Ace Frehley was my 1st guitar hero. Kiss was my first musical love. They were my 1st obsession. Kiss Alive was the 1st album I ever bought with my own money. It was the 1st album to hook me and haunt me. They filled my childhood, which was at that point filled with fear and anger, with excitement and joy.
My obsession for Kiss long since diminished but I’d be remiss if I didn’t honor the passing of Ace Frehley who passed away 16-Oct. 2025. His death does sadden me as yet another pivotal figure of my life moves on. He joins Ozzy, Eddie Van Halen, Jeff Beck, Neil Peart, Harold Budd, Vangelis, Lemmy, Prince, Tom Petty, David Bowie, Charlie Watts, Pete Way…and on and on…as people that meant so much to me, whom I never met but who contributed to memories and moments as real and as important and any attributed to my friends and family. Their departure from this life hits me in a very real way, perhaps not as acute as a loved one but no less real. Their departure is a reminder of the passage of time and a closing of a door to further contributions from their artistry to impact my life further. Yes, I still have the contributions from when they were alive and those contributions will live on in a way, but there will not be another Sabbath album or a VH show to go to, or an entertaining story about Ace Frehley. The door is now shut.
Thank you, Ace, for giving a scared, angry kid a joyous outlet that provided so much joy. May your soul be at peace.
Well spoken Alan, I’ve had the very same thoughts lately. There’s always been a bad trend of us losing some of our favorite artists to early misgivings (I don’t have to list them, you know them all) . But this…this hits different , as it’s the eventuality. This is all they COULD have given, and it’s the old Neil Young line, in reverse. It’s fading away. Thanks for your thoughtful words man, best to you and family.
Thank you Heinrich. Best wishes to you and yours as well. Cheers.