Ace Frehley on Eddie Van Halen "watching every move I made," Drugs, Tapping, KISS Makeup, Gene, Paul

A full in bloom News Brief - Ace Frehley on Eddie Van Halen, drug use during KISS, guitar tapping technique, Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Peter Criss, KISS's makeup + comments from WASP guitarist Chris Holmes & Ritchie Blackmore - Terry Kilgore, Harvey Mandel.
Ace Frehley Interview:
• Ace Frehley Talks Solo...
Chris Holmes Interview w/ The Metal Voice:
• Eddie Van Halen Tribut...
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Intro & Outro by FOOL OF FATE
#kiss #eddievanhalen #paulstanley #genesimmons #vanhalen #ritchieblackmore #petercriss

[@nogoogleplus]

“A couple beers, and a couple lines of blow because I had integrity” 😂

[@TheJayrockerr]

😂

[@elevenAD]

Ace!

[@robertbordevik5072]

😂

[@michael-rn8xv]

The real partying came after the show

[@guitarhole]

And a balanced breakfast.

[@Ross_From_Synthetica]

Harvey Mandel: I guess you’re not ready for that yet, but your kids are going to love it!

[@r.g.armstrong2688]

Man, you got me with this comment

[@terrylynch9529]

Harvey is the man.

[@Geoffreydarcy-pv4mq]

His influence on guitar playing/players, cannot be overestimated, and will never be fully realized.

[@theofficialdiamondlou2418]

Nice reference … 8/10

[@ericwalters5382]

That's odd. I saw him in Champaign Illinois in 1976 & he completely sucked. Booooriiing. Worst $5.00 l ever wasted.

[@usaslakt]

I read somewhere that cavemen in the north of Europe used sit around a fireplace and finger tap on their bows around 4000 years ago, creating spectacular solos...

[@TheLowCountryRebel]

Don't be so modest. Everyone knows you were there.

[@BWater-yq3jx]

Honestly, at this point I'm just impressed that Ace is still alive.

[@Chaos46992]

Eddie was saying that there were some older jazz musicians that were doing this stuff before them as well.

[@kennyblackbird5674]

George Van Epps was one of them.

[@KeyGuy88]

Lenny Breau another@@kennyblackbird5674

[@mikegallant3572]

Tapping goes way back further than these guys. I watched an old black and white video of an italian dude doing it on an acoustic. Crazy good.

[@ALGJR100]

Yep, I seen that video too, There's also videos of Chet Atkins tapping and sweeping back in the 70's.

[@MagicCarpetRideShareProject]

Vittorio Camardese is the Italian guy's name. But this isn't new news. I'm surprised this isn't already at the top of the comment feed before I even got here. What I'd like to know is where/how did Harvey Mandel get the idea? Was it directly from seeing Vittorio? Someone else, or is it a coincidence and he discovered it on his own? Harvey is still alive last I checked (new music pretty recently), but he's had some real health problems in recent years. It'd be great if someone could interview him about this if he hasn't talked about it already. Yeah I haven't heard anyone else tapping earlier than Vittorio yet. Usually when this comes up and it's revealed (gasp!) that Eddie didn't pioneer it all on his own (despite he's probably the best at it, at least for a long time) it's Vittorio's name that ends up at the top along with the video footage widely available here on YT. My deal with Harvey Mandel is he's a great and intriguing guitarist, but tapping parts of his recordings I've yet to be impressed by it (total respect for his role in the evolution of it though), so it's everything else that I've heard him do is what's great about him. If he's done some tapping recordings since the 70s that are better I'd give'em a chance, but I have a feeling he moved on from that. But I haven't heard enough of his more recent stuff to say for sure.

[@scottyo64]

I saw videos of Les Paul tapping

[@user-jg6qc3ve8o]

Michael hedges took acoustic guitar playing to new heights. Did the hammer on and finger tapping as well. Hedges was absolutely brilliant...RIP Michael hedges and Eddie van Halen.

[@davidferrara1105]

The world of classical guitar would like a word with you and all rock players...like 540 year's worth

[@wolfpack9958]

Ace is on the sauce again.

[@sbeard73]

Yep he is. Ace is a great guitar player! Why run your mouth, just be humble. Seems to be getting worse for sure, I haven't even listened to his new album because of this.

[@anthonylove821]

Tomato sauce? Lol😂

[@user-uz3bh3ru6s]

Doubt that

[@averyetvspecial1487]

@@sbeard73Eddie was also on the sauce and also ran his mouth about influencing people he probably didn’t.

[@TheOnlyHollywood1]

He isn't about the tapping though. There's a video of him with KISS in 1975 on the Midnight Special Show. He starts tapping during his solo on the song She

[@StONed-yx5qq]

EVH created the attention of finger tapping…he was pretty good at it! Anyone remember Stanley Jordan?

[@e-mail881]

I remember him... Now, he is Stella Jordan LOL!!!

[@markusaurelius777]

@@e-mail881 Sex change? Oh no lol

[@I_Fight_Instacart]

Stanley Jordan is scary. People just don't know about him because he's a jazz guitarist.

[@user-jg6qc3ve8o]

Magic touch was his first recording if I'm not mistaken. He had his guitar tuned in fourths to simplify the fret board.

[@The-Contractor]

Harvey Mandel is an absolute Axe God. First heard him in '72, "The Snake." An album that sounds as good today as it did all those years ago.

[@flyingburritobro68]

Harvey is on the Stones Black And Blue album. Trying out for The Stones replacing Mick Taylor is enough to show his greatness

[@user-nc2zn8nh2h]

Gary Richraft flying turkey trot live REO Speed wagon guitar solo did tapping early 70s mind blowing guitar shread

[@scotv5099]

Eddie listened to Page doing hammer ons and pull offs during Heartbreaker solo and thought what if I added another finger to that...

[@VRGuy286]

Just like Ace used to do with his butt hole

[@startrekker188]

Ace gets flashbacks of things that never happened! 🤣🔥

[@automatoncollectives7237]

Ace probably had Gene try to explain to Ace what he saw EVH do during those sessions. Ace didn’t figure it out and used his pick instead.

[@markusaurelius777]

Ace is horrendous live now. The other KISS members are just Lip synchers.

[@avarose316]

Oh but they did in Aces mind….and nobody remembers it better then Ace..😂😂

[@eoinjames4018]

Marty mcfly was doing that stuff back in the 50,s maybe that's were Ace got the idea

[@supernothing77]

Was Marvin Frehley there?

[@jenniferwineman1669]

On Chuck Barry’s guitar 😊

[@michaeldique]

As someone who started playing the guitar in rural Norway in the mid eighties, I gotta say that tapping has been "invented" many times. We had one TV channel, and there wasn't exactly a lot of hard rock on that thing. So I learned by listening. After about a year, I thought I'd invented this great new technique - which was tapping- But I quickly learned it wasn't new, and that was a bummer 😂 So regardless of who did it first, I believe more than one person has come up with the technique independently.

[@shizzle7642]

Don’t know how I lost you in my feed but it’s been a long while and I’m so happy to hear your voice…… Love you Mr bloom❤❤❤ Enjoyed the stories too 😉😂

[@fullinbloom]

Welcome back!

[@sunsetsuperman74]

Former Genesis guitarist, Steve Hackett has been known to have done finger tapping on the guitar long before EVH ever tried it, yet nobody gives him any acknowledgment of ever doing it.

[@markusaurelius777]

Hackett is a GOD.

[@drjay73]

Harvey Mandel from Canned Heat did it before Hackett and he gets no credit either

[@StH00D]

EVH never said he invented tapping, but he obviously created something so awesome everybody wanted that sound! It's embarrassing to hear people try to take or give credit for what EVH did! He gets all the credit because he reinvented it!

[@jamesball5743]

Eddie jacked his style, that’s why he drank so much

[@CarefulWithThatAxeEugene]

Overrated

[@mickeyjohn2442]

Jimi Hendrix didn't invent the whammy bar...but he perfected it...Just like Eddie Van Halen didn't invent finger tapping...but he perfected it.

[@christopherm.6991]

Well who invented guitar strings? Ace was that you?

[@erickaufmancustomguitars1351]

@@christopherm.6991 First he invented cats. Then he discovered cat guts, then invented guitar and amps. Invented melody too. No one was melodic before him either. Screw that Beethoven dude.

[@Ace96x10]

Finger tapping as Ed did it goes back to at least the 1940's, and I'd bet long long before that.

[@Me4-gc8qs]

yep there is a black and white video on here showing a kid doing tapping in the 40's

[@JayTor2112]

Yeah, tapping the fretboard to make a note is not exactly a revolutionary discovery, my cat could accidentally discover that works. It wasn't used the way Eddie used it though of course. He pretty much revolutionized that style of tapping.

[@Ace96x10]

@@JayTor2112 The only difference is Ed did it in a classical type of scale progression while the other guy did it in a bluegrass/jazzy scale. The Technique though, was identical. Ed just made it popular, but he didn't invent anything of it.

[@davidrapant6398]

This whole tapping thing and the origins is ridiculous. Its just something to argue about. Eddie says he saw Billy Gibbons do it. He probably saw others do it too, but in small amounts. Eddie took it to the next level and put it the context of guitar solos and songs. He executed it flawlessly and put it on display on Van Halen 1 for all to hear in a form WAY beyond what anyone was doing at the time. Then others came along and even expanded on it like Steve Vai and Vitto Bratta. Who cares where it was first done? It was probably some kid fking around in his bedroom that did it first.

[@Buddycoop1]

Wow, great video. I didn't know some of this.

[@ploppill34]

Ace is drinking again I see

[@stevebrickshitta870]

Always amazing content. I could read a million magazine articles and not pick up the good shit like this delivers. Always on the money.🤘😝🤘

[@snfu6574]

Hey Ace i used to cut your lawn in Cheshire CT. Great mail box you had, beautiful back yard. I almostdumped the mower in the pond a few times..

[@david4903]

There's a video out there of Eddie's father playing ukulele and doing the tapping probably before Eddie was born

[@capnphuktard5445]

😂 👍👍

[@1FeistyKitty]

one of the best music info channels

[@mattstickle2725]

Eddie Van Halen never borrowed one thing from you Ace. As much as I love you. Or loved you. I gave you all of my money from age 14 to about age 50. I am justified in my critique. All the love and continued health

[@Fuxerz]

Kinda coped Ritchie Blackmore more than Ace. He claims to like Eric, but Ritchie really hurt Eddy. One time in the Rainbow bar Eddie walked in and saw Ritchie Blackmore John Bonham drinking he told them he was a fan and they said f off kid. He was really hurt how Ritchie and Bonzo treated him like shit. Eddy used to call Ritchie drunk 3am and tell Ritchie how much he loved him. Weird right lol but Eddie is a genius and had his own style. Ritchie brushed him off till finally talking to him. 😂 Eddie had it in for Randy Rhodes for some reason. At the end of the day, they are all great. Guitarists. If you have ever been in the band, they're jealous of each other so bad there worse than lead singers. They all hate each other like a bunch of school girls.😂 Anyway, I love Eddie too and top 3 guitarists of the world to me.

[@Lopfff]

I do distinctly remember reading at least two interviews when I was a kid (mid-80s) where Eddie said he got the idea of tapping from “a Jimi Hendrix movie.” And I have never seen Jimi do tapping, especially not in the documentary film “Jimi Hendrix” he was obviously talking about. But then later I heard so many other things. I really enjoyed this video.

[@Digthemadscientist]

Roy Clark invented tap soloing watch the footage 🤘😁🤘

[@automatoncollectives7237]

Roy? Lol

[@johnnytorino9455]

I could believe that. 😊

[@ricknelson4793]

Roy was one of the best guitarists/instrumentalists to ever play.

[@jim2431]

Spot on, Eddie was the best "tapper" I ever rocked to. He learned from the best. RIP VAN HALEN

[@pedemeyer]

You gotta love a video.., on youtube.., with a headline like that😂😂

[@leddygee1896]

Steve Hackett from Genesis also did the Tap thing, as well as Alex Lifeson in the song “The Necromancer”🎸 They both used a pick to Do it, just like Ace…

[@markusaurelius777]

Both Hackett and Lifeson are EONS ahead of Frehley...ll.

[@markusaurelius777]

Love your username hahah Leddy Gee.

[@andycummings-music]

And Hackett was tapping arpeggios.

[@toneman501]

There's actually video footage of Eddie's dad ' finger tapping' on guitar...it comes from flamenco guitarists...

[@175epi]

There might have been guitarists using that technique prior to Van Halen, but if it wasn't for Ed, no one would be talking about them.

[@schreds]

Italian guitarist Vittorio Camardese was tapping in the 50s ,, for sure where Eddie got his chops check him out some youtube stuff some of Eddies runs are identical ,, totally makes sense with Eddies folks immigrating from Europe and his dad being a musician

[@christopherm.6991]

Ace must have bumped his head during that latest music video he did.

[@thebluesrockers]

What are you talking about? Ace's white costume with the red and blue dots looked "Udder" amazing" hahaha

[@evileyes4070]

The boat in the film Apocalypse Now is called Canned Heat

[@patrickmoreau7592]

Sure Eddie went to New York and saw KISS 🤣🤣

[@humphreybogart6663]

​@eyesofmadnessuh its actually true on Gene Simmons dime. Find one version of Eruption with tapping before 1977...but after Alive II and him going to the Naduson Square Garden concert... Meanwhile all the kids seem to be unaware who paid for their demo and who played on Gene's demo. The can of ignorant never ceases to amaze me. Bunch of Eddie riders.

[@metalmarty3948]

Hahahahahahaha no kiddin, what a load of crap.

[@metalmarty3948]

@eyesofmadness Exactly lol

[@everythingbobbywolfe]

Umm, gene Simmons has discussed, ad nauseum, that he gave van Halen their start. Common knowledge dip shit. He also had rush open for them for a while. Yes, Eddie did see plenty of kiss before they got famous. Just read or watch one interview ya f'ing jag-off

[@willchew4040]

ACE FOREVER !!!

[@chrisostling805]

Eddie got his Tap from his father! I have seen video of the elder Van Halen playing a Uke and using the technique long before Eddie hit a stage.

[@andycummings-music]

😂

[@turnerthemanc]

Steve Hackett was tapping on Nursery Cryme album back in 1971

[@kmortensen]

My lord... to be at the Whiskey that night!

[@lewisridenhour6536]

Chet Atkins was hammering long before all of them check out Orange Blossom Special ched Atkins

[@MelloGee33]

Terry Kilgore always flies under the radar. He was said to be Eddie's cross-town rival in So.Cal. back in the 70's.

[@misfit2022]

Ace wasn’t the most technical but he came up with some great riffs Cold Gin, Parasite, Strange Ways, Getaway, Shock Me, Rip it out etc etc etc etc

[@chrisoakley5830]

Exactly, he had a style and flare to his playing that is all his own, you could hear the difference in the way that Kiss sounded when he left the band in 1982 and that sound returned when he released his first Frehley's Comet album.

[@vanceharkema5131]

There's a demo version of strutter that he sounds really good on.

[@atomicwedgie8176]

Every dial set on 5, except the volume... 10! That was Ace's formula.

[@misfit2022]

@Atomic Whatever it was it worked as Kiss were never the same without him

[@misfit2022]

@Vance I will have to look out for that one

[@NYCguitarist]

ace, such a class act

[@e-mail881]

Remove the letter C and the letter L from the word "class" and you'll get it right!

[@Wargasm54]

Doesn’t matter who invented tapping. Eddie brought it into the guitar vocabulary. Everyone and their mother started doing after Eddie.

[@rockpadstudios]

If you listen, Ace did some leading edge riff's - The Midnight Special when they played She has some amazing stuff for the 1970's.

[@randb4865]

ROFLMAO Thanks, i needed a good laugh today!

[@mickeyjohn2442]

Jimi Hendrix didn't invent the whammy bar...but he perfected it...Just like Eddie Van Halen didn't invent finger tapping...but he perfected it.

[@derangedhermit2879]

…Harvey Mandel can never be mentioned anywhere enough!…Harveys pioneering finger tapping, is one thing, giving proper credit where it’s due, but it’s a much bigger tragic shame how Harvey Mandel is almost damn nearly lost to history!…I’d inherited my guitar playing pops 60’s to early 80’s era record collection, which inarguably altered the course of my entire life, & nestled in among all the critical Howlin Wolf, Miles Davis, Wes Montgomery, Curtis Mayfield, James Brown, Hendrix, Cream, Zeppelin Sabbath, Bob Marley, Beatles, & Creedance gems ect, ect. There was a stack of Harvey Mandel records to dive into, and ever since, I’ve introduced countless guitarists to Harvey Mandel over the decades that had never heard of him, and they’re all left bewildered, like, “How do I not know of him?”…(…& No! Not the Comedian Howie!”…LoL!…) Out side of Canned Heat, The super funky instrumental jamming Harvey Mandel solo albums; The Snake & Baby Batter, Christi Redinator all Harvey’s solo projects like the Pure Food & Drug Act, still hold up currently today, as fresh, and are barely even dated. Those albums are highly educational, and critical listening for objective guitarists, high level drummers and the funkiest bass players, and any musicians in general that are sending it and chasing uniquer styles and approaches!…8)

[@rumpoleonthehilloldchap]

harvey's guitarist Russell dashiel made the first super strat after selling his gibson les paul. 68 69. Russell needed the humbucker tone. he and harvey had strats . so russell put a humbucker in the bridge position. pics on the net.

[@frankrichards3089]

Yeah Mandel was a hell of a player.

[@frankrichards3089]

Dude is almost going NBCs Brian Williams on all this shit. Lol jesus

[@rumpoleonthehilloldchap]

@@frankrichards3089 cope

[@vonholland64]

He had that one triplet lick in the same position in every solo , Ed took it and made music out of it

[@shawnhuff3920]

I have a Chris shiflett fender telecaster deluxe guitar 😊

[@mikehatch1967]

Of course Ace you know everything

[@I_Fight_Instacart]

Ace and Peter are proof that anyone can make it. Interpret that as you will.

[@kissalive2]

Ace don't know what he knows until he tells you what he knows

[@tomdecuca3627]

Harvey Mandel!! Check out 'Baby Batter"!!

[@robertbordevik5072]

Ace freiley best solos

[@ScottMasson]

I don’t care who invented the tapping. Eddie did it better than everybody, and made it melodic and musical.

[@Geoffreydarcy-pv4mq]

Of course it was Harvey. Everyone knows that. Harvey's solo on the Stones song"Hot Stuff" is where the whole world would finally hear him, without even knowing it. Check out the "Shandgrenade" album, and the "Christo Redentor" album. Two of his groundbreaking lps from the late sixties, and early seventies.

[@Geoffreydarcy-pv4mq]

*Cristo Redentor.

[@DZM1720.]

You can hear a little of the detroit rock city solo in aint talkin bout love solo..

[@FrankenstratAssassin]

Yeah, Ace Frehley was just SOOOOO good.... ("HOW GOOD WAS HE?!!?).... he was sooooo good... that Gene Simmons ordered Ace to play the guitar solo for "Christine Sixteen" NOTE FOR NOTE the way Eddie Van Halen recorded it for Gene after hearing the original demo. That's right, gang. Gene Simmons played "Christine Sixteen" for Ed, and asked Ed how would he play the guitar solo for the song. Gene recorded it, and already knew....and immediately decided that was the solo for the song.... period. True story. So because of Ace recording Ed's solo note for note on the recording, needless to say, Ace Frehley was not a happy man when the name "Ed" ever came up. From that moment on, it was always sour grapes with Ace. And let's also be honest here, no one loved Ace Frehley more than.... Ace Frehley. But Ace?.... psssst... don't blame Ed, blame Gene!! King Edward, may you shred in peace.

[@johnhagan582]

Frank Zappa was the only American recording artist that used the tapping technique extensively throughout his instrumental music prior to 74 .and Eddie never used it at all before seeing Frank use it on TV in 1974 .you can Google its on KZbin right now

[@leddygee1896]

He did it on the Inca roads solo… That is just one example.

[@johnhagan582]

@@leddygee1896 Have you seen the video of Frank Zappa on the Mike Douglas Show from 74 ? It's on KZbin. I'm just trying to get anybody to go watch that and comment on the way he was using the exact same tapping technique that Eddie made famous .

[@georgehuerta1990]

I actually heard an interview with Eddie and he said he seen the tapping for the first time when he was watching Jimmy Paige one night and then he just took her to a different level.

[@keithh1438]

Don't get me wrong, Eddie was Eddie, unmatched. But there was a time when KISS ruled the world, the live band KISS was a monster 76/77. I can easily see EVH going to see KISS and watching and learning how to not only play guitar in a huge show, but to fully entertain. Ace was huge during this time and was an awesome showman. There is really no comparison to be made between Ace and EVH, Ace is a blues based player, EVH was a majician. I love both Ace and EVH, imagine rock and roll history without them both.

[@cooltheengines]

Very good insight, I agree they were both great. They each gave the world of rock something a little different.

[@e-mail881]

@@cooltheengines "They each gave the world of rock something a little different" ???? Is that a JOKE? Kiss could've gone forward with ANY guitar player other than Ace. The same CANNOT be said about Van Halen without Eddie. Eddie CHANGED GUITAR PLAYING. The same CANNOT be said about (((Ace)))!

[@e-mail881]

Fans are such pathetic creatures!

[@davidmontgomery5047]

Steve Hackett did the Tapping with a Pick in '72 - '73 .

[@jonesy2111]

Billy Gibbons was doing finger tapping in the mid 70s also ⭐️

[@atlasgunther8947]

don't focus on how good a person is, but rather than who's first ... who's on second

[@2antiquated]

There was always a suspicion of underlying plot to replace Ace and Eric with Eddie and Alex.

[@user-rz8wn5zu6y]

there is no way I can play some of Eddie's solos. Lol There is no way that you can play any of them. And I actually love Ace!

[@ThundersMcCoy]

3:54 - That sounds like a Del Preston story.

[@michaelt.wardlespider2496]

As far as I know Eddie never claimed to have invented the two hand technique... However, he undoubtedly brought it to the masses.

[@tvelasquez718]

Eddies Father is where he got the tapping from. His father Jan played in an old black and white film from the 1940’s or 50’s where he sang and played a ukulele or a mandolin. Look for it it’s pretty good.

[@treeherder2201]

Ace and Nikki Sixx should start a band and call it "Shit that Never Happened." Or "The Habitual Liars."

[@automatoncollectives7237]

Yes. Using a pick to fret a note is trilling. It’s not nearly the same.

[@DIOSpeedDemon]

Aces new song is Great.! I wish I was a Rock Starr at that age, still kicking IT...!!! GO ACE.....

[@johnhagan582]

I'm gonna let everyone in on what's not a secret anymore .Eddie got his tapping technique from Frank Zappa .forget about Ace or a handful of others that say he got it from them .he told everyone not long after they broke out that Frank was a major influence and one of his favorites .Alex made mention of this way back in the day also .Eddie saw Frank Zappa on the Mike Douglas Show one early morning in the beginning of 1975 where Frank did a instrumental song of his and the whole solo if not most of the song was him using the tapping technique just like Eddie started to use after (and not before) catching Frank's proformance on the daily weekday morning talk show on ABC .please someone go Google Frank Zappa on the Mike Douglas Show 1970s and have a look for yourselves .

[@skullduggery3377]

Ed learned it from Keith Partridge while attending a Partridge Family gig.

[@rocketpigrecords3719]

EVH was a synthesizer. He took parts and built them into a machine, but they weren't invented by him. The first use of tapping on a rock album was Genesis, 1974. So there were multiple sources possible. The Super Strat wasn't Eddie's invention. Mid 70s, first quality repro strat bodies came available. Earl Slick had a body rear routed, single humbucker, single volume, strat trem. Used it live with Bowie, so, not exactly underground. EVH used an off the shelf Boogie Body and chiseled a hole for the humbucker. In fact iirc the body & neck were both seconds. Mighty Mite humbucker, bam, budget Slick Strat. Amongst Eddie's influences were Black Sabbath, where high gain amps (or in this case, boosted to hell by a modded Rangemaster) started. VH opened for Sabbath on tour early on and took so many bits and pieces, Tony chided him, asking if he was going to play the new Sabbath single on the next stop. Put these and his Clapton, Zep, Kinks etc influences together and simmer. Hendrix was similarly unoriginal in that hiw he put things together was new, not the things themselves. Later, guys in Seattle would do something similar. Pawn shop gear, a love for classic rock, old metal, and punk, Kurt's your uncle.

[@markusaurelius777]

Excellent points! You've def been doing your own research!

[@rocketpigrecords3719]

@@markusaurelius777 thank you!

[@michaelpaige3398]

Jimi Hendrix didn't use tapping on an album?

[@rocketpigrecords3719]

@@michaelpaige3398 no.

[@DragonflyII]

Sure Mammoth did a couple of Kiss covers like 'Firehouse' in their early days. Ace Frehley is correct about Harvey Mandell, George Lynch has also given credit to Mandell. Steve Hackett is regularly given credit also with pick-tapping. Yet John McLaughlin of Mahavishnu Orchestra & even Frank Zappa were doing it in 1970-71 before Hackett joined Genesis. Mandell started doing it around '72. Ace neglects to mention he had to copy Eddie Van Halen's solo note for note in 'Christine Sixteen' as Eddie had played it on Gene Simmons' original demo. They all contributed in their own ways to the evolution of guitar, it wasn't just one guy who invented all the tricks, as Ace acknowledges to a degree. I know Ace came up with the original KISS logo, Paul Stanley only altered the K letter, so there is a possibility Ace suggested the 'Starchild' make-up design. Paul designed 'The Bandit' to appease Neil Bogart of Casablanca Records, and Paul's sister actually came up with Vinnie Vincent's 'Wizard' design with the Ankh, but Stanley has since given himself sole credit after his family rift with her. So Ace's claim isn't too far-fetched, but we'll never know the truth because "Kisstory".

[@Dex000x]

Maybe Paul won't admit that Ace came up with his makeup, but Gene Simmons gives Ace credit. He said Ace told Paul to put stars over both eyes, but Ace's story, as usual, sounds more believable than anything Gene or Paul say.

[@syfman6]

I concur. I've heard either Gene or Paul tell the same story...💚🎸

[@Gr8gg787]

Cool story

[@hawaii5050]

Well, OK, but Frank Zappa was also doing that, and so was a jazz guitarist by the name of Stanley Clark. Both of these were back before the Van Halen days when Eddie was an unknown. Lots of folks that were experimenting with that style. It didn’t come really from one source

[@KillswitchEngage2010]

~I Never Was A Fan Of Eddie,. ..I Was Listening To Grown-Up Music - Black Sabbath / Jimi / Purple,. When Van Halen Was Commercially Being Introduced/Released, ..To ME, That Was For A Straighter Audience (..And I Could Never Insult ACE - I Appreciate All Of His Accomplishments, And Roots Of His Music, And Understand The True Influence HE Actually Had On The Music Industry, An Made Named Groups Improve Their Shows. The Endless Sold Out Shows, Both As A Group, And In His Solo Career, Verses Most Folks Days In Their Bedrooms, I'm Glad The Truth Is Getting Out There,.. Yeah, Eddie Hung With Terry, A Lot Of Musician's Don't Ever Get The Acknowledgement, And Recognition That's Deserved, Ton's Of Guitarist's Could Run Over Eddie, They Just Weren't Getting The Commercial Push Like HE Was,..Richie Kotzen In The 80's Was So Precise/And Clean, And People Are Like Who!? (..You's Don't Know What You's Missed! )

[@isaacshaver6218]

Eddie said himself that he learned it from Jimmy Pages one handed technique watching him play heartbreaker.

[@rorygrime1202]

Eddie watched both Jimmies Page and Hendrix

[@isaacshaver6218]

@@rorygrime1202 i was referring to the interview Eddie did for the National Archives, he only refers to Pagey in the interview, but yea how could you be alive & be a guitar and not notice what Hendrix was doing. Eddie was referring to actually seeing Page playing the solo part in Heartbreaker an like every guitar player who has ever had a halfstack knows you can Hammer on and pull off at high volumes and it audible and it sounds fukkin' awesome! You can find it on KZbin. Its from 2000s

[@RandyFricke]

There has never been a bigger Ace Frehley fan than I. Ergo the guitar in my profile pic yonder. I wore out 3 copies of the first KISS album learning his riffs. I knew Ace's style better than anyone on the planet. Then along about the time the "Dressed To Kill" album came out I started noticing that Ace's style had changed. To my ears it was a dramatic change. Not giving too much though at the time I worked everything out and soldiered on. Then came "Destroyer" and I knew there was fuckery afoot. I got to thinking that a lot of the guitar work on that album sounded an awful lot like Alice Cooper's "Billion Dollar Babies" album. Wait a minute. Bob Ezrin producing? Holy shitballs was that Dick Wagner? They didn't let it get around back then that the reason that they had to bring in other guitar players (there have been a bunch of them too over the years) was because Ace was too fucked up to perform. Sure he had his sober days and they get some good stuff out of him. But now as we're finding out he became an unreliable liability. He once wrote bogus pharmaceutical prescriptions FFS! So I am going to say that I lost respect for Ace Frehley retroactively as far back as the "Dressed To Kill" album. Watching videos like this one I thought he was having a stroke. It's painful to listen to him. He hasn't played a new solo in 30 years. Very sad. Hell, they should have called me. I'd still be in the band.

[@RalphMercuroMusic]

Wait, So Ed was at the show and actually watched it? This changes everything!

[@mikecruzado5775]

These guitarists may have used it or started to practice it after hearing or seeing some do it but it was long before these guys came along Look at the old papa Van Halen ( Eddie’s dad )on the the videos he was doing it back in the old days on the ukulele no fooling his dad was rocking it Check out that video

[@scottsanders2641]

He was never really F’d up on stage. Saw them 3 times and Ace was always tight and spot on. Saw Aerosmith 3 times as well in the 70’s and those dudes were sloppy and F’d up lol

[@warriorv9359]

Goooood shat

[@jumpingjacks5558]

Les Paul used to do tapping which was well beyond Eddie and others. I believe what made tapping is more than what the sound is, but what the musician playing it did with it.

[@SHx589]

EVH said he got his tapping from Jimmy Paige playing with one hand with his pick hand in the air.

[@friguy4444]

Eddie watched everyone intently as a great player would. I also think Ed probably liked a few things Ace did. I know I did and thought a lot of it was very melodic and made the song a better song. The irony of all this is that Ed was asked by Gene often to try to come in a fill in for the sometimes missing Ace so Ed was literally playing some of Aces entire parts in the studio (meaning both rhythm and leads). Ace would then learn what Ed had done and platy it note for note often. Ed was trying to use the same style of playing that Ace did so it wouldn't sound like someone else. To even imagine that Ed got Tapping from him is a joke!! Ace didn't tap a bloody thing until the 1980's at best. Or even at all any time. LOL.

[@stiffrichard2816]

Frank Zappa was tapping high notes on Zoot Allures and John McLaughlin before that.

[@forthedoggiesguitars2277]

Niccolo Paganin on the violin is the original tapper according to music historians.

[@guitarandmore69]

Anyone know who the dude talking is yet???

[@greglavine4035]

This tapping goes back long before either one of these guys got noticed... Zz top on tres hombres, Hendrix,Beck..the Allman Brothers did pick hammering all the time...But when EVH decided to do it right no one had a clue for 5 years and it was Randy Rhodes that did..then it just sprung loose everywhere ..Ace ...I never bought in

[@wellstrung2]

And the saga continues..

[@michael-rn8xv]

You know what’s weird about Ace? He looks ridiculous and can be pretty embarrassing, but somehow, he’s still so unbelievably cool to me.

[@jcsolomon6470]

Cause Ace is da Face of Coolness,nah!Allways!

[@Nickk81]

He’s a God

[@e-mail881]

You clearly don't know the meaning of the word "cool"!

[@burningdaylights]

Ace just seems very likeable, to me.

[@mannygrossman]

How would Ace be able to recognize an unknown EVH in the crowd at Madison Square Garden?Something don't sound right with that story.

[@frankydog7656]

There's videos of Eddie's dad finger tapping a...I think it's a ukelele or something. Pretty sure that was before Kiss was a thing. Pretty sure it's on KZbin.

[@james---b]

At 2:18, you say ace says that when he was doing a guitar solo at madison square garden, before eddie van halen became famous, eddie was watching the show from the pit. madison square garden is in new york city. eddie lived in pasadena california. there is no way eddie went to a kiss show at madison square garden BEFORE he became famous.

[@trickett606]

Watching every move you made to be sure he didn't make the same mistakes.

[@martymcmannis6581]

That finger tapping goes way back to some Spanish flamingo style. The biggest difference is Eddie did it with 50 stacks. Well... that's what I was told

[@IanK369]

I think tapping was really invented by _Howie_ Mandel.