Single File 'Common Struggles' album

Single File is bringing an honesty back to rock music that hasn't been felt in awhile. It's a classic example of the American Dream finally coming to fruition. You name it, these Denver, CO boys have done it, and on their own terms. From self booking and promoting hundreds of shows over several U.S. tours, to independently releasing and distributing three self-produced EP's, it was only a matter of time before Reprise Records' took notice, inviting them aboard their elite roster of artists. Single File consists of: Sloan Anderson, vocals, guitar, bass, Joe Ginsberg, bass guitar, backing vocals, piano and Chris Depew, drums, backing vocals, percussion.

On the brink of releasing their full length debut on April 7th, Common Struggles, this trio is poised to take the world by storm in Spring '09. The boys recorded with famed producer Howard Benson (My Chemical Romance, The All American Rejects, Less Than Jake).

"The title Common Struggles says it all. I'm not pretending that any of what I've dealt with is new, it's just the human condition," says Anderson. While there is undoubtedly a universal quality to that hard work and unswerving dedication to one's craft can pay off, particularly when combined with a little luck, it's probably safe to say that most people don't spend a big chunk of their twenties tooling around the U.S. in an RV named Maggie Mae. "We were little pirates, just living in this crappy RV," says Anderson.

"We drove, we promoted on MySpace, we played shows, that's all we did," remembers Ginsberg,. "We'd post, 'hey, if you want to bring non-perishables or water to the show, we'll hook you up with some free merch.'"

"It's important to maintain a sense of humor, because if you can't laugh at yourself and at the things that happen to you, you're not really enjoying life to the fullest," adds Depew.

The lead single "Girlfriends", now impacting Alternative, details a cycle of self-loathing and self-medication while pleading "so what if I'm a burnout, baby, you don't gotta celebrate it."

"There's a lot in there, if you're looking for it. If you're not, there's still a lot in there or you can just bob your head," says Anderson. "We were going for timeless. I don't know if we've got it or not, but damn it if we didn't try."

Single File tour dates
Apr 3 2009 - The Gothic Theater - Englewood, Colorado
Apr 5 2009 - Sunshine Theatre with Plain White T's!!! - Albuquerque, New Mexico
Apr 9 2009 - Numbers with Plain White T's!!! - Houston, Texas
Apr 10 2009 - White Rabbit with Plain White T's!!! - San Antonio, Texas
Apr 11 2009 - House of Blues with Plain White T's!!! - Dallas, Texas
Apr 13 2009 - The Pageant with Plain White T's!!! - St. Louis, Missouri
Apr 15 2009 - The NorVa with Plain White T's!!! - Norfolk, Virginia
Apr 17 2009 - Blender Theatre at Gramercy with Plain White T's!!! - New York, New York
Apr 28 2009 - Highline Ballroom with Alkaline Trio and Saves the Day!!! - New York, New York
Apr 29 2009 - Club Zoo with Alkaline Trio and Saves the Day!!! - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Apr 30 2009 - The Trocadero with Alkaline Trio!!! - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
May 1 2009 - Sonar with Alkaline Trio and Saves the Day!!! - Baltimore, Maryland
May 2 2009 - Toad's Place with Alkaline Trio!!! - New Haven, Connecticut
May 3 2009 - The Bamboozle!!!! - Meadowlands Sports Complex - East Rutherford, New Jersey
May 7 2009 - Headliners Music Hall with Plain White T's!!! - Louisville, Kentucky
May 8 2009 - Metro with Plain White T's!!! - Chicago, Illinois

Single File biography
Reprise Records will release Common Struggles, the full-length debut from Single File, on April 7th. Shortly thereafter, the Colorado-based band - consisting of Sloan Anderson (lead vocals/guitar/bass), Chris Depew (drums/backing vocals) and Joe Ginsberg (bass/guitar/keyboards) - will join Alkaline Trio and Anberlin on the "Pick Up The Phone Tour." Dates for the month-long trek, which aims to raise awareness of suicide prevention and mental health issues, will be announced shortly. And for the fifth consecutive year, Single File will be going out on the Vans Warped tour.

Produced by Howard Benson (My Chemical Romance, The All-American Rejects, Less Than Jake) and mixed by Tom Lord-Alge (The Rolling Stones, Weezer, Fountains of Wayne), Common Struggles is an exuberant, adrenalin-fueled record that simultaneously celebrates and subverts classic pop songwriting, with a tip of the hat to musical forebears such as Tom Petty, Weezer and the Beatles. Album opener "Mannequin Loveseat" (available now at digital retailers) sets the tone - lighthearted on the surface but dark around the edges as its cheeky, self-absorbed narrator surrenders to social phobia. Bookended by the trio's cheery whistles, lead single "Girlfriends" details a cycle of self-loathing and self-medication while pleading "so what if I'm a burnout, baby, you don't gotta celebrate it."

"Loneliness and distance are probably the two biggest themes of the record," says Anderson, who writes the band's lyrics. "The title Common Struggles says it all - I'm not pretending that any of what I've dealt with is new, it's just the human condition." "It's important to maintain a sense of humor, because if you can't laugh at yourself and at the things that happen to you, you're not really enjoying life to the fullest," adds Depew.

Their collective sense of humor has seen the three friends through a tumultuous decade together. Anderson and Depew started playing music together in junior high, when they rigged up a drum kit out of cardboard boxes, Legos and G.I. Joe parts. Upon meeting Ginsberg in high school, they immediately clicked as a trio but took separate paths after graduation. In time, Anderson - who had moved to North Carolina and was working as an artist at a video game company - began writing songs over the phone with Ginsberg, who was studying jazz at USC in Los Angeles. Collaborating became easier after Activision offered Anderson a job in L.A. and relocated him. The two recorded an EP in Anderson's office after hours and soon Depew joined them in L.A.

After a few self-booked tours, they stuck their stuff in storage and hit the road for the long haul. Their gigs earned them just enough to fill the RV's gas tank, so the band lived off food from fans. "We'd post it on our MySpace page - 'hey, if you want to bring non-perishables or water to the show, we'll hook you up with some free merch,'" remembers Ginsberg.

By the time Single File signed to Reprise Records, the band had three EP's, two consecutive years on the Vans Warped tour and a local radio hit to its credit. "Zombies Ate My Neighbors" made it to No. 1 on KTCL, the Clear Channel alternative radio station in Denver - after the program director at local hard rock station KBPI discovered it in a station contest and sent it on to a colleague at KTCL. (A newly recorded version of the song appears on Common Struggles.) Grateful for the early support, the band will release "Girlfriends," its upcoming single, to Denver radio in March, with Reprise Records servicing it to the rest of the country a month later.

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Tracklisting

Single File - Common Struggles