EDDIE KRAMER Talks Working With KISS – ACE FREHLEY Was “The Real Heart And Soul" Of The Band

Famed producer / engineer Eddie Kramer guested on Jay Jay French’s podcast Beyond The Music and reflected on his career and working with Jimi Hendrix and KISS.

Kramer produced KISS’ first demo as well as KISS Alive!, Rock And Roll Over, Love Gun, Alive II, Ace Frehley’s 1978 solo album, and Alive III.

Kramer remembered producing the first KISS demo: "At Electric Lady [Studios], I would see Gene [Simmons, bassist] and Paul [Stanley, guitarist, frontman] up and down the hallways, doing their thing. Ron Johnsen was their producer, and I think at that time he was also managing the Electric Lady Studios. He called me up after the disaster of the Wicked Lester album, which went straight in the bloody toilet, and he says, 'Listen, Gene and Paul, they got this idea. They want to do a rock 'n' roll band, would you do a demo for me?'"

"So, on the appointed day, Gene, Paul, and Ace... just watching these guys go into the studio was just one of those moments. When Ace walked into the studio, he was so bloody skinny. He was driving a cab in the Bronx. And he was so thin, if he turned sideways, you wouldn't even see him. But what a sweet... Ace, for me, he was the real heart and soul. A bloody good guitar player, much underrated, I think, by a lot of folks."