ACE FREHLEY Doesn’t ‘Get’ The KISS ‘Avatar Thing’: It Looks Like It Is ‘Geared Towards Children’

In a new interview with Germany’s Rock Antenne, original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley was asked if he is happy the band’s farewell tour, “End Of The Road”, is finally over. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I’m happy it’s over, because I’m not gonna be compared to them anymore… But I don’t get this avatar thing that they’re gonna do,” he continued, referencing KISS‘s announcement that the bandmembers will carry on as digital versions of themselves. “I mean, I saw some of it on a video on YouTube last night. It kind of looked like it was geared towards children. And it’s not rock and roll. I get up on stage without backing tracks, plug my amp into it, plug my guitar into a Marshall and go. That’s it. It’s always been that way and always will be.”

Asked if he actually watched the last KISS show online, Ace said: “I watched [a YouTube video of the show in] Indianapolis [from the ‘End Of The Road’ tour], and I’m not impressed. But that’s me. Tommy Thayer is not a bad guitarist. He just is more mechanical than me. Nobody can copy my solos the way I play them, because I’m sloppy and nobody can move like me. Nobody. And I’m surprised the fans bought Tommy pretty much, because I think for several years that Tommy was in the band, people didn’t even know it wasn’t me. I used to get phone calls from people and say, ‘Hey, KISS is playing in town. Can you get me tickets?’ I go, ‘I’m not in the band anymore.’ They go, ‘You’re not?’ Because when I quit the band the second time, they did not make a big press release. They kind of buried it and just made the transition. But the last tour I did with KISS, Tommy Thayer was bringing me sandwiches and he was a tour manager and a gofer. But he’s not a bad guitar player. I’m actually friends with Tommy — just all the guys in the band. I’m good friends with [KISS drummer] Eric Singer. Me and Gene [Simmons, KISS bassist/vocalist] are very close. When Gene put out his ‘Vault Experience’, I went on the road with him. I went to Australia with him. Before we made it really big, me and Gene used to room together. So Gene has a soft spot in his heart for me.”

The technology being used for the KISS avatars, originally developed for ABBA‘s “Voyage” show in London, will allow KISS to stay “on the road” in retirement.

The KISS avatars were created by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) and were financed and produced by the Swedish company Pophouse Entertainment, which is behind “ABBA Voyage”.

Unlike the “ABBA Voyage” show, which recreates a 1970s-era ABBA concert in a custom-built London arena, KISS‘s avatars that appeared at the band’s final concert in New York earlier this month will not be as grounded in reality as ABBA‘s digital replicas. According to BBC News, the KISS avatars were eight feet tall, breathing fire and shooting electricity from their fingers, while floating above the audience.

No details have been announced yet for KISS‘s plan with the band’s avatars. “We’re going to figure it out after the tour,” Pophouse CEO Per Sundin said prior to the final show at Madison Square Garden. “Is it a KISS concert in the future? Is it a rock opera? Is it a musical? A story, an adventure? These four individuals already have superpowers. We want to be as open as possible.”

The avatars will now be available for live shows around the world and in digital online settings, which some people collectively refer to as the metaverse.

KISS will reportedly become the first American band to go fully virtual and stage its own avatar show.

Last month, Frehley told SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk” about KISS‘s “End Of The Road” farewell tour: “To be honest, I don’t really believe they’re ending their touring career. How many times have they said they were gonna retire? How many times have half a dozen groups said they were gonna retire and still come back?”

In October, Frehley told Mark Strigl of SiriusXM‘s Ozzy’s Boneyard that he doesn’t hold a grudge against KISS, despite all the badmouthing that has gone on between him and some of the other original KISS members in recent years.

“I wish KISS the best, all the best on their final shows for the ‘End Of The Road’ tour,” he said. “There’s really no hard feelings. We say things sometimes in the heat of passion or sometimes our memory isn’t… [we don’t] recall things. But I love those guys. We’re all getting old, our memory isn’t what it used to be, so I just let it roll off my back.”

KISS launched its farewell trek in January 2019 but was forced to put it on hold in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“End Of The Road” was originally scheduled to conclude on July 17, 2021 in New York City but was extended to late 2023. The trek was announced in September 2018 following a KISS performance of the band’s classic song “Detroit Rock City” on “America’s Got Talent”.

Ace Frehley photo credit: Jayme Thornton