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Tod Howarth on Ace Frehley, Frehley's Comet - auditioning, touring, recording the two albums
Mar 28, 2025
Tod Howarth talks about auditioning for Frehley's Comet, recording, meeting John Regan, Anton Fig, Ace Frehley and more
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0:00
I think in about mid 8886 we were
0:03
touring doing a co-headlining with John
0:06
weight you know from the babies yeah
0:09
when he was doing I ain't missing you at
0:12
all that that tour great great song and
0:16
uh I used to listen to the band uh do
0:19
their sound check and it was Frankie
0:21
Lorac on drums and John rean on bass
0:24
Arthur Ste on keyboards and I was going
0:27
wow they sound great you know cuz I love
0:30
love John weight's vocals so one time
0:32
after their sound check I just went
0:34
right up to John rean he was walking
0:36
into the the arena because we were
0:39
playing this pretty big place and I I
0:41
walked up to John and I said hey I'm
0:44
Todd Howard I play keyboards of cheap F
0:47
I love the way you sound your bassone is
0:49
amazing and oh yeah I know who you are
0:51
I've been watching you sing up there so
0:54
we got to talking and he learned that I
0:56
could play I told him you I'm I'm
0:59
actually guitar player I'm least singer
1:01
songwriter and you know I've been
1:03
playing keyboards first but you I'm
1:04
playing keyboards for cheap trick so he
1:07
said that's amazing he say I'm working
1:09
on a project right now so I really can't
1:11
tell you who it is but I'm working on a
1:13
project uh that you might might be
1:16
fitted for someone like you if you know
1:19
if the Styles mesh so we exchanged
1:22
information and we saw each other
1:24
through the rest of the tour and then
1:27
after the we had a break on the tour
1:29
tour and John had called me and said hey
1:33
this is who it is it's it's Ace fry from
1:35
kiss and it's a band called Fry's Comet
1:38
we've got five members and we want to
1:40
consolidate down to four members oh okay
1:42
and we'd like you to come audition so I
1:47
managed to have my travel agent who
1:49
booked my flights for for a cheap trick
1:53
they I had him fly me out to New
1:56
York prior to a day of going to the next
2:00
leg on a cheap trick tour and I
2:02
auditioned for uh John Ace and Anton was
2:06
in the studio and I think it was wasn't
2:09
sir but some studio in New York I forget
2:11
I think it was recording studio yeah it
2:13
was it was Anon fig on drums right yeah
2:16
andon fig yeah and uh and and it was it
2:20
was great uh I've never seen Ace without
2:23
makeup but cuz I never really followed
2:25
him um and then um the band was good but
2:30
you know it was a small room but you I
2:32
was like wow it's pretty pounding then
2:34
the material wasn't quite what I wanted
2:35
to do but you know it's still a business
2:37
move and I thought you know could work
2:39
and uh you know Ace you know he liked me
2:42
and the band liked me or the guys did
2:44
but Ace wasn't too sure of me because I
2:46
wasn't a wild lead player I mean I can
2:48
play leads but mine are pretty much
2:50
Melody and stuff but
2:53
so uh I I went back out toward a CH
2:56
trick and John said hey come on back and
2:59
you you know do some other stuff do some
3:01
leads and do this do that so I did the
3:04
second thing the second another time I
3:06
flew out and audition the second time
3:09
and that's when a said yeah I think the
3:11
guy will work and that's how I get into
3:12
Fry's comment and I went into the studio
3:15
in January of
3:16
1987 to uh finish up the album they had
3:19
already started recording which was fr's
3:21
Comet so you you sang on on that album
3:25
also uh yeah I think I sang about three
3:29
s sang uh breakout I think I sang I
3:33
think something
3:35
moved and I can't remember what the
3:37
other song I don't even have the records
3:38
here with me but um yeah and I uh
3:43
contributed either one or two songs and
3:46
of course they got a little bit more
3:47
involved for second sighting but yeah
3:50
the the album had already been in the
3:52
process of being recorded is it is that
3:54
the is sorry is that the album that edit
3:57
run got
3:58
signed yes oh okay Eddie Eddie Trunk
4:01
yeah he got he got signed and that was U
4:06
the album that uh uh oh God uh Mega
4:11
Force no no mega force uh well it was
4:16
Mega Force records distributed by
4:19
Atlantic oh okay okay okay yeah but uh
4:23
I'm kind of having a a brain fart here
4:25
thinking of the the producer um Eddie
4:28
Kramer EDD Eddie Kramer
4:30
he did the first that that that record
4:33
and uh they had already started
4:34
recording it and I went in embellished
4:36
and I added some stuff guars and and
4:38
vocals background then some lead vocals
4:40
and um it was it was a fun record a lot
4:44
of fun it's a great record you you also
4:46
were on the on the second one right
4:49
second sighting came out um we before
4:52
that came out we had a live plus one uh
4:55
recording with Anton fig back uh in the
4:58
band for two weeks
5:00
cuz Anton fig couldn't tour with the
5:02
original Fry's Comet because he got the
5:05
job with David Letterman show and that
5:08
would go on to last uh him for over 30
5:10
years so it was a smart move on Anton
5:13
fig to stay with Letterman uh so we got
5:16
Billy Ward not from Sabbath but another
5:19
Billy Ward who's very good drummer but
5:21
he and John you know butt heads on that
5:25
John finally told him you know you're
5:28
out and he got Jamie all dayer to come
5:30
back in the band but before that we did
5:33
two weeks with Anon fig and recorded
5:36
live plus one and that was released as
5:40
you know like a live VP yeah then they
5:44
the record company wants to release
5:46
another record which I thought was too
5:49
soon and Ace wasn't ready you know
5:52
writing all
5:53
songs and he was sick a lot through that
5:56
recording so I had a lot of songs ready
5:58
to go
6:00
in including the song it's over now
6:03
which is a power ballad and so we record
6:07
that record primarily a lot with Ace not
6:11
being there a lot because he just he
6:14
didn't have the songs ready uh we were
6:16
trying to meet the deadline for the
6:18
record company and and he was sick a lot
6:21
but I mean he and he didn't really
6:24
protested he he just wasn't there and
6:27
because John and I pushed to get the
6:29
song uh the the album out uh people had
6:33
the conception that we were trying to
6:34
take over the band which was you nowhere
6:37
near the the case it was just the way
6:39
things were but what was the uh I I I
6:42
saw some I I didn't see the video I read
6:46
a video uh of you uh that uh that
6:50
Atlantic Records wanted to drop you off
6:53
the band of
6:55
real oh yeah well what had happened is
7:00
after we were on tour with Iron
7:03
Maiden and the second second sighting
7:06
was already out and they had a couple
7:08
sing singles and it was doing okay we on
7:11
tour with Iron Maiden
7:13
unfortunately it wasn't planned very
7:16
well financially that wasn't my fault I
7:18
didn't have anything to do with that but
7:20
I guess I could have stepped in and said
7:21
hey we're spending way too much money we
7:23
ran out of money and damn there went
7:25
bankrupt on that tour so we had to to
7:27
leave and in the process of that falling
7:31
apart uh the the label thought let's get
7:35
the band back in and do another record
7:38
but let's have Ace write and sing
7:41
everything and not have Todd do any of
7:43
that so I guess I kind of blamed it on
7:46
me to a degree which you know maybe it
7:48
was partly that perspective was the
7:52
fault I don't know you know primarily
7:54
the ace fans wanted to see Ace and Ace
7:58
styled material I get that I mean even
8:00
more so now but back then for me at that
8:04
point I had three children and a family
8:07
and a house and I'm going how am I gonna
8:10
support myself if I can't write songs
8:13
and then if I'm not even singing them
8:15
that's you know just a slap in the face
8:17
to me yeah so that's when I decided look
8:20
you know I called Ace up and I said ace
8:23
I'm you know I I can't I can't stay I
8:25
going to have to you know try my luck
8:27
and and strike out and try to get a solo
8:29
deal or put another band together
8:31
because I'm screwed if I can't make any
8:33
money yeah uh publishing or otherwise
8:35
and he understood it he said I he said
8:38
you know I understand I wish you
8:39
wouldn't go but you know I understand
8:41
what you have to do and that's exactly
8:43
what happened yeah yeah yeah yeah you're
8:45
you're still great with Ace right ace
8:49
and I I mean we when we see each other
8:52
which is not very often anymore and uh
8:55
we're fine uh we don't have I don't have
8:57
a problem with him he doesn't have a
8:59
problem with with me we haven't talked
9:00
to each other in years well last time I
9:03
saw him was uh I think we did the we did
9:07
a show in miam when I was with 4 by fate
9:10
and then we had Return of the Comet with
9:12
Richie scarlet and Steve Budgy Warner
9:15
and we had
9:18
uh that was actually four by Fate but
9:21
anyhow we
9:22
had a come up and do a song with us and
9:27
it that it did the sound went bad or
9:30
there was a big debacle on there Ace was
9:32
irritated cuz he couldn't hear himself
9:34
uh that was primarily I think the last
9:36
time I I spoke with Ace Andor it may
9:40
have been in one of the shows uh we did
9:43
a show with
9:45
him he was with his band at the chance
9:48
in New York and I was with 4 by Fate but
9:51
we haven't really talked a lot at all
9:53
though he Ace is doing what Ace wants to
9:55
do and that's his own solo band yeah
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