Ace Frehley says that while he has still not been approached to be a part of KISS 's recently launched "End Of The Road" world tour, he is not ruling out being involved in some capacity.
"I think it's a sad commentary that KISS performed in New York [in late March] and didn't sell out Madison Square Garden," Frehley told Oklahoma's KATT Rock 100.5 radio station in a new interview (hear audio below). "When I was in the band, we used to do three nights [at Madison Square Garden].
"I don't understand," he continued. "I've offered my services, and they just haven't made the decision to bring me back. And that's okay, because I'm having a lot of fun as a solo artist. But I also am concerned about the fans as well. I wanna give the fans the biggest bang for their buck, and they're not getting it at this juncture.
"They've had this lineup with Tommy [ Thayer , guitar] and Eric [ Singer , drums] for 15 years, and they announced they were doing the 'End Of The Road' tour, and that it was gonna be bigger and better than anything they've ever done in the past, and they gave the impression that maybe me and Peter [ Criss , former KISS drummer] might be involved, and this and that. Then they just come out and pretty much do the same set they've been doing for years. So I don't know. It is what it is. I do my thing, and Paul [ Stanley ] and Gene [ Simmons ] are doing theirs."
Since "End Of The Road" is expected to last three years, Frehley says that there is still plenty of time for him to take part in some of the remaining legs of the tour.
"Ticket sales weren't where they wanted them to be on this last run, so who knows what's gonna happen next time around?" he explained.
According to Billboard , KISS 's March 27 concert at Madison Square Garden grossed $1.947 million and sold 13,359 tickets. The same venue still holds the record for the band's highest-grossing engagement ever, when they earned $3.3 million over four shows from July 25-28, 1996 during the "Alive/Worldwide" tour (this was the band's first tour since 1979's "Dynasty" tour with Criss and Frehley ).
Stanley recently told the "Rolling Stone Music Now" podcast last fall that while he is not closing the door on the possibility of guest appearances by former members during the "End Of The Road" tour, he doesn't promise anything either. "I really can't say," Stanley said. "This will be a celebration of KISS and not any individual lineup or any individual members. I wouldn't rule anything out, but it's not the crux of what we're doing… and I'm not being coy either. I don't want to mislead anybody. That's not something that's been given a lot of thought at this point."
Frehley — whose new solo album, "Spaceman" , was released in October via eOne — first left KISS in 1982. He rejoined in 1996 and parted ways with the band once again in 2002 after the conclusion of their first "farewell tour."
