Ace Frehley's on-again, off-again friendship with fellow KISS co-founders Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley is showing no signs of a revival before the final dates of Kiss's 'End of the Road' farewell tour this year.
Stanley has apparently reached his limit of answering whether Frehley and Peter Criss possibly returning to the band, suggesting last month to Howard Stern that such a combination "should be called PISS" instead.
Frehley, who has led a solo band for over 20 years and featured Simmons and Stanley on recent solo albums, took offense to the comment and publicly demanded an apology during an appearance last week on Eddie Trunk's radio show. If there was no apology, Frehley warned, he would air "some dirt" on his ex-bandmates. The Spaceman added that he has a 120-page document in a safety deposit box, detailing Simmons and Stanley's indiscretions.
In a return to Trunk's show this week, Frehley provided an update: he did indeed receive a call from Stanley shortly after making his demand, but it not an apology.
"I was blindsided by the phone call," Frehley told Trunk. "But instead of an apology, I got a five-second phone call which said, 'Fuck you, Ace. I'm not going to apologize,' and hung up. ... He wasn't even man enough to let me give a rebuttal and explain why I'm so upset or anything like that."
Frehley said he was subsequently in touch with longtime Kiss manager Doc McGhee, who said Stanley told him no such phone call took place. Frehley then shared a screenshot of his phone call log to Trunk, who confirmed that a short call from a contact with Stanley's name was indeed listed.
As for the dirt he threatened to air, Frehley, who has been sober for 17 years, said his friend in Alcoholics Anonymous advised him not to "sink to their level."
"I can just talk about things that they've said about me in black and white," Frehley added. "They can't come after me after that because they said it. It's in black and white."
Frehley has often complained that Simmons and Stanley took his drug problems personally and never forgave him for quitting the band in the early '80s. Despite his long solo career, the pair have continually referred to him as unreliable and unemployable.
Simmons and Stanley began the 'End of the Road' tour, expressing optimism that all surviving former Kiss band members would be welcomed to contribute along the way. Even McGhee went so far at one point to say he expected Frehley to show up at some point.
But as the end of the tour draws closer, it appears the co-founders cannot find common ground.
KISS's final shows are scheduled for this December at Madison Square Garden.