“Ace was the reason... His image made me go, ‘This is what I want to do with the rest of my life’”: John 5 on his final conversations with Ace Frehley, working on Peter Criss’ new record, and the signature guitar so good he’s written a song about it

John 5 describes his recent tour with Richie Kotzen as “phenomenal” – which is good, because it helped distract him from the loss of his friend and influence, Ace Frehley.

The Kiss guitarist passed in October, aged 74.

“It’s still hard to talk about,” 5 says. “He was happy and healthy. He was excited about the Kennedy Center Honors (Kiss are set to be honored with a Kennedy Center Honor in December); he was excited about doing shows. He was in such a good place, and then he had an accident.

“It’s devastating – he was so important to music, and so important to the world. And it was just an accident.”

5’s Kiss connection doesn’t end with Frehley. The guitarist will be heard on co-founding drummer Peter Criss’ first solo album since 2007. Titled simply Peter Criss, it arrives on December 19 and sees the Catman return to his rock roots, which makes 5 all the more excited.

“I think it’s the best record Peter’s ever done,” he says. “It’s gonna blow minds because it’s so good. The fans are gonna be so happy about it – they’re rooting for their hero; they always want their hero to succeed.”

You’ve been on tour with Richie Kotzen. How did it go?

I love, love, love touring and this one has been so good, man. The shows have been great, the people have been great, and Richie’s been wonderful. His voice is incredible every night, and these songs he’s written are so good. I wouldn’t mind doing it again – he’s been a pleasure to be around.

You’ve played on a few songs from Peter Criss' new album.

He’s been working on this record for a really long time and I’ve been helping him since the beginning. He needed a good producer, and I recommended my guy, Barry Pointier.

I worked with Peter closely, and yeah, I knocked out a bunch of songs for him. So did [keyboardist] Paul Shaffer, [bassist] Billy Sheehan, and [bassist] Piggy D. And Peter worked really hard – he was playing drums every day and singing every day. I’m really proud of him.

As a huge Kiss fan, it must be thrilling to be on what might be Peter’s final album.

It’s wonderful to be part of history! I played on Paul Stanley’s record, I played with Peter, and I’ve played on Ace’s records. It’s funny that I’m so close with Gene Simmons, but I’ve never recorded with him.

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Did you approach Peter’s album from a classic Kiss or more of a modern rock perspective?

It was very primitive – I thought, “Back in the day, what would they have used?” and I went with that. It’s one pedal, a guitar, and an amp; and with Barry’s great production it came out wonderfully. Peter was very vocal; he’d say, “Do this,” or “Try that.” He’s very in tune with everything, what he wants and how he wants it. I liked that.

I wanted to keep that bluesy style, but I wanted a little freshness in there. It’s hard to explain; it depended on the song. But I just can’t wait for people to hear this record! Peter’s really excited, too. I loved his ’78 solo record – it’s one of my favorites because of his voice and his vibe. He was the tough one in Kiss; I thought he was so badass.

Did you use your usual Fender Tele and Boss pedals?

Yeah, I used my Ghost and my Phantom. And I used an EVH amp, a noise suppressor, and a Super Overdrive. That was it! It was just total rock ‘n’ roll, and so fun.

How are you feeling after Ace’s death?

Ace was the reason, you know; it was Hee-Haw and Ace that made me want to play guitar. Ace’s image made me go, “This is what I want to do with the rest of my life.” Inspiration is important – it stays with you for the rest of your life. I still love Kiss to this day to an extreme amount. It never goes away. That’s how important Ace is.

Did you get to talk with him in between his first and second accidents?

Yeah – I talked to him days before he had his first accident, and I talked with him after it. After the first one is when he went to the doctor and they said, “You’re good. You’re healthy.”

Ace always had trouble walking – he even had a record called Trouble Walkin’. He always had balance issues. You can see old videos of him onstage in the ‘70s, and it’s just how he was. It’s just so sad.

In August, Ace told us he was working on Origins Vol. 3. Did he ask you to play on that?

Yes, he did. It kills me, man. I was gonna do it with him. I don’t know what song I was gonna do, but he wanted me to play on the record because I did on his others. I’m so sad; I cherish those times.

Your Ghost Tele has been a big hit, and you’ve got the Phantom coming out. What’s the latest there?

I’ve had some signature guitars, and I love the Ghost so much. But this Phantom – I might love the Phantom a little bit more than the Ghost. It’s just so comfortable; it’s got this contour on the body, and this cutaway for the neck. It plays so good, looks so badass, and sounds so great. And it’s going to be available for everyone.

The Ghost isn’t available for everyone because they only made a very limited amount. But with the Phantom, I said, “I want everybody to get it and enjoy it.” And I have a song called Phantom to go along with the guitar that’ll come out with the guitar. But there’s no release date yet.

• John 5’s latest album, Ghost, is available now.