Music journalist Mitch Lafon recently shared a snippet of an old interview of the former KISS rocker Ace Frehley. In the video, the guitarist makes a risky comment about Eddie Van Halen. He says:
“All I can tell you is when I was doing my guitar solo in Madison Square Garden before they became famous, Eddie was down in the pit watching every f*cking move I make.”
‘Eddie Got Ideas From Me’
In the original interview, Frehley pointed out that there’s a big difference between his tapping technique and Eddie Van Halen’s:
“I did it with the pick, I didn’t go with my finger. Eddie probably got some ideas from me, just like I got ideas from other guitar players. But he perfected it. There’s no way I could play some of the solos that he pulled off.”
When asked how he discovered two-hand tapping, Frehley added:
“As far as I can remember, I think I just came up with it. I don’t know.”
Fan Reactions To Frehley’s Comments
In the snippet Lafon shared, the video ends where Frehley taps on his guitar. Fans thought he misplayed it and that he couldn’t get close to what Eddie could do. A user said:
“That sounds like every 13 year old boy in the 80’s who got their first guitar and wanted to be Eddie Van Halen.”
Another user said:
“This is what every KISS song sounds like to my ears…”
Another added:
“This man’s life and career has been that musical instrument, and he never got better at it than this.”
You can see Lafon’s post here and the entire interview down below.