Former Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley regards the current version of the group as "half a Kiss cover band," but he insists he isn't losing any sleep over the group's refusal to play at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony next month.

Frehley shared his feelings during a recent chat with Revolver, reiterating that this latest Kiss controversy occurred because remaining founders Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley wanted to perform at the ceremony with current members Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer, while the Rock Hall was only interested in making room for the original foursome: Simmons, Stanley, Frehley, and drummer Peter Criss. "Last I heard, there’s going to be no performance," Frehley shrugged. "There has been a lot of negotiating behind closed doors and I’m sworn to secrecy. But last I heard, there’s just going to be no performance."

Reflecting on his recent on-stage reunion with Criss, Frehley mused, "I’ve been reading stuff on the Internet and Paul and Gene have been insinuating that maybe Peter and myself don’t have it anymore, which is a load of crap. We proved otherwise ... but aside from that, it’s very misleading. I think somehow they wanted to validate the current lineup. I don’t have a problem with the current lineup. It is what it is -- it’s half a Kiss cover band."

Admitting that Stanley "brought out the inconsistencies" in the Rock Hall's induction process when he pointed out that some bands have been allowed to induct replacement members and others haven't, Frehley refused to "take potshots" at the Hall, saying, "It’s a cool organization. But it is what it is." And that basically sums up his public attitude toward being denied an opportunity to perform at the induction ceremony, too -- as he put it, "I don’t know what the reason is. And at this point, I don’t care because it was renting so much space in my head, it was affecting my creativity and finishing up my record."

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