In a far-reaching interview with Tim Caple on The Classic Rock Podcast, which can be seen below, drummer Carmine Appice (Blue Murder, King Kobra, Vanilla Fudge) looks back at some of the great stories and anecdotes of the time after the formation of the band that would be known as "America's answer to led Zeppelin" in 1970, Cactus. A few excerpts follow:
Carmine on how the name Cactus came to be:
"Well, it was gonna be called Cactus. Yeah, yeah, I had the name from the Vanilla Fudge days. Me and Tim (Bogert, bassist) were riding in a vehicle, I think it was Tucson, Arizona or something. And it was a drive-in theater, you know, like those big giant screens, right? You drive in with your car and you see, you know, seeing the '50s movies. Well, on top of it was a... big giant words, cactus. It was called a cactus drive-in. And I said to Tim, 'Wow, look at that. What a great name for the band, for a band.' And then when we started doing Cactus, we said to Jeff (Beck, guitarist), why don't we call it Cactus? And he said, 'Yeah, that's a good name.' So we ended up calling, the working title was always Cactus."
Carmine on The David Lee Roth Band:
"Marco Mendoza (bassist) asked if i was interested in playing with DLR , so we started rehearsing. Dave comes in wearing this what looked like pyjamas that looked like it was made from a Holiday Inn curtain and bedspread set. Where did you get the pyjamas Dave? Were they made from Holiday Inn bedspead and curtains? DLR: 'No man these are custom made, I love them!' I never heard from him again after that day."
Cactus recently released their album, Temple Of Blues - Influences & Friends, on CD and double vinyl album via Cleopatra Records. The album reached #3 on Billboard's Blues Album chart.
BraveWords recently premiered the new music video for the track, "One Way...Or Another", which features both dUg Pinnick and Ted Nugent. Watch the clip below.
Ted Nugent on "One Way...Or Another": "I was raised and inspired by the American rock founding fathers Chuck Berry, Bo Diddly, Little Richard, James Brown and allthings Motown soul music. Vanilla Fudge epitomized the combination of all that fiery music. When my Motor City music monsters Jim McCarty and Rusty Day teamed up with the most powerful rhythm section of Tim Bogart and Carmine Appice to form Cactus, I thought my musical world would surely spin off its axis! The raw Detroit energy of Rusty and Jim with the definitive thrust of Tim and Carmines richter scale groove made every band in the world practice harder! Cactus were a serious force to reckon with."
dUg Pinnick On "One Way...Or Another": “It was 1971, Led Zeppelin, ZZ Top, Deep Purple and Yes were my go to bands, and one day I went to visit a musician friend who played me 'Long Tall Sally' by Cactus! From the beginning Jim’s guitar intro I was hooked! The riff was so heavy, and when Rusty sang the first verse my mind was blown. A Little Richard cover!!!!..the reason I play rock music was because of Little Richard! So I listened to the whole album. Great song writing, Carmine’s brutal drumming, TIM’s bass and Jim’s guitar playing, So inspirational they were! Rusty had a special knack for writing amazing down to earth lyrics! I loved his voice! I learned to sing and play every song and I never looked back. These albums still stand the test of time!! Cactus is one of my ALLTIME favorite bands. This is why I said “Yes” to playing on this record."
Featured along with the current Cactus band is a who’s who of blues and rock icons: Guitarists Joe Bonamassa, Ted Nugent, Pat Travers, Warren Haynes, Vernon Reid, Steve Stevens, Johnny A (The Yardbirds), Ty Tabor (King’s X) and bassists Billy Sheehan (Mr Big), Dug Pinnick (King’s X) Tony Franklin (The Firm, Blue Murder), Phil Soussan (Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Idol), Rudy Sarzo(Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne), Kenny Aaronson (ex- Joan Jet and The Yardbirds), as well as members of Government Mule, Vixen, Rainbow, Zebra, and Whitesnake. Vocalist Dee Snider of Twisted Sister appears on the band’s remake of the Howlin’ Wolf classic “Evil,” and Appice’s bandmate in Vanilla Fudge Mark Stein turns in a powerful vocal on Little Richard’s “Long Tall Sally.” A second version of “Guiltless Glider,” appears as a bonus track with former Judas Priest vocalist, Ripper Owens. Another of Appice’s musical partners, Fernando Perdomo, also appears on the new record.
The new album merges the members of Cactus with a super ensemble of featured artists, all of whom have called the group among their biggest influences. Once heralded by critics as America’s answer to Led Zeppelin, Cactus recorded four hard rockin’ albums for Atco Records before Appice and bassist Tim Bogert left to form their own supergroup: Beck, Bogert & Appice.
In addition to Appice on drums on all tracks, original Cactus guitarist Jim McCarty also appears on Temple Of Blues. Current band members vocalist/guitarist and harmonica player Jim Stapley and bassist Jim Caputo also appear on many of the tracks. Appice announced today a new member to the band’s lineup: guitarist Artie Dillon will handle guitar duties for live tours and plays on one track for the new album. Founding member Jim McCarty currently contributes as a writing and recording member of Cactus on occasion but no longer does live tours.
Order the album on CD and vinyl here. Order the digital edition here.
Tracklisting:
"Parchman Farm" feat. Joe Bonamassa & Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big / David Lee Roth)
"Bro. Bill" feat. Randy Jackson (Zebra), Randy Pratt (Cactus) & Bob Daisley (Ozzy Osbourne)
"Guiltless Glider" feat. Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (Guns N' Roses) & Phil Soussan (Ozzy Osbourne)
"Evil" feat. Dee Snider (Twisted Sister) & Dug Pinnick (King's X)
"One Way...Or Another" feat. Dug Pinnick (King's X) & Ted Nugent
"Alaska" feat. Johnny A. & Tony Franklin (The Firm)
"No Need To Worry" feat. Warren Haynes (Gov't Mule) & Jorgen Carlsson (Gov't Mule)
"Oleo" feat. Steve Stevens (Billy Idol) & Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big / David Lee Roth)
"Big Mama Boogie" feat. Pat Travers & James Caputo (Cactus)
"You Can't Judge A Book By The Cover"
"Rock N' Roll Children" feat. Britt Lightning (Vixen), Vernon Reid (Living Colour) & Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot)
"Let Me Swim" feat. Doug Aldrich (Whitesnake) & Marco Mendoza (Blue Murder)
"Restrictions" feat. Ty Tabor (King's X) & Phil Soussan (Ozzy Osbourne)
"Long Tall Sally" feat. Mark Stein (Vanilla Fudge) & Fernando Perdomo
Bonus track:
"Guiltless Glider" feat. Tim "Ripper" Owens (Judas Priest)
"Parchman Farm":
"Evil" video:
- Produced by Carmine Appice
- Co-Produced by Pat Regan-Jim Stapley
- Mix Engineer - Pat Regan
- Mixdown by Pat Regan with Carmine Appice.
- Carmine's drums recorded at “Realistic Rock Studios” Florida. Engineered by Carmine Appice
See Cactus live on August 10th in Westland, MI at Token Lounge.
The current lineup of Cactus came together in 2021. Lead vocalist Jim Stapley comes from England and had worked with ex-Faces/Who drummer Kenny Jones in the Jones Gang and Humble Pie. “Nearly five decades after I formed this band, the time had come to re-invent Cactus once again,” says Appice, who also still drums for Vanilla Fudge, The Appice Brothers Drum Wars, and a hybrid tribute to former band leader, Rod Stewart. Adds Appice: “The music remains the same and Cactus is still a ‘hot and sweaty’ band. The level, quality and consistence of the band’s musicianship is as strong as ever.”
Cactus has had a long and turbulent history. Formed in 1970 from the ashes of Vanilla Fudge by Carmine Appice and Tim Bogert, the initial lineup also featured McCarty (from Mitch Ryder and The Buddy Miles Express) and Amboy Dukes vocalist Rusty Day. While Cactus saw success from the start and soon built a loyal fan base, by early 1973 the band had collapsed mainly due to lack of real support from its label and the fact that Jeff Beck was now ready play with Carmine and Tim in BBA.
The band reformed in 2006, three decades after the tragic death of Rusty Day with Randy Pratt on harp (who also appears on this album) and Jimmy Kunes vocals. When the late Tim Bogert was forced into retirement due to complications after a serious motorcycle accident, Pete Bremy joined on bass before Caputo replaced him in 2020. Now, with a powerful new lineup Cactus and an album the marries the band with some of the biggest names in rock and blues, embarks on a new and exciting musical journey to the Temple Of Blues.
