Cactus (American band) Cactus (American band) Cactus is an American hard rock band formed in 1969. It is composed of 5 members, Jimmy Kunes as lead singer (2006–present), Jim McCarty on the guitar (1970–71, 2006–present), Carmine Appice on the drums, Pete Bremy on the bass and Randy Pratt on the harmonica. Cactus was initially conceived in late 1969 by former Vanilla Fudge members bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice after plans to team up with guitarist Jeff Beck were scuppered when Beck had an automobile accident and was out of the music scene for over a year. In early 1970, Bogert and
John Bonham and Chris Farlowe but he accepted Grant's offer. He recalled, "I decided I liked their music better than Cocker's or Farlowe's." Bonham's versatility and rhythmic diversity was not always appreciated by critics, however; in a 1975 Rolling Stone review of Physical Graffiti, Jimmy Miller wrote, "Bonham, on the other hand, is a steak-and-potatoes percussionist, handpicked, one assumes, for his ability to supply a plodding, stolid, rock-solid bottom — no one has ever accused Led Zeppelin of swinging." During Led Zeppelin's first tour of the United States in December 1968, Bonham became friends with Vanilla Fudge's drummer, Carmine Appice. Appice introduced