Former Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley revealed that he’d once made a beer commercial with Rick Nielsen as the guitarists had fun on tour together, and that he plans to put it on YouTube as soon as he finds it.
In an interview with Ultimate Guitar the Space Ace discussed entertaining members of Cheap Trick and Rush backstage, along with his bandmate Peter Criss – but also said he hadn’t enjoyed the same relationship with Black Sabbath on the road.
Rush opened for Kiss a number of times in the mid ‘70s, while Cheap Trick did the same in 1977. “I loved Rush,” Frehley said. “I’m really good friends with all the guys. I’m heartbroken that Neil Peart passed away.
“But after the show – I would say eight out of ten evenings – those three guys would come to my room or Peter’s room… or we had a hospitality suite in the hotel. And we’d all drink beer and smoke pot. Alex Lifeson used to dress up with a bag over his head and we’d just entertain each other, and get loaded. A lot of times, I’d just be rolling around on the floor – it was hysterical!”
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He continued: “Peter Criss used to do this imitation of this crazy, drugged-out doctor called Dr. Rosenbloom. He’d put glasses on and he’d mess up his hair. It was like we’d take turns getting up on this little podium that we had set up in the room – that’s how we entertained ourselves and got through the tour… if we weren’t hanging out with chicks. Once chicks came in, that broke up the party a little sooner than we anticipated!”
Frehley noted that he “never really hung out with the guys in Black Sabbath,” explaining: “They were a little more standoffish. I mean, they were friendly, but I just never connected myself with them as I did with the guys in Rush and Cheap Trick.”
Ace Frehley’s Spoof Beer Commercial Lost in a Locker
Recalling his times with Cheap Trick, he said: “I’m still looking for a tape. I did a beer commercial with Rick Nielsen. These were early days: I bought a whole camera and recording system, Sony, black and white.
“And I had him do a beer commercial and it was hysterical. I have the tape somewhere. But I have four lockers and I don’t know what two-thirds of the stuff is in there… eventually, I’ll track down that tape and put it on YouTube. That was a lot of fun.”
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Gallery Credit: Matt Wardlaw
