Ace Frehley Jams with MR.SPEED Ace photos by Al Soluri - From KISSONLINE.com I wish that I could express for you just how incredible I feel today. It's the kind of feeling that I wish for all of you to experience at some point in your life. Last night I was given the opportunity to jam with Ace Frehley! So as the notes of our performance rang out Ace approached the stage to address and thank the crowd that had waited patiently to meet him. I could feel all of my senses really coming to the surface and my emotions were definitely on overload. It seemed as if time stood still as my memory conjured up years of trips to record stores and poster shops. The thousands of times that I've watched KISS videos and read interviews from Grooves, Hit Parader & Metal Edge magazine. Ace emerged from behind our backline wearing Joe's Les Paul and the years of dedication to this band that I love came stumbling toward me. Here I was on stage with Ace in Myrtle Beach but in my head it was Largo, Anaheim, Cobo and Tiger Stadium all rolled into one. We didn't know what song he would want to play and as he thanked everyone for coming out he turned and shouted "Shock Me"! We were backing up Ace on a KISS classic that had everyone there singing along. The feeling was incredible and the fans faces were priceless. This is why I'm a KISS fan. To be fortunate enough to have been involved with this event and have it conclude like this is something that no one can take away. As the song ended and the crowd exploded with applause I didn't want it to end. Ace began to exit the stage only to turn around and embrace me with a hug that seemed surreal and sincere at the same time. I thanked him for this special moment in my life and he told me that "everything's going to be ok". To everyone that was there, thanks for helping to make it special. To Brian & Skip from the Coffeehouse and Keith at KISSONLINE - what can I say? Words are not enough. From the bottom of my heart...thank you! Rich Kosak - MR.SPEED Joe appears in The Cleveland Plain Dealer Photo by Peggy Turbett/The Plain Dealer The license plate: SHOCK ME The car: 1999 Chevrolet Blazer. The owner: Joe Hess, 33, bank employee, in his $1,200 custom-made Ace Frehley Kiss costume. The reason: My sister bought me my first Kiss album, Love Gun, in 1978 when I was 4 years old, and I’ve been hooked ever since. I loved their whole mystique: The fact that you didn’t know who they were, the explosions, the fire, the blood, the catchy music and, of course, the toys: the Kiss dolls, the Kiss comic books, the Kiss lunch boxes. Kiss consisted of four guys: Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley, Peter Criss and Gene Simmons. I always liked Ace. He had the coolest costume, and he had the best guitar solo in “Shock Me.” His guitar would start smoking as if it was on fire. I was looking to start my own Kiss tribute band in “Established Kiss tribute band looking for Ace.” 2000. I put an ad in Scene that said, “Ace looking for Gene, Peter, Paul.” Diagonal to my ad was another ad: The name of the band was Mr. Speed. Mr. Speed is what we in the Kiss world call an obscure song because most people don’t know it. We do everything the way Kiss does. We have the lighted logo. We have the stack of Marshall amps. Our costumes are dead replicas of theirs. We have the smoke, the blood. We even use the same kind of makeup they do. “Shock Me” was the first song I had to learn. It was kind of my identifying moment with the band. That’s why I put it on my license plate. Most people mistake what SHOCK ME means. People driving by, they’ll flip me the bird and stuff like that. Like they want to see if they can shock me. A lot of people take it that way. They moon me. Christopher Evans, Plain Dealer Reporter *Spring Update* Welcome to our “RISE TO IT” Tour 2008. We are thrilled with our schedule of upcoming shows and cannot wait to get back out there with all of you. Many of our performances will be at outdoor venues which means only one thing…they’re going to be loud! A few of the shows will even contain full pyrotechnics for those of you that want the closest thing to a true KISS performance. We have also created a new t-shirt design with an updated version of our classic logo that we know you are going to love. Everyone is well rested and looking forward to quenching the thirst that you all have for classic KISS rock ‘n roll. Make plans now to catch our show coming to town near you! Make sure you visit our “TOUR” page for all of the latest details surrounding each and every date on our schedule. We’ll be going back to some familiar places and saying “hello” to even newer faces throughout the year. We are so excited about all of the possibilities that lie ahead. Our show still has the same classic look with additional songs being learned at each rehearsal. We would love to be able to play every KISS song ever recorded but we realize that isn’t possible. We hear what you tell us and promise that we will continue to strive to bring you the best selection of classic KISS songs from most of the albums that you have come to love over the years. We will be making improvements to some of the stage props as well. All of this we promise will make your experience with us more memorable than you ever thought possible. Rich, Joe, Criss & Rob MR.SPEED