Tommy Thayer opened up about his experience replacing Ace Frehley in KISS, revealing that the only advice Gene Simmons gave him was to grow his hair back. Thayer also admitted that the early days in the band were filled with “a lot of anxiety.”
Joining KISS in 2002 after Frehley’s second and final departure, Thayer quickly proved himself as a reliable lead guitarist, a role that many bands could only hope to have. So dependable was Thayer that when KISS wrapped up their career in 2023, he became the band’s longest-tenured guitarist.
Though Thayer became more widely known after donning the famous Spaceman suit, his connection with the band began years earlier. In 1989, during the making of Hot in the Shade, Thayer worked with Gene Simmons, co-writing a couple of songs. Reflecting on this experience in a recent interview with Guitarist, Thayer recalled:
“Gene had been producing Black ‘N Blue [Thayer’s first major band], and eventually asked if I’d be interested in writing for the next KISS album. I went over to his place, and we sat down with a couple of guitars and wrote two songs. I remember recording demos for ‘The Street Giveth [and the Street Taketh Away]’ and ‘Betrayed’ at Cherokee Sound in Hollywood.”
“We used a drum machine. I played the guitars with Gene on bass, and we both sang. Ultimately, both songs made the album. Instead of re-recording everything, Gene decided to keep parts of the demo, with Eric Carr laying down real drums and Bruce Kulick redoing the electric guitars and solos.”
“Gene kept the vocals, background vocals, and my acoustic guitar from the demos. I probably used my ’73 Wine Red Les Paul Deluxe. I remember Lenny Kravitz was in the next studio and him borrowing that guitar.”
When asked about his initial conversations with KISS before officially joining, Thayer shared:
“I remember Gene saying, ‘You need to start growing your hair again.’ That was the discussion! There wasn’t much said; they needed to do something because it was becoming impossible for the band to move forward at that point.”
Thayer went on to explain the challenges of stepping into Frehley’s iconic role. “I jumped in and did the best I could. The playing part came easily, but stepping into that role and meeting the expectations that came with it was what made it challenging. To be honest, it was tough at first – a lot of anxiety.”
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