Music: Ace Frehley Shows His True Face

EX-KISS LEAD GUITARIST Ace Frehley played his first solo show in nearly 20 years on Halloween this year at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City. Much to the delight of D.C.-area fans who couldn't make the trip up north in the middle of a work week to catch the electrifying performance, Ace will be headlining Jaxx in Springfield on Thursday and Friday.

"That show was great, it was a lot of fun, and it really made me realize how much I missed being up on stage playing," recalls Frehley of the Halloween show. "I hear that the Jaxx is a real head-banger kind of place. It's going to be cool."

What has been occupying Frehley since taking off his makeup in the early 1980s, plagued by substance abuse problems? Well, he reunited with Kiss, a decade or so later. More recently, Frehley has appeared on VH1's "Rock Honors Show" and — times have changed — in a Dunkin' Donuts commercial. He has also spent time creating computer graphics, and he worked on the long-awaited followup to his 1989 album, "Trouble Walkin.'"

"Everyone and their mother has been asking me when they are finally going to hear some new music," says Frehley. "Some of these are songs that I've been working on for a while, but the album is coming together now. I'm really excited about the album, and it's going to be more like the first one I did in terms of feel.

"I was in the studio all night the other night — I guess I'm kind of a workaholic now instead of an alcoholic."

» Jaxx, 6355 Rolling Road, Springfield; with Jam Pain Society, Hydrogyn, Thu.; with Jam Pain Society, Z02 Fri., 8:30 p.m., $35 (in advance). $40 (at the door); 703-569-5940.

Written by Express contributor Greg Re
Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images