Ex- KISS [ tickets ] guitarist Ace Frehley [ tickets ], whom the group has essentially replaced with a make-up wearing Frehley imposter, wants his fans to know that he is no longer touring with the group.

"I love my fans, and so there is no confusion, I took [KISS's] 'The Farewell Tour' for what it was billed as," Frehley said in a statement issued on Wednesday (7/23). "We had a great final leg in Australia and, as far as I was concerned, my career with KISS was over. It was called 'The Farewell Tour' and that's what I was told it was."

Frehley's statement follows a June 29 Newsday.com article that mistakenly claimed Frehley would be touring with KISS during the band's upcoming co-headlining tour with Aerosmith.

The original KISS lineup--Frehley (guitar, vocals), Gene Simmons (vocals, bass), Paul Stanley (vocals, guitar) and Peter Criss (drums, vocals)--reunited in 1996 after 15 years apart. The foursome subsequently embarked on several successful world tours, and in early 2000 launched what it said was its final outing.

Frehley said that he was under the impression that the band was finished touring following the farewell tour's 2001 Australian leg.

"When I returned from Australia, I did what any person [whose] job just ended would do ... I started planning for the future," he said. "I bought a beautiful seven-and-a-half acre estate, built an extravagant multimedia recording studio and decided to jump start my solo career by recording my seventh solo album."

KISS anchormen Stanley and Simmons, however, decided to keep touring, and, by early 2002, had replaced Criss and Frehley with musicians who wore Criss's and Frehley's costumes and make-up. Criss has since rejoined the group, while guitarist Tommy Thayer--one of the group's longtime collaborators--is now portraying Frehley's spaceman character.

No word yet on when Frehley will release his forthcoming solo album. His former KISS cohorts launch their outing with Aerosmith on Aug. 2.