Cobra Starship
chris

Biography

Cobra Starship are a pop, punk, electro band, originally created by Midtown bassist/lead vocalist Gabe Saporta as a side project. They are perhaps best known for their song “Bring It (Snakes on a Plane),” from the soundtrack of the action film Snakes on a Plane.  Their hit single “Good Girls Go Bad” which featured Gossip Girl starLeighton Meester and peaked at 7 of the Billboard 100. The current members of Cobra Starship, along with vocalist Saporta, include Victoria Asher (nicknamed ‘Vicky-T’) (keytar), Ryland Blackinton (guitar), Alex Suarez (bass) and nate novarro (drums).

Cobra Starship, whose band name originates from vocalist and founder Gabe Saporta’s two “old vintage-style jackets,” was formed in 2005 in New York City, with Ryland Blackinton and Alex Suarez of Ivy League, Elisa Schwartz, and Nate Novarro (who previously worked as a drum tech for the bands Hidden in Plain View and Armor for Sleep).

During the summer of 2006, the band released the song “Bring It (Snakes on a Plane)”, a song written prior to the film’s release. Hence, the line “pop the cheap champagne, we’re goin’ down in flames,” ironically, was written even before the song was included. Following the release of the single, the band surged in popularity and recognition, in part due to the film’s success at the box office.

The band has had other media exposure such as their cover of Lionel Richie’s “Three Times a Lady” for the television reality show The Girls Next Door, and “Awww Dip,” for the TMNT film soundtrack, released on March 20, 2007. The instrumental “The Church of Hot Addiction” has also been used for a T.G.I. Friday’s advertisement.

In July of 2006, the group signed to Decaydance Records, an imprint of indie label Fueled By Ramen. During that autumn, the band took part in touring with fellow Decaydance member, hip hop band Gym Class Heroes, who also happened to gain success and recognition at that time, also toured with Panic! at the Disco. ‘While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets’ was then released in October, reaching number one on the U.S. Billboard Top Heatseekers Chart. Elisa Schwartz parted ways with the band in early 2007 to pursue a solo career under the name Elisa Jordana, and was subsequently replaced by keytarist Victoria Asher.

The band is responsible for the phrase, “throw your fangs up,” accompanied by the gesture of placing two bent fingers of your right hand in front of the open palm of the left hand. Recently, the group went on the Honda Civic Tour with headliners Fall Out Boy, and other artists. In light of Travis McCoy’s absence on the tour, rapper Paul Wall rapped McCoy’s lyrics on the tour.

Fall Out Boy vocalist and guitarist Patrick Stump makes a cameo appearance in the music video for “Send My Love to the Dance Floor, I’ll See You in Hell (Hey Mr. DJ)” and also produced Cobra Starship’s sophomore album, ¡Viva La Cobra!, which was released on October 23, 2007.

Early in 2009 the band went to a cabin in Pennsylvania in an attempt to track some songs for their new album they had started working on. They continued to stay in contact with their fans through a live camera feed using the website Stickam. They posted a song called “Pete Wentz Is the Only Reason We’re Famous” on their Myspace a time in their stay which was the fans first taste of the direction of the new album.

On the 11th of May the band released the first single, “Good Girls Go Bad” on iTunes. The song features Gossip Girl star Leighton Meester who is working on her first album set to drop in the fall. The song reached the top ten on Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at #7, generally received with positive reactions.
In early May the music video for Good Girls Go Bad was shot and it premiered on June 29th through MTV. The video was received very well and was nominated for two MTV VMAs, Best Direction and Best Pop video.

The new album, titled Hot Mess, was released on August 11th, Hot Mess on Decaydance and Fueled By Ramen and was met with mostly positive reviews. In addition to Meester’s appearance on the album, Hot Mess boasts guest vocals from B.O.B, Cassadee Pope of Hey Monday and was produced by Kevin Rudolf. It also owes writing credits to Patrick Stump and Pete Wentz.

The second single released off of the album Hot Mess was “Hot Mess”. The rumored third single off of the album is to be “Nice Guys Finish Last”.