kaleb Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 Ace Frehley "Personal Guitar Signings" He's offering personal guitar signings in a "private" setting for $500 (per guitar). I'm the biggest Ace fan (DUH!) but I'm also straight-up and honest. Great idea, but for 500 bucks (and per guitar!)? If that ain't taking advantage of the Rock Soldiers, I don't know what is! Dime (RIP) would have done this for free. This should be $100 bucks at the most. Not even that. $50 is fine. I understand that he (and his management team) has to make money, but if he wants the Benjamins rolling in, he better get his *** back out on the road. Sucks, because some fan will pay $500 for Ace's shortcomings (namely his lack of ever showing up on time). Now, if he knocked off one zero I'd go for it! But seeing as how tickets to his shows only cost around $30-$50, 500 big ones for a goofy guitar player to sign my guitar in my own home and show up a half-hour late to do it is beyond me. Ace, you better make your flights this time! Don't continue to vindicate Gordon G.G. Gebert (co-author of the KISS & Tell books and some other rock books)! Now, I'm gonna go eat my donut and listen to Badlands. Ack! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 I think you need to pick a new favorite guitar player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaleb Posted February 14, 2013 Author Share Posted February 14, 2013 I think you need to pick a new favorite guitar player. It's not Ace, it's really AXE! On the serious side of things, it's hard to understand my passion for this stuff unless you're physically around me. This whole Ace deal doesn't effect me at all. I just feel for the more blind-worshipping (avoid the "Ace is God" quote from my signature. That is just for shits n' giggles and the fact that Dime said it!) and devoted Rock Soldiers that will do this. Whatever floats your boat, right? I'm not into the signing stuff anyway (plus, he never comes around my neck of the woods, or even the Northwest region). But I'm waiting for his new album Eddie Trunk keeps yapping about, and for him to tour (so I can see him again...). Looks like the Comet reunion thing isn't gonna happen. Plus, I'm not really a fanboy. I will gladly point out when he plays like ****, or when he puts out a bad song ("Dolls", the Second Sighting album for example), and I still think he's a mediocre at best singer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 Kaleb I love this stuff! Nobody else but you would.... I don't know anything about A** except that he was in K*** and I've no idea who Eddie Trunk is!! Brilliant post!! Will anyone pay? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaleb Posted February 14, 2013 Author Share Posted February 14, 2013 Kaleb I love this stuff! Nobody else but you would.... I don't know anything about A** except that he was in K*** and I've no idea who Eddie Trunk is!! Brilliant post!! Will anyone pay? Eddie Trunk is a guy that gets paid for being an intense hard rock/heavy metal fan (radio personality, TV host, ex-VP of Megaforce records, among much other things). That's my definition of him in a nutshell. Some people (especially some KISS fans) dislike him, but I love him because he is honest, uncensored, and who else talks about/plays UFO, Accept, and Overkill on the radio! If I wasn't a musician, I'd definitely be pursuing what he does (either that or stand-up comedy). Will anyone pay? Definitely. But not me. I just think it's kind of a rip-off on the Ace people's part (Gene Simmons-like, one might say). I doubt he even wants to do this. Capitalism, capitalism. Maybe he's going broke? Has KISS stopped paying him? Or maybe he's back on the bottle and the great-white man powder? (let's hope not...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaleb Posted February 14, 2013 Author Share Posted February 14, 2013 I've always felt that he had problems with establishing himself as a solo artist. This is not what I meant by "establish your brand". He should put out DVDs seeing as there are a ****-ton of bootlegs out there. He'd make more money off of $30 DVDs than $500 autographs. Now that I think about, for me, this ploy is not a good idea. I'm not that kind of fan. I would much rather run into Ace at a club or something and show my appreciation in a nice and reserved manner than pay too much money for the man to come to my house and Sharpie up my SG. I am a musician and I respect him that way. This is like the KISS Monster book (which, went the way of The Elder, as I like to say): A good idea but in the end, a rip off to both the fans and the band. Like the Stones' overpriced tickets. Capitalism is nice, but she's also a *****. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 Eddie Trunk is a guy that gets paid for being an intense hard rock/heavy metal fan... I doubt he even wants to do this. Maybe he's going broke? Yes I googled Eddie...smart guy, created a situation where he gets paid for doing what he loves and would probably do anyway. I'm envious. But I am not envious of Ace Frehley. I think he wants to do it because he is going broke! This is trading on a (fading) legend. Trouble is, there's sort of a pecking order in autographs too, it's a big business and for $500 you could probably get a couple of Apollo astronauts and an ex-President at least, or a couple of major Hollywood stars. Ringo and Ian Anderson of Tull are two who have stopped signing because people would just get them to autograph something and sell it on eBay. The tradition of signing a guitar then auctioning it for charity, that's different. Ace may make a few grand on his legend and run a few licks for his well-off faithful but he'd have to pay me to sign my guitar. The only way he can get his rep back up is to get out and play well in a good band with good, contemporary material and it wouldn't be major-league either but very, very hard work. This is what faces not only Ace Frehley but many other ageing guitarists who no longer have the safety net of band and record company - in his case whatever royalties he continues to accrue from K*** are probably not enough. And some people will find the idea of a now-dissipated ex-rock star sitting in Vegas waiting for people to come and pay him hundreds to sign their guitars completely ludicrous if not obscene - another (English female) star recently offered a 'meet n' greet' for money - it wasn't a success at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 Whilst I take on board all of the sensible comments and realistic approaches to the scheme I have to say I wish him good luck. When we consider what Gibson CS are charging for an aged-and-signed model over the basic aged one $500 seems positively cheap. Don't believe me? Look at this, if you have the time; http://www2.gibson.c...l-Standard.aspx To get the aged and signed one was an eye-watering $10,586:00 over the price of the aged version.......................$10K for the Rev's autograph. At least with Ace you get to spend a minute or two with him, he does his doodle on your guit and you get one snap of the pair of you and another one of him with your guitar to-boot! See? Convinced yet? Put into that perspective the project as planned seems like a Veritable Bargain! How many guitars can I put you down for, Sir?......... P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Farnsbarns Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 I would think that if Ace Frehley signed my guitar it would devalue by at least $500. Maybe it's a typo and he is offering $500 per guitar for the publicity. I still wouldn't go for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 Yes P...your post reminds me of one Lashurst put up recently, and points up the sheer lunacy of the whole thing. It has become surreal...look again at Frehley's website - you can buy a signed CD for $30! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 Yes P...your post reminds me of one Lashurst put up recently, and points up the sheer lunacy of the whole thing. It has become surreal...look again at Frehley's website - you can buy a signed CD for $30! I didn't look through the whole site, I have to admit......... Yup; through his site you can even buy a whole Budokan 3-pup Custom LP signed and doodled for $1,799 which means, in effect (if we consider the signing session fee up-charge) they are throwing in the LP for $1,299. Mind you, it's an Epiphone... Bargain City ! P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 --- sorry but this is laughable... To each his own I guess... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slavestate Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 Who is Ace Frehley? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaleb Posted February 14, 2013 Author Share Posted February 14, 2013 I have no problems (well, I do, but I understand the situation) with charging for signing appearances; since the record industry has been dipping over the last decade and artists don't sell records in a physical format like they used to, other things (tickets, signing/in-store appearances, etc) go up in price. And, the event/store the artist is appearing at has to make money. So that explains that part. But $500 for this is just ridiculous IMHO. Again, just like the KISS Monster photo book from last summer: great idea, would be cool to have, but not for 4 grand. Money talks, bullshit walks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaleb Posted February 14, 2013 Author Share Posted February 14, 2013 ...and, again, I stress that no matter how much of a fan I am (this applies to anybody, not just to Ace or KISS), I'm NOT a brown-noser. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hall Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 I would think that if Ace Frehley signed my guitar it would devalue by at least $500. Maybe it's a typo and he is offering $500 per guitar for the publicity. I still wouldn't go for it. Agreed.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AXE® Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 And yet. We all know who Ace is. Does Ace know who you are? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Farnsbarns Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 In reality the only reason I have ever heard of Ace Frehley is because of Kaleb's posting about him once or twice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AXE® Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 Twice I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderchild Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 Twice I think. 'AXE®, your new avatar scares the SH%T out of me. {kinda like it } TC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AXE® Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 lolz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaleb Posted February 14, 2013 Author Share Posted February 14, 2013 This isn't about Ace, about KISS. It's about the industry. Perhaps I should have made this a broader topic. Just about the insane signing prices in general. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Izzy Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Whilst I take on board all of the sensible comments and realistic approaches to the scheme I have to say I wish him good luck. When we consider what Gibson CS are charging for an aged-and-signed model over the basic aged one $500 seems positively cheap. Don't believe me? Look at this, if you have the time; http://www2.gibson.c...l-Standard.aspx To get the aged and signed one was an eye-watering $10,586:00 over the price of the aged version.......................$10K for the Rev's autograph. At least with Ace you get to spend a minute or two with him, he does his doodle on your guit and you get one snap of the pair of you and another one of him with your guitar to-boot! See? Convinced yet? Put into that perspective the project as planned seems like a Veritable Bargain! How many guitars can I put you down for, Sir?......... P. Right on, Pip. That puts it in perspective. A star that values their stock wouldn't do this. Madonna stopped signing autographs in the 80s. The press gave her poo when she refused to sign a little girl's poster (Who's That Girl tour 1987), but she hunched and explained that she was sorry which is more than anyone else would do, and she ALSO stuck to her guns in the face of adoarbleness. She will sign your body (as seen in Truth or Dare) but not anything permanent. This way the value of her autograph remains high. Does Ace not care? He must need the mula. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Izzy Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 'AXE®, your new avatar scares the SH%T out of me. {kinda like it } TC Glad I'm not the only one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaleb Posted February 15, 2013 Author Share Posted February 15, 2013 Does Ace not care? He must need the mula. Well, he's not Madonna, or even Gene Simmons or Paul Stanley. He's only worth around 30 million (as far as I know). KISS' manager Doc McGhee is worth more than Ace and Peter Criss combined for cryin' out loud. It has more to do with Ace's management and the industry as a whole than the man himself. I'm sure this was NOT his idea. No "rock star" makes decisions like this unless they're money-smart (like Mr. Simmons and Zakk Wylde, for example); they are pretty careless with money, and they don't care about their stocks. From what I know about Ace, I wouldn't be surprised if he stores his money in his mattress or inside a safe in his home. I also think the same thing about Keith Richards, if that makes any sense (which I'm sure it doesn't...). But, like I have said, if he DOES need the money, he should earn it the right way by hittin' the road! Hard work pays off! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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