Now that we have a firm release date for the new G&R CD, one of the most popular questions I get through this site and on the radio shows is "wheres the new Ace album"? Ace has been asking me to come to his home studio and give him my thoughts on what he is working on for a few months, but with my schedule and upcoming TV show on VH1 Classic its been a little hard to free up the time. Well I finally made the trip to his place in Westchester NY yesterday and we had a great time as always. Ace has been a close friend for over 20 years now and was the first artist I ever signed and worked with at a label in the 80's. Amazingly he has not done a new CD since. Obviously much has gone on in his life since Trouble Walkin, Kiss reunions, career ups and downs, and most importantly he got sober. Another huge thing that has happened is a radical change in the music business and how people make and market records and how many they can sell. Ace knows he can trust me and knows I will give it to him straight, which is why he really wanted me to come and help him make some decisions on what to do next and hear where he's at with a CD he has been talking about for years.
Ace lives in the woods of Westchester NY. A really nice country area. There are a couple houses and his studio on the property. The studio is a converted barn. A really cool place to say the least. The studio is a very lived in rock and roll place. Original Kiss gold and platinum records are on the walls, many falling apart in the frame due to being over 30 years old. Still cool and authentic. Other Kiss/Ace memorabilia from the years is all over the place, including stuff from the reunion and some of Ace's Kiss stage clothing. Ace has been a close friend forever, but it's still so cool as a fan to take all this in and go back in time. We even looked at some photos from the 80's and early 90's from the original solo bands and tours and it brought back many memories! Needless to say there are guitars and instruments all around and a really cool main control room to the studio with the latest computer recording equipment. Ace was one of the first guys I ever knew really into computers, so it's natural he has fully embraced it for recording.
As for the music. I first heard 3 songs Ace was mixing about a year ago at a studio in NYC. All sounded good to me but obviously I hadn't lived with them like Ace has. He now has about 15 total songs, 6 of which have been mixed by two different people. Jay Messina, who has worked with Kiss and Aerosmith to name a few in the past, and Mchael Barbiero, best know for the production team in the 80's of Thompson/Barbiero (Tesla, G&R) also mixed some stuff. There are also many songs not mixed, some not complete, and some still being written. You can already see where the delays are. This is an album in several phases of completion. If he wanted to put out a 5 song EP it's pretty much done, but the challenge is figuring out the direction he wants the album to be, what songs make it, and what mixes. Some of the songs I heard include "Sister", which has been around for years and was played live, "Pain In The Neck", which Ace said could be the albums title, "Gehnghis Kahn", which may be an instrumental, and my favorite so far,"Change The World", which has a very heavy Beatles vibe. As far as the direction, the album is more in line with classic Kiss than anything that has been on any original members solo releases thus far. Gene's last album was a little quirky and all over the map, Paul's glossy and pop leaning, Peter's more ballads and standards influenced. This is straight down the middle, in your face, loud guitars, hard rock. Exactly what Kiss fans would expect. I urged Ace to make a CD for him and his fans, not to follow trends. It was important I stressed to him that the days of having a hit record are likely over. Nothing to do with material, just the reality of the business now for classic based artists (of course I'd love to be wrong!). The guitars sounded great on what I heard and Ace's playing was in top form. He sings lead on all the songs, is producing the record and wrote everything. The band on the recordings is his current touring band. Most striking to me about what I heard was Ace's voice. It has never sounded better on record. Clean and in that high register, with the Ace attitude. He credited this to his sobriety, as well as the quality of his playing.
All in all what I heard is very promising, but I would not expect it to be released anytime soon. Ace still has some questions to answer about this material, what will make the CD, what it will sound like, and he is still getting new song ideas which is making him rethink things. When you have your own home studio, no label telling you deadlines, and the demand from the fans that want an Ace album as good as the first Frehley's Comet or Touble Walkin (or of course the '78 all time classic!). there is no release date except for when Ace feels its ready. He also has some interest from a few labels and has to decide if he wants to go that route or do what many artists are now doing and sell direct. He also needs to get up an offical website. So there is still much to do on the business and recording fronts, and again, no deadline but his own. He understands fans are frustrated and want new music from him, but until he thinks it right its not coming out. I am helping him where I can and can tell you I really think it will make Kiss fans and Ace fans happy when it does come out but the release is not imminent in my judgement.
After the studio we went to dinner and caught up on all sorts of stuff. For me personally I am most proud of the man Ace has become the last few years. He is sober, logical, and reflective about his career. Very simply, he now "gets it" and is a survivor to say the least. I've seen everything over the decades with the guy, but I am most proud for the changes he made in his lifestyle. If he stays focused, maybe brings in an outside producer, finds a manager he likes (all things he's considering) and maybe makes some personal deadlines we might see this sometime next year. But again, don't hold me to that. It all depends on how he's feeling about things. Trust me when I say that it exists, it rocks, and I think Kiss/Ace fans will love it when its ready if he stays on track. I of course will keep you posted.
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