Coming off a very successful US tour and the release of its first studio album in 10 years, Black Dawn, the time has come for founding member and world renown drummer Carmine Appice to re-energize and rebuild Cactus. The band was once heralded by critics as America’s answer to Led Zeppelin.

Appice announced today two new members to the legendary band’s line-up: bassist Jimmy Caputo and guitarist Paul Warren. Caputo replaces bassist Pete Bremy, who has left Cactus to pursue other projects. Warren, best known as lead guitarist for Rod Stewart, Tina Turner and Joe Cocker, will be the band’s new guitarist for touring, taking over for founding member Jim McCarty. McCarty remains a writing and recording member of Cactus but unfortunately i s unable to tour with the band due to health reasons.

Lead vocalist extraordinare Jimmy Kunes and harmonica wizard Randy Pratt, both of whom joined when the band re-grouped in 2006 remain in the line-up. “Nearly five decades after I formed this band, the time has come to re-invent Cactus once again,” says Appice, who also still drums for Vanilla Fudge, The Appice Brothers, and The Platinum Rock All Stars. 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.”

“I saw the original Cactus live a few times, and they absolutely killed it,” says guitarist Paul Warren. “That was one of the great bands of the era, and they are still a great band, today. I am excited, and honored, to play with such an historic band!” Warren, who has his own successful solo band, is a native of Detroit and who considers Jim McCarty as one of his biggest musical influences. “”Filling in for Jim McCarty will be a challenge. Not only is he a founding member of the band, he is a brilliant guitarist and one of the best to ever come out of Detroit. Jimmy could never be replaced. I plan to honor and pay homage to his work with Cactus while still bringing some of my own ‘Detroit attitude’ to the legendary music of this band.”

Bassist Jimmy Caputo has worked in a myriad of national touring acts including The Appice Brothers Drum Wars show, which also includes both Carmine and his brother Vinny.

Cactus returned in 2016 with Black Dawn, a new studio album, its first in almost 10 years. Featuring the blistering riff-rock that the band built its reputation upon, Black Dawn is a classic Cactus album with a fresh new energy that the band has not had since its heyday in the early 1970s. The new line up of Cactus and the release of the Black Dawn CD will land just days ahead of the band’s first string of European dates in 4 years upcoming in May 2017.

The band has had a long and turbulent history. Formed in 1970 from the ashes of The Vanilla Fudge by Carmine Appice and Tim Bogert. the initial line up also featured McCarty and vocalist Rusty Day. (Appice and Bogert had originally planned a new band with Jeff Beck which was put off until 1973 because of Beck’s near fatal car crash in 1969). Jim McCarty had come from Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels and was playing with The Buddy Miles Express. Tim and Carmine also found vocalist Day in The Amboy Dukes with Ted Nugent. Together, the four musicians formed Cactus, named after the peyote cactus, which provided a key ingredient in mind-altering drugs.

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 Beck was now ready play with Carmine and Tim.
It would not be until 2006, three decades after the tragic death of Rusty Day that the group reformed with Pratt and Kunes to record CACTUS V and play Sweden Rock. When Tim Bogert was forced into retirement due to complications after a serious motorcycle accident, Pete Bremy joined on bass in both in Cactus and Vanilla Fudge.

Now, with Jimmy Caputo and Paul Warren onboard, Cactus embarks on a new and exciting musical journey – just as powerful as before – and bound to be just as successful…one way or another.

*NOTE*
Black Pussy does not condone or endorse any sexism, racism, ageism, violence, or any other douchebaggery that has been spoiling the party since the party started. If you are offended by the band’s name please refer to the following quote…

“Few people can see genius in someone who has offended them.”
-Robertson Davies

When The Rolling Stones wrote their classic track “Brown Sugar” it was originally titled “Black Pussy,” but record-label politics got in the way: It was deemed too offensive and the powers at work refused to put it out. So the band had to change the name to something that was easier for the general public to swallow. At least that’s how the legend goes.

For Dustin Hill, the creative mastermind and songwriter behind Black Pussy, it sounded like a fantastic band name. It encapsulates exactly what the band is: a sex-charged, ’70s-influenced, hide-your-daughters-because-they’re-coming-to-town rock ‘n’ roll band that sounds like Tarantino directing a Thin Lizzy video in the low desert. Considering the name comes from a song that directly speaks out against racism, Hill isn’t willing to entertain the notion that the band intends to offend anyone.

For the past few years, the group has perpetually headed out on nationwide tours, including a full U.S. and Canada stint opening for ex-Kyuss legends Vista Chino in 2013, rightfully earning them the tagline, “ON TOUR FOREVER.” The group has also spent the last two years constantly working on heavy, psychedelic rock songs with not only Portland recording engineer Adam Pike (Red Fang, Norska, Black Elk, etc.) but also the legendary Kyuss founding drummer and multi-instrumentalist Brant Bjork.

Black Pussy’s heavy, bluesy sound and clear influences of Kyuss, Hendrix and The Who have found a niche in the ever-growing, global stoner-rock movement. The band exclusively uses vintage Sunn gear, pushing a massive 44 speakers when playing live and tends to land shows with the heaviest, sludgiest bands in the Portland, Oregon scene. However, their classic, upbeat, relentlessly hooky tracks have led to Hill coining the phrase “stoner pop,” like The Cars meets Black Sabbath. The band’s catchy music tends to seduce anyone, even those who walk in off the street after seeing the intriguing band name on the marquis of the venue.

The 2012 debut album, On Blonde, is Hill’s baby: It was written and mostly recorded by him alone, though guitarist Ryan McIntire, drummer Dean Carroll, bassist Aaron Poplin and keyboardist Chief O’Dell were later added to the band. The record, which kicks off with the rip of a bong and sounds like a drug-riddled midnight misadventure in a ’70s muscle car, even found its way across the ocean as well: The track “Blow Some Steam Off” landed a spot on the February 2013 Metal Hammer compilation. 2013 saw a split release from Black Pussy and LA-based Biblical Proof Of UFOs: a contact high-inducing, 22-minute psychedelic opus entitled “Galaxies.”

“For The Sake Of Argument” is the first taste of Black Pussy’s forthcoming album, Magic Mustache, which will be out in early 2015. The band’s evolved sound takes the feel of rock legends Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy and Hawkwind and combines it with the heaviness of stoner rock icons Kyuss and Monster Magnet, adding add a potent dose of pop sensibility reminiscent of The Cars and Queens Of The Stone Age for the quintessential stuck-in-your-head-for-weeks, sound that is Black Pussy. Filmed using an analog liquid light projector, the video utilizes a classic yet unique-looking take on the psychedelic and drug inspired imagery popularized in the 60s and 70s. Black Pussy are back doing what they do best: sending on a journey through time and space where vintage gear acts as the controls, and sound waves are the highways.