Meteor Ireland Best Irish Band Award winners, Aslan, will play the Róisín Dubh on Saturday 29 March. Lisa Regan talks to Billy McGuinness about tolerance, radio airplay and their maturing sound.

Good to see you back in Galway. What have you been up to in the intervening years?

Well, Aslan are a working band; we gig about three/four nights a week. The gigs sustain us. Our last studio album was self-financed. We are an indie band, we do everything ourselves because if we don't work then we simply don't get paid. As a band, we never rest on our laurels because the day you do is the day the game is up. We keep pushing the boundaries with songs and lyrics and creating a fresh sound for Aslan.

Aslan first formed over 20 years ago; how are you still managing to produce such relevant music?

It has not been easy, I can tell ya. We were working on our last studio album since 2001. A lot happened in the meantime, as, like all bands, we fight and get on each other's nerves, so it takes quite a while to get that sorted. But you know we really love music and performing, so that brings it all back together. We are doing one of the most satisfying jobs in the world. It is not nine to five, which is one of the best parts of it. We are working as hard as ever but it is on a different scale to when we first began and when it was all just happening for us.

You have seen both good and bad times, which have been well documented, since your inception in the early 80s; how is the band today different from the band in the 80s?

Tolerance! That is the one word that allowed us to stay together. Over the years we have become a lot more tolerant of each other and gave each other the space that we all needed. Sometimes though I think we had to go through the tough times in order to come out on the other side. We started out as five friends and it is with time that you realise that your health is your wealth. We learnt a lot through our tough times and have remained friends.

How much did what happened in your personal lives affect your writing and the band's dynamic?

We couldn't write or sing about the simple boy meets girl. We look to all of our life influences and surroundings and that is where we get our song lyrics and inspiration. Look at our first single 'This is' or the lyric 'these are the hands of a tired man'. These lyrics are true and real. You need to draw on the subject that surrounds you. Our lyrics mean something, but are not blatantly in your face. They are just what they are.

What can Galway audiences expect from the gig?

We will be playing all our new material from the new album and, of course, mixing it up with all our old favourites. There is always a great buzz in Galway, on the streets and out. It is a city full of music as a lot of buskers and musicians are there. I have a feeling the gig will be packed as we have a great fan base in Galway.