CM: What were your first experiences of the Blues?

Giles: I remember as a kid my parents would regularly go and watch live music in my home town of Ipswich.
And at that time in the late 70's-80,s there was a lot of good blues bands playing in the area, Mainly doing Dr Feelgood/9 Below Zero style blues , So to my ear that was like mainstream music to me and the stuff in the charts I had little interest in .

CM: Who were the influences on your musical career?

Giles: Early influences would be the local bands like the Shaboogamoo Shuffelers , Lacey St Blues Band , Butchers Block and my cousins band The Mean Red Spiders, and my parents record collection of course, I would be listening to things like John Mayall, Muddy Waters, John lee hooker, Led Zeppelin, Rory Gallagher, in the good old days of vinyl albums.
Then after a while I started listening to harp players like Paul Lamb, Mark Ford, Andy Just, Kim Wilson, William Clark and Rory McLeod.

CM: You have been playing harp with Lightnin’ Willie, do you prefer to play with the band in the states or in the UK?

Giles: Well this year marks my tenth year with Lightnin`
I have learnt so much from him over this time... And has given me a chance to grow as a player. As for gigs in the states go I have only played at BB King's in LA, So I guess that

CM:  What is the biggest festival you have played?

Giles: It has to be the Peer Blues fest in Belgium with Hokie Joint last year; it was us then Rod Piazza, Joe Bonamassa, and Steve Winwood.
And for us, the crowed went nuts when we finished our set and they didn’t want us to leave the stage also opening the Moulin Blues fest in Holland last year was very cool moment to.

CM: If you didn’t play harp in a band what would you be doing?

Giles: I started working in my local theatre when I was 18, then a few years later I packed my harp up in my Red knotted hanky on a stick and I headed down the A12 for the bright lights of London In 1995.
Then spent weeks knocking on every stage door in the west end trying to find work , which I did in the end and then found full time work at the Theatre Royal Stratford East as a stage tech / head flyman. Now I have moved back home to Suffolk I still work regularly as stage carpenter in between gigs. So it’s the theatre life for me!!

CM: What bluesman (dead or alive) would you like to play with, live on stage?

Giles: Rory Gallagher!!

CM:  Do you think the blues scene on the continent is better than in the UK?

Giles: Yup playing on the continent is so much better than the UK, because they have the funding from local councils to put on festivals with top name acts, it just doesn't happen over here and that's a shame.

CM:  Which country do you enjoy playing in most of all?

Giles: It has to be Holland!
 
CM: Who was the last blues act that you paid to see?

Giles: That last blues act I paid to see was the The Hoax in Camden, Dingwalls 

CM: What was the last blues CD that you bought for yourself?

Giles: Paul Butterfields Blues Band, Ipswich market £5

CM: What do you do to relax when you have some spare time away from music?

Giles: Spare time, what's that???