ACE FREHLEY 'Had Every Opportunity In The World To Continue in KISS'

Guitarist Tommy Thayer, who joined KISS in February 2003, stepping into the boots the band's original axeman, Ace Frehley, had been occupying for the KISS reunion that lasted from 1996 to 2002, has refused to criticize his predecessor, insisting in a new interview that he wishes "all the best to everybody."

Last year, Frehley spoke out against Thayer in an interview, describing him as "just a guy up there copying me and trying to move like me and trying to sing like me and trying to play like me."

But Thayer has declined to fire back at Frehley, telling Australia's The Herald: "I don't want to get into a back-and-forth, but I'm sure you can kind of assess what you think when you hear all that."

He continued: "I think [Ace] had every opportunity in the world to continue in KISS and be in KISS as long as he did the right thing, but it worked out better for me and he has to lead his life.

"As far as the jabs and all that, he can say that stuff and I'm not going to say anything bad about him."

Thayer added: "I just wish all the best to everybody in whatever they're doing."

During an interview for VH1 Classic "That Metal Show" co-host Eddie Trunk's podcast, "Eddie Trunk Podcast", Ace — who claims that he has "never seen KISS perform" without him and vows that he "never will" ("I've looked at videos on YouTube, and that lasted about 15 seconds," he admitted) — was asked what his "evaluation" is of Tommy "dressed as [Ace]" and "doing [Ace's] thing." He responded: "[Tommy is] not Ace Frehley by any stretch of the imagination, number one. Number two, what bothers me the most is that I know the new fans that KISS are getting don't know it. A lot of people that see Tommy up there think he's the original guy that created the makeup, that wrote great songs and wrote all those solos that he's performing, but he's not. He's just a guy up there copying me and trying to move like me and trying to sing like me and trying to play like me. And that's what bothers me the most. I mean, the real hardcore fans know. But the new fans, a lot of them don't know."

Continue reading at blabbermouth.net >>