In 2014, former Kiss lead guitarist and founding member Ace Frehley has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and received quite a nice buzz for the anticipated release of his sixth studio album, Space Invader, on August 19th via new label eOne Music. In months prior to the release, Frehley had many devoted followers clamoring to hear the material and stated that “Fans can expect something closer to my ’78 solo record.” He went on to add, “Over the past couple of months I’ve been listening to my old records and trying to find that formula that I’ve captured so many times in the past. I recently played some of my new music for a few people at my label and they were blown away. It reaffirmed in my mind that I’m on the right path and I think my fans are going to love the results. It’s going to be a great record.” With that said, following its release, Space Invader reached number 9 on the Billboard 200 album charts, accomplishing the impressive feat of being the only solo album from a past or present member of Kiss to reach a US Top 10 Chart Position. With cover artwork from fantasy artist Ken Kelly, which created Kiss’ album artwork for Destroyer (1976) and Love Gun (1977), Space Invader also features respected recording musicians of drummer Matt Starr and Cult bassist Chris Wyse. In celebration of the record, on Wednesday August 13th, a special private listening party for Space Invader was held at Gibson Showroom in NYC with beverages and food available to guests.
As everyone arrived at Gibson Showroom their eyes were dazzled with beautiful gear and guitars all around. Feasting on catered food from Chef Johnny McLaughlin who was on the food network show Chopped, everyone mingled as they waited for the guest of honor Ace Frehley to arrive. Among guests in attendance were The Metal Show’s Eddie Trunk, radio host and comedian Jim Norton, rock star photographer Ron Akiyama, among countless other industry representatives. Indulging themselves in this exclusive first listen of Space Invader, as the music played it was easy to see this was a special piece of music that will go down as a classic album for Frehley. With a great lead single in “Gimme a Feeling” other stand out tracks included “I Wanna Hold You”, “Toys”, “Reckless”, and a killer cover of Steve Miller Band’s “The Joker”.
Making his way into the party, Frehley was greeted warmly and made the statement, “I am very proud of this album and I worked my ass off on it.” Thanking everyone for coming and taking the time to meet all who attended, Frehley’s work surely did seem to pay off judging by the high quality songs filling the room. Each track features passionate guitar work and a classic Frehley sound that fans will want to hear over and over. Moving at the speed of light, Space Ace is back and sounds better than ever.
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