Nashville On The Rocks interviewed Ryan Spencer Cook about his music career. Playing with Ace Frehley came up throughout the chat. Cook also addressed if Frehley ‘stole’ Gene Simmons’ solo band: The band has had its turmoil. It’s a band, as said. The period saw several public disclosures. They got along so well that Ace contacted Gene and said, “Listen, in Australia, instead of taking my band, do you think I could just use your band?” The same band and all those shows—Gene says, ‘It’s alright with me if it’s okay with them.’”
Things didn’t go as planned: “He said, ‘Talk to Ryan. ‘You kidding? We know it. This is our forte. This is our job. We’re double-dipping. We would play on Ace gigs, then come back, dry your hair, change clothing, and go out with Gene. We perform two concerts every night. Just getting ready. Same place. For Gene, Ace opened. It was concert. The opener was Like Ace. He headlined. Separate sets. It was all KISS songs.”
He then discussed Simmons’ decision to let Frehley retain him in the band: “KISS fans being themselves. It delighted them. After Gene returned to KISS for the goodbye, Gene and Ace chose to retain us. Gene suggested using these people. I’ll spend two years out of pocket. We’ve been an Ace band since Gene gave us to Ace. Ever since. We still are; I go next week with him.”
Cook on Working With Ace Frehley
Cook and Big Rock Show caught Gene Simmons’ eye during the inaugural KISS Kruise. They then performed on the first eight KISS Kruises. Simmons approached Cook to play after seeing this. Cook’s band played before Frehley’s. Another interview questioned the guitarist about his favorite song to perform alongside the former KISS rocker and how he feels. He said:
My favorite song to perform live is ‘Detroit Rock City.’ Though not a ‘Ace’ song, it’s my favorite KISS song. Paul was my favorite singer growing up, so singing it each night is exciting. I adore Ace’s solo in the song, and I know Jeremy [Asbrock] loves harmonizing with Ace as much as I do.
He added: “The joy of playing with Ace, who helped shape me musically, is the best part. But we share KISS musical DNA. Philip [Shouse], Jeremy, and I became friends via KISS. Not kidding!” Watch the interview below.
