When I Was A Kid, I Wanted To Be Ace Frehley

I've mentioned on my show before that I am a life-long KISS fan. And, I've also fessed up to the fact that I wanted to be Ace Frehley when I grew up. Now, I bring you photographic proof.

First, a little backstory. I was around 11 years old when I first discovered KISS. Truthfully, it was my friend in the picture above (who wishes to remain nameless for some reason) who loaned me his first KISS album. Shortly after that, I saw the commercial for KISS Alive 2 on TV.

The moment I saw Frehley's guitar appear to catch fire and start smoking, I was hooked. Bought every KISS album out at the time and have bought just about every one since. I had KISS Alive 2 on 8-track-tape. How's that for a throwback?

For Christmas, my parents naively bought me a JcPenney electric guitar that looked like a Les Paul. So sweet. I never learned a song on it, but boy did I make a lot of noise!

Why did I not grow up to be Ace Frehley? Lots of reasons actually. First, I had no talent to play the guitar whatsoever. I took piano lessons and my piano teacher was a Barry Manilow fan. I never forgave her. The other thing that kept me from becoming another Ace Frehley was the fact that I never did grow up. And never will.