GOODBYE SPACEMAN
By Rick Van Vliet
I was very excited to see my all time favorite musician, Ace Frehley at The Great Allentown Fair, on the night of August 30th 2025. I had no way of knowing I would be watching what was to be Ace’s second to last show forever!
As a huge music fan, I was indoctrinated into the Kiss Army at age 11. I was immediately drawn to Ace and his guitar playing. There were more polished guitarists out there, but none spoke to my soul the way that his guitar playing did.
When Halloween would roll around,there was no thought to who I was dressing up as with my friends, it was Ace! I would throw on my Kiss records and practice my Ace moves in my oversized mirror until I had them down pat. The pout of his lips, the way he played with his legs together, and with a twist of my body, I had it! He was the hero of my music world!
I recall lying on my bedroom floor back in February of 1979, and listening to Dick Clark’s Top 40 Countdown. I knew Kiss had released solo albums, but I had not heard any by that point. I heard Dick Clark announce- “Now coming in at number 13, here is a member of KISS!, This is Ace Frehley, with New York Groove!” I was so proud that my boy was getting to be heard by the world as a solo artist!
By May of that year KISS had released the Dynasty album. I remember being in the backseat of my father’s car coming back from my Grandparents house at night with my father listening to the localTop 40 radio station. I Was Made For Lovin You came on the radio and my father drove past our house so he could hear the whole song because he liked it so much! My dad hated KISS before he ever heard that song! This wasn’t cool. Why had KISS done a song that appealed to someone like my dad?
I began to notice subtle changes in KISS in the video for “ I Wanna Hear It Loud”, from The Creatures Of The Night album. Paul Stanley, not Ace , played the solo in the music video..
But why? At the point Ace left KISS, I was into having girlfriends , and being a bad boy. I remember not being shocked, but being encouraged by what Ace could do without KISS.
Then I heard Rock Soldiers and loved it! Ace was rockin 'again! Despite my love of Ace and KISS, up to this point I had never seen them perform live. My daughter got us tickets for my birthday back in 2009, and she and I saw them together in Philadelphia.Buckcherry was the opening band, and behind them was a huge black curtain that concealed the layout and depth of the stage. After Buckcherry finished there was a loud hum, and a booming voice that said the words we KISS fans knew so well. “You wanted the best! You’ve got the best! The hottest band in the world.. KISS!!
The black curtain dropped fast, and the stage was lit up in lights, fire, and smoke. Then came the unmistakable beginning of Detroit Rock City, followed by more explosions of fire and lights. Paul Stanley sang the first line, “ I feel l uptight on a Saturday night”. At that point, my daughter looked up at me embarrassed, and said “Oh my God, Dad! Tell me you are not crying right now! I could not believe that I was there watching them, but I also became aware that Ace was not there, Tommy Thayer was.
Kiss was to be inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. Now might be a chance for them to play together one last time! We all wanted it, but egos got in the way and we fans were left disappointed.This past August 2025, I was going to finally see my hero Ace Frehley perform onstage! Much to my chagrin, if I am being totally honest, I would have to say that the show was underwhelming, to say the least. The show started with technical difficulties that did not improve much from there. Ace fought through solos, and was sloppy on his vocals, with his drummer doing most of the singing.
Hearing on October 16th, 2025 how at 4 pm Ace was on life support then at 6:45 on the news that Ace had died, shook me and my world. I am still grieving the loss of my first and favorite guitar God. I am so grateful that I was able to see him perform in person, with my own eyes, before there would never have been another chance to do so.
Ace, you are now free to orbit, as you have so richly deserved. RIP MY HERO!
