Kiss and Tell: The Music Is Frehley’s Love : Pop: With his ‘70s group’s theatrics behind him, the guitarist works to establish his place in a modern rock scene.

Fire-breathing, blood-spewing stage theatrics. Heavy doses of makeup and smoke-bomb-primed guitars. Thousands of young fans singing along to the party anthem, “Rock and Roll All Nite.”

During the mid-’70s, the bombastic glitter-rock of KISS was in its heyday. Albums including “Dressed to Kill,” “Alive!” (1975) and “Love Gun” and “Alive II” (1977) routinely went gold and platinum, turning this foursome of New Yorkers into millionaires.

“One of the problems with KISS, and the main reason I left the group [in 1982], was that there was no focus on the music,” guitarist Ace Frehley, 44, said in a recent interview in which he touched on the KISS legacy, its impact on today’s rockers and his ongoing struggle to be taken seriously on his own terms.

“The whole extravaganza . . . it became a traveling circus,” he said. “We overcommercialized the group [through merchandising, endorsements, and even an animated version of the band], and we wound up turning into a parody of ourselves.

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“But I’m proud of my guitar work and the songs that I wrote,” he said. “In the past year or two, I think I’ve been starting to get some of the recognition due me. I didn’t realize how many kids I was influencing. . . . When I talk to some of today’s guitar players, they say that our ‘Alive!’ and ‘Alive II’ albums are their rock ‘n’ roll bible for playing guitar.”

Indeed, a number of today’s hard rockers, including Pantera’s Diamond Darrell (“Ace is the reason I picked up the ax!”) and Skid Row’s Snake Sabo, have cited KISS and Frehley’s stinging and trend-setting style as influences.

Still, Frehley has a hard time envisioning himself holding the same position for today’s rockers that Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page did for him.

“I never had formal guitar training, so I sometimes play chords that I don’t even know what they are,” Frehley said. “But if it sounds right, I do it, and I think because I’m not schooled, I come up with some original stuff. I don’t know . . . my peers have told me that I’ve developed a sound that is memorable and recognized.”

With his KISS years behind him, Frehley is working to establish his place in a modern rock scene. He said he is excited about his current band and tour, which stops at the Galaxy Concert Theatre in Santa Ana tonight on a bill with former KISS drummer Peter Criss and his band.

Frehley and his band--vocalist-guitarist Richie Scarlett, bassist Karl Cochran, and drummer Steve Werner--toured Japan last year and just finished a succession of dates in Seattle, Edmonton and Calgary.

“I haven’t put out a record in five years, but we’ve got a CD’s worth of new material, and while we’re negotiating with several record labels, we decided to tour and write more songs,” said Frehley. “Peter’s record company approached us about co-headlining [this tour], and we’re having a ball. We collaborate on stage for a couple of old KISS songs, but this is no reunion tour.”

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Even though his efforts have been modest sellers, Frehley speaks excitedly when describing new songs such as the “heavy, riffy, melodic” tune “Sister” and the autobiographical escapades of “Breakin’ All the Rules.” Such songs preview the direction his upcoming release will take, he said.

Frehley also says he hopes that the next record company he signs with will provide more support than he claims he received for his last release, 1989’s “Trouble Walking.”

“I got frustrated after that release because there really was no one behind that record,” he said. “It got so bad that I didn’t pick up a guitar for six months. But eventually, you’ve got to get on with your life.”

With his new band and tour, and his personal life on solid ground--he celebrates his 20th wedding anniversary with his wife Jeanette next year--Frehley prefers looking ahead.

“I’m having a lot of fun right now,” he said. “The traveling is hard, and being separated from my family is tough, but I’m honestly enjoying performing now more than I ever have, and I hope my fans will get into our new music as much as we are.”

Ace Frehley and Peter Criss play tonight at the Galaxy Concert Theatre, 3503 S. Harbor Blvd., Santa Ana. 8 p.m. $28.50. (714) 957-0600.