, I never heard enough of him to have an opinion so he is kind of in the neutral. But Ace and Bruce I will always love!) or Kiss (I can respect one that just doesn't like Kiss very much but I hate it when people never give the music a chance. Hotter Than Hell is one of the greatest heavy rock records of the 70s IMHO.), I recommend watching their interview with Tom Snyder on Halloween 1979 (in support of Dynasty). Ace was hysterical! And Gene and Paul were pretty pissed off!

[mikekefr]

Welcome back Kaleb,dude i was in your shoes many years ago,ill try to make this short, but playing Ace's parts, song after song,album after album,yes the vinyl albums,was all i did until i caught up to what they were producin,i wore the albums out and was so used to each song personally,that i could take the needle and land it just before the lead started on each song i practiced them so much lol,as you and i have talked about before,i lost interest on 'The Elder'.I think KISS alvie 2 is my fav,not that the 1st one was shabby,i love just about every song on both albums.IMHO though i didnt quite get the groove on side 4 of Alive 2,rocket ride was good but those songs just didnt have the same drive as the 3 live sides...just my .02 FYI my studio is plastered wall to wall w/ vinyl albums and the very 1st one ya see when ya walk in in Alive 2 w/ gene and all the blood lol.I have an epi Ace model,kiss items scattered all throughout my studio as well inside one of my curios,my point,i worshipped Ace from 16 yrs old till about mid 20's im guessin..when i started learning the albums,i went from the 1st song till the last,every time i picked the guitar up.I dont think you're gonna find anyone that has spent the years into the entire albums like i did when i was learnin to play,im 44 yrs old atm,so like i said about bein in your shoes,from 16 yrs old till about 26 i thought,played,and worshipped Ace just as you seem to do.So dont take it personal about mentioning Ace all the time,its just someone razzin ya,we all dont have to worship of follow the same influences or for the same duration.When i mentioned life after Ace,i was speaking from a personal experience,i was so consumed in KISS that it took me outgrowing them mixed w/ them putting out crap <the elder imo> that didnt come across as good as all the old stuff,to realize Ace really wasnt the 'greatest' as i had thought for so many years.Greatest as a guitarist for kiss yes,he was,im referring to newer, faster cats coming out bk then like,warren demartini,reb beach,kk downing,glen tipton,malmsteen.Not bashin Ace,it was just time to stop following KISS 'for me'...still love him and all the songs,anyway,welcome back and dont take it personal if ya see a thread like 'Ace Frehley liked CB Radios !!!!' LOL Just razzin ya Kaleb,nothin personal. Peace out Mike

[kaleb]

Welcome back Kaleb,dude i was in your shoes many years ago,ill try to make this short, but playing Ace's parts, song after song,album after album,yes the vinyl albums,was all i did until i caught up to what they were producin,i wore the albums out and was so used to each song personally,that i could take the needle and land it just before the lead started on each song i practiced them so much lol,as you and i have talked about before,i lost interest on 'The Elder'.I think KISS alvie 2 is my fav,not that the 1st one was shabby,i love just about every song on both albums.IMHO though i didnt quite get the groove on side 4 of Alive 2,rocket ride was good but those songs just didnt have the same drive as the 3 live sides...just my .02 FYI my studio is plastered wall to wall w/ vinyl albums and the very 1st one ya see when ya walk in in Alive 2 w/ gene and all the blood lol.I have an epi Ace model,kiss items scattered all throughout my studio as well inside one of my curios,my point,i worshipped Ace from 16 yrs old till about mid 20's im guessin..when i started learning the albums,i went from the 1st song till the last,every time i picked the guitar up.I dont think you're gonna find anyone that has spent the years into the entire albums like i did when i was learnin to play,im 44 yrs old atm,so like i said about bein in your shoes,from 16 yrs old till about 26 i thought,played,and worshipped Ace just as you seem to do.So dont take it personal about mentioning Ace all the time,its just someone razzin ya,we all dont have to worship of follow the same influences or for the same duration.When i mentioned life after Ace,i was speaking from a personal experience,i was so consumed in KISS that it took me outgrowing them mixed w/ them putting out crap <the elder imo> that didnt come across as good as all the old stuff,to realize Ace really wasnt the 'greatest' as i had thought for so many years.Greatest as a guitarist for kiss yes,he was,im referring to newer, faster cats coming out bk then like,warren demartini,reb beach,kk downing,glen tipton,malmsteen.Not bashin Ace,it was just time to stop following KISS 'for me'...still love him and all the songs,anyway,welcome back and dont take it personal if ya see a thread like 'Ace Frehley liked CB Radios !!!!' LOL Just razzin ya Kaleb,nothin personal. Peace out Mike

 

Yup. I don't know every song on all the original Kiss records (pre-Elder), but I know many of his solos and they are a nice platform for me to improvise upon and or draw influence for my own solos. I don't follow Kiss after The Elder (Escape From The Island was a pretty good Frehley/Carr jam. Shoulda been on another album though, with a different title IMHO), although I love Bruce and Eric and I think Revenge is one of the best Kiss albums ever made. But I'm not a Spaceman fan, I'm an Ace fan. A lot of the stuff from him that I listen to is from the Frehley's Comet albums as well as the Trouble Walkin' record, which nobody ever seems to acknowledge. I used to be a Kiss freak, and I actually worshiped all of the members (even that greedy fart Simmons!), but after I saw Ace live last summer (I knew it would be good, but I didn't know it was going to be that good! It put me back in the New York Groove, if you will), and got his book for Xmas, I started to listen to him more and more, and discover more of his music than I did from when I followed Kiss like a fox (no Eric Carr pun intended!). That combined with my burgeoning Rush worship sent me in a new musical direction. I had been primarily a blues-based guitar player, sorta in the Gary Moore/Bonamassa vein, but Alex Lifeson showed me that there is more to guitar playing than just the blues scale and pattern songs. And Ace showed me that there is nothing wrong with rockin' out and being somewhat of a showman onstage (I don't see why some musicians are against raising mayhem on the stage and treating a bar gig like its the Madison Square Garden. The audience has just as much to do with the equation as the band. If I see another guy wearing skinny jeans with weird earrings singing about depression and standing there like he is Peter Griffin at the board trying to do math problems my teapot is going to overflow. I miss intensity. Thunder. Kiss and Van Halen!). I was sorta brought up to play blues-based music (as in everybody wants me to play Stevie Ray riffs on a Strat thru a little amp while I wanna play Rip It Out and Finding My Way on a nice Les Paul thru a big wall of Marshall stacks!), but when I started listening to Ace again they ridiculed me (for ex., he's just a gimmick. Start listening to a real band, etc. Early Kiss music means something to me.), and when I started listening to Rush and warming up with their riffs and parts as exercises they just shook their heads and told me that Rush is just a mechanical, overly complicated, synthesizer band with rat tail caught in a trap vocal tones. I told them, "I can't keep playing blues forever. I gotta explore other sides." But then we got some gigs at a different bar and when I stuck in New York Groove and I Want You and Working Man into Voodoo Chile they went nuts! I just need to keep playing at real rocker bars! A bar where I can actually bring in a half stack and people won't run or call me overkill! I DON'T LIKE SMALL COMBO AMPS! Well, I do, but I like something with a little more torque under the hood. It suits my playing. I cannot stand it when other players tell me to get a 20 watt combo and use an overdrive pedal when they know I like to rock with balls on. I better shut up now...