PSP: Let me start out by saying that when I first heard the album Common Struggles, I was blown away by the music, specifically the vocals -- have you guys ever had any formal voice training?

Chris Depew: None of us have ever had any formal vocal training. In fact, Sloan didn't started singing until he was 22! We have just recently began working with a vocal coach though.
  
PSP: Your group has grown, or should I say matured since the release of your first EP, As You Were back in 2003 -- what have you learned since then and how is your band different than when you first began?

CD: I'd say the biggest thing we've learned since then is that being in a band isn't all fun and games. When we started we looked at it more as a fun hobby than anything else, but it eventually consumes you on so many different levels. Most people think being in a band is all fun and games and parties, but the reality is, we're working 23 and a half hours a day... the half an hour we're on stage every day is our lunch break, haha.

PSP: I have seen your music categorized as pop punk and alternative rock, how would you classify your music, and why?

CD: We don't generally care for classifications -- great songs are just great songs, but if we had to I'd call us "stupid-rad americana-core"...
  
PSP: How did you derive the name of the band - Single File?

CD: Funny story... there really is not story. We had made a list of a bunch of band names back in the day and "Single File" was the one that sucked the least, so it just kinda stuck.

PSP: The band seems to love touring, and even pushed back a release of an album to do so -- do you enjoy playing in the smaller clubs or the large venues, and why?
 

CD: Definitely large venues. Small clubs are fun, especially when they're packed, but there's no substitute for looking out into the crowd and not being able to tell where it ends!

PSP: As a follow up, what would be the ultimate venue/concert for you to play in?

CD: I'd say Red Rocks, but we've played it once already, although we didn't headline which would be a trip... Stone Henge maybe? :)
  
PSP: Why did you name your current album Common Struggles?

CD: Each song on the record deals with a different "common struggle" that at one point in time or another we all have to deal with... I'd say the universal theme of the record is definitely what we call the "human condition." Life can be a drag, and when it rains it can easily seem like it's pouring, but at the end of the day it all comes down to how you look at it.
 
PSP: Are the songs on the album based on personal experiences?

CD: Pretty much maybe with the exception of "Zombies Ate My Neighbors." I don't think any of us have ever had a personal experience with losing a girlfriend to a raving pack of flesh-eating zombies...

 

PSP: What is your favorite song on the album and why?

CD: I think I speak for all of us when I say "Mannequin Loveseat." It really just sums up the whole feel of the record -- it's bittersweet, cheeky, and yet still so fun you can't help but bob your head to it.

PSP: If you could record or perform one song with any artist or band from past or present, who would you choose and why?

CD: Tom Petty. He's quite possibly one of, if not the greatest, songwriters of all time... I'm sure he could teach us a thing or two!