The General

Click HERE and contact The General.

Taliesyn Music is pleased to be the label for The General. He's a blues player that everyone enjoys.

Visit The General's web site by clicking HERE.

Click HERE to listen to samples of The General's music.

Click HERE to purchase Revelation Blues.

What do the critics say about The General?

The BLUES FOUNDATION: "The General, Gypsy Carns, has anointed the United States, Japan, France, England and Germany with his vocals, percussion, and 12 string Dobro bottleneck prowess. Carns is also known as a blues songwriter, co-penning a Koko Taylor tune that garnered a Grammy nomination."

BLUES REVUE: "The General is Gypsy Carns, a one-man wrecking crew who plays a "stompbox" tambourine / kick drum combination, harp, and 12-string resonator guitar. This is hammering, powerful stuff, driven by Carns' energy and rough-hewn vocals."

BLUES ACCESS: "The General (Gypsy Carns) mixes his road-gravel voice, acoustic resonator guitar and heavy Delta blues with a born-again Christian message... giving thanks to Jesus for his inspiration, Carns sings in a dynamic, gravelly voice, truly laying it all on the line..whatever Carns sets out to say, he does it with admirable force and integrity.the tunes range from fine and fun blues originals to spiritual and metaphysical pieces that expose Carns' zealous faith and his take on political events."

LIVING BLUES: "A fascinating CD..check out Seven Seals for a head-slap to your lyrical blues aesthetic."

Interview with The General

I grew up in Anniston, Alabama, in the early '50s. It was whites go to school here, blacks go here. Whites ride this bus, blacks don't get to ride the bus.

White water fountain, black water fountain. I grew up in all that. But I had black friends. My grandparents were well off and had maids. I knew their kids and never saw the racial thing. I always liked black music. In 1954, when I was 5 years old, I saw Elvis Presley on TV with a guitar strapped on. That's it. I got a guitar, started listening to music. I listened to John R. on my transistor radio. But it was the black music, like Presley did early on, that really drew me in. I played my first gig in 1957 at the age of 8.

I have had seven or eight records deals with labels of various sizes, playing rock, new wave, even a little country. But in between, I always drifted back into the blues. I also garnered two Grammy nominations for writing "It's a Dirty Job" with Fred James and Mary-Ann Brandon, as recorded by Koko Taylor. I finally decided after doing everything, that blues was really what I enjoyed doing and that's where my destiny would be as a musician and a person. I got all the old records I could find - Charlie Patton, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters especially, Elmore James, Hounddog Taylor, Son House. Just listened and listened and learned and learned.

I did have a band in '93 while I was in LA called The Smashers that had a deal on Appaloosa. I came to town for some stuff and sat in with Fred James and Mary-Ann Brandon. Franco that owns Appaloosa was there. I got a call from Fred about three months later to see if I wanted to make a record. The album turned out really good. We did that for a few years Then we did some more country after that. Went through a 3-piece, 4-piece, but they all drifted into rock. Finally, I just said, 'That's it, I'm a blues man,' and I just started playing by myself.