As the band trekked cross country from New York City, founding member Leo Moran found time to share his thoughts on their current tour and the band’s longevity with Lumino Magazine. The Saw Doctors are currently touring in support of “The Further Adventures of… The Saw Doctors,” an EP released last year.

“We’ve been fortunate to be able to continue playing together year after year,” Moran said of the band’s 25-year history. “We’ve been able to keep things fresh and we just really enjoy what we’re doing.”

Since forming in 1986, The Saw Doctors have relentlessly toured their native Ireland, Europe, Australia and the United States. Unlike fellow Irish rockers U2 or even songstress Sinead O’Connor, The Saw Doctors have not seen mainstream success in the United States, but the band has a devoted following in many parts of the country, including Chicago – where they sing along with nearly every song. With its large Irish-roots populace, Moran said the band has always greeted and treated like long lost brothers since they first played the city in 1991. Since then the Second City has been an annual stop for the band.

Moran said he sees many of the same fans at their shows in Chicago year after year. “We’re not on the television, we’re not on the radio, so people hear us through each other. The great thing is they continue to bring new people with them each time. They are bringing the next generation of fans. I’ve seen four generations of the same family at our shows before,” Moran said.

Moran said playing around St. Patrick’s Day in the United States can sometimes be tricky due to competition with the high number of Irish acts who come over at the same time. He quipped practically everyone flying out of the Dublin airport in March is carrying an instrument case. But the Saw Doctors love coming to the United States, the home of much of the music that inspires and influences the band from the small village of Tuam on the western shores of Ireland. Moran cited Hank Williams and Bruce Springsteen as two of his primary influences. And the influence of those two quintessential American songwriters can be seen in many of the bands songs, including “N17”, “I Useta Lover” and “Red Cortina.”

Blending traditional rock-n-roll, punk, pop, country music and the sounds of their native land, the Saw Doctors songs are tales of the everyman. The bands’ songs are typically based on stories of Irish life, particularly the kind found in Tuam, yet have universal themes, like those of Springsteen or Williams. Those themes transcend cultural boundaries, Moran said.

“We sing about things that can happen to people in their every day lives. Our songs are like a mirror people can hold up to themselves and say ‘that song is about me,’” Moran said.

That universal appeal is due, in part, to the fact that all five members of the band contribute to the writing of each song. Moran called it a “jigsaw type of system” that ends up becoming a seamless song.

“We keep fooling with the things and twiddling them down to make them work,” Moran said.

Like those songs Hank Williams wrote, Moran said singing about people’s weaknesses unites people in the moment of the song. “People have those low points in common, those things they would like to improve upon,” he said.

Everyone can relate to the lyrics of the jaunty and high energy “Bless Me Father” about a young man who has given in to the temptations of the flesh, or to the hopeful tones of the lovesick fellow longing for a call from a girl he fancies in “She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not.”

And those songs, along with many others of the band’s large repertoire will be sung this weekend, Moran said.

Moran said fans and anyone curious enough to come to the show will have a “grand time.” He said their shows are two hours of “good high powered energy.” “Hopefully the end result is they have an uplifting experience,” he said.