We started the club in December 2004. We'd been putting on a few gigs around Glasgow, bringing bands to Glasgow we wanted to see that no one else was promoting. We were asked to start a monthly night upstairs from one of the most popular 'retro' nights in Glasgow at the time, Funhouse.

2. Who are you DJs? Do you have guest DJs coming in too? If so, anyone we might know?

The resident DJs are Holly Calder and Sarah Quinn. We have guest DJs every month, and bands playing live most months. In the past couple of years we've made the decision not to have live acts EVERY month, and to bring international DJs over as much as we can, often for their first time DJing in Scotland. We've had some amazing DJs Rob Bailey (NUTs), Alessandro Detassis (All Saints Mod Holiday/Radio London), Frank Popp (Germany), The Horrors, Thomas Thellmann (Paisley Club, Germany) to name a few, plus local heros from Friday Street, Divine, Get The Records On, Grow Your Own and more.

3. What kind of musical territory do you cover?

We play psych, garage & freakbeat, from the mid 60s to early 70s, with the odd track by contempary garage/psych bands thrown in (if its good enough!).

4. Give us an idea of a few tracks you might hear if you dropped in?

It varies from month to month, but you've a good chance of hearing some of these current club favourites....

Messe Blanche - Messe Blanche
Umbrella Man - The Searchers
Fire - Pegasus
1-2-5 - The Haunted
Pepperman - Arnim-Hamilton
Waiting For a Break In The Clouds - Wayne Fontana
Descent - The Joys Of Life

5. What do you think you offer that other clubs might not?

We are the only dedicated psych/garage club in Glasgow (in Scotland as far as we're aware). Glasgow offers a whole host of great 60s nights, most of whom offer a wide ranging music policy, and some who cater to those only interested in hearing soul music. We're here to meet the needs of club goers who love the psychedelic side of things.

We're also proud of bringing some of the best psych and garage bands around to play in Glasgow. We've brought over great acts from Sweden (the fantastic Teaspoon), Ireland (The Revellions and The Urges), and further afield (Detroit's Come Ons played an amazing set back in 2005), plus the best Scotland and the rest of the UK has to offer (Hidden Masters, Les Bof, The Junipers, The See See, The Thanes, The Fast Camels and more).

6. Your current venue - how long and have you been there and how does it work for the club?

We moved to our third venue in September 2009. We're now settled in Blackfriars in Glasgow's merchant city. We were a little bit nervous about the move, as the venue is 50% bigger than our previous home, but the move has proved a great one. Blackfriars is home to some of Glasgow's best clubs, and is focused on putting forward the best vintage music. Friday Street, Scotland's longest running Mod club is also in Blackfriars, as is the R&B night Shout Bamalama, and rockabilly club All Tore Up. It offers a great dance floor, space for projections, light shows and a great bar selection, plus its just a short walk to the cities main bus and train stations!

7. And how many people do you tend to attract for each night? Do you think anything might put people off coming along?

Numbers vary from month to month, we've reached capacity a number of times since the move. In March we had Scotland's top Beatles act, Them Beatles, playing a special psychedelic show, which broke the venues attendance and bar records. Normally, we vary from between 75 and 150 people in the door.

I would like to think there is nothing that would put people off coming to our night. We have a very broad ranging crowd, and a great atmosphere. Everyone is welcome!

8. What's your view on the current state of mod/soul nights?

I think the current 'scene' in Glasgow is thriving. Every weekend there is a great club to go to, with established nights such as Friday Street and Divine, Modern Lovers has started a Glasgow residency, plus there's great new nights happening in bars such as Get The Records On and Grow Your Own. The people who run nights in Glasgow seem to be keen to support one another, which is great.

9. What's the best and worst thing that's happened with the club?

The low points have probably been having to jump ship from venues on the demise, and the problems we've encountered in the run up to leaving them. It's always a stressful time, but with every move we've had to make we've seen the benefit. Hopefully we won't have to do that again any time soon!

I think the best thing about the club is what we've achieved. When we did our first night we never would have dreamed of making it into our 6th year, and we would never have expected to have had some of the amazing bands and DJs we've had at the club. We started the club with the aim of making it into the club we would love to go to every month, and I guess we've done it.

10. Finally, we need the lowdown on the club - listing details, how often, how to get in touch, that kind of thing.

Eyes Wide Open is on the first Friday of every Month, at Blackfriars, Bell Street, in Glasgow's Merchant City. Open from 11pm til 3am (though we open at 10pm on occasion, for example in May when we have two bands playing).

You can get more details at www.myspace.com/eyeswideopenclub, www.facebook.com/eyeswideopenclub or by emailing hollycalder@hotmail.com.

Last updated: 26th April 2010