Bruce Kulick Explains How He Approached Ace Frehley’s Solos in Kiss, Reveals What Makes Ace So Special

UG Exclusive: “There are certain things that Ace does I could never do.”

As Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley remained in the band throughout all of the lineup changes, we’ve seen some great guitarists and drummers pass through Kiss, taking the positions originally occupied by Ace Frehley and Peter Criss. As far as six-string heroes of Kisstory go, Bruce Kulick is a name that the band’s fans hold in high regard. Remaining in the lineup for over a decade, Kulick recorded five studio albums.

Recently, we spoke to Kulick, discussing his time in the band and how he handled his guitar duties. Among other things, we touched upon his interpretations of guitar solos originally written and recorded by Ace Frehley, with Bruce explaining how important it was for him to pay respect to the original member.

Were you ever told to replicate Ace’s solos when performing the older songs in Kiss?

“That’s the amazing thing about Kiss. The catalog is so huge and varied. And I certainly didn’t have to play Ace’s riffs notes for note, but I was always super respectful of what I felt was his signature riffs.”

“So Tommy [Thayer], who did such a tremendous job of imitating Ace’s eras 1975 or something, that was his kind of… I think he was asked to do that. And he’s in the outfit, and he’s that character, so it made sense.”

“But the beauty of my years of Kiss was I was never requested to imitate Ace. Though there were some songs when I really did try to cop a lot of the licks, like a ‘Firehouse’ or something, I just thought, ‘He had the perfect riff. So let me just play them as best as I can.'”

“But there are certain things that Ace does I could never do. He just had a certain approach on certain notes and his picking technique that were very different from me. And maybe that’s why he is still a rock icon. I don’t know.”