Cobra Starship Primer, Part 1 (Supergroup)
Back in July of 2007, I asked permission to post this. Finally, here you are. It's divided into two entries due to the sheer amount of content.
The Prologue:
So, there's this movie. It's called Snakes on a Plane and stars Samuel L. Jackson.
Then there's this singer (and sometimes bassist) for a pop-punk band called Midtown, Gabe Saporta. Drive-Thru Records is in a state of flux, and all the Midtown boys have wandered off to do side projects. Gabe calls his 'Cobra Starship' (supposedly after two vintage-style jackets that he owns). One day, he's hanging out with his friends The Academy Is... and they mention the film (they had inquired about maybe contributing their song "Black Mamba" to the sound track). Well, Gabe already had a partial song written featuring the lines "Popping cheap champagne/Going down in flames". So he and TAI's lead singer, William Beckett, change it up. Then, they ask their friend, Travis McCoy from Gym Class Heroes (GCH), and Maja Ivarsson of The Sounds to contribute. They each record their parts separately, and Maja doesn't even meet the guys until they come together to shoot the video.
The song is "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)". The video is sassy and cameos Samuel L. Jackson and Pete Wentz. It is followed by a record While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets released on Pete Wentz's label, Decaydance (at the time he was signed, Gabe was the only solo artist on Decaydance). Nick Wheeler (All-American Rejects) and Joe Trohman (Fall Out Boy) both have guest parts on the first album.
Dramatis Persona (Cobra Starship, the supergroup):
William, Gabe, Travis, and Maja performing together.
And here they are at the premier of Snakes on a Plane.
This would be Gabe. He's ridiculously tall (reports say around 6'5"), a bit of an asshole, and a bit of an attention whore, but we love him anyways.
Midtown seems to be on permanent sabbatical. Before that, he was with the New Jersey band, Humble Beginnings. (Give It Up by Midtown.)
He was born in Uruguay in 1979 and speaks Spanish (and sings in it on "The Ballad of Big Poppa and Diamond Girl"). His family moved to Queens when he was 4.
Gabe on-stage. The necklace he's wearing is a picture of Justin Timberlake. The story goes that Timberlake gave it to him and told him it would give him the power to dance. Sadly, it seems to have either broken or been lost since he wasn't wearing it anymore as of The Really, Really Ridiculously Good Looking Tour.
Gabe's an odd duck. The bio on the group's page has this conversation between him and a cobra who was wiping his brow with a moist towelette:
"Am I supposed to save the world!?"
"Uh, no," replies the cobra. "Not exactly. You see kid, there is no salvation." The cobra goes on to tell Gabe about the world's final days. Cobras were the only ones who survived.
Shocked by this tale of Armageddon, Gabe finally asks in bewilderment, "then what do you need me from me? What is my destiny?"
"The purpose of your life is to make sure mankind goes out in style."
"How do I do that?"
"By teaching hipsters to not take themselves so seriously and by telling emo kids to stop being pussies. How's that for a start?"
The first time I met Gabe was at the Houston stop on the Honda Civic Tour in June 2007. While waiting in line, I heard a girl ask him to sign her boobs, and he said no because there were little kids around. Imagine my surprise when I first heard "Damn You Look Good and I'm Drunk (Scandalous)" and the lines "don't ask me to sign your skin / can't you see these little kids?"
Moving on...
William Beckett of The Academy Is... Also ridiculously tall and lanky, he is 23 and from Chicago. Before forming TAI with Mike Carden, he had a solo-project called Remember Maine. The bandana tied around his leg is something of a trademark of his (which he seems to have abandoned circa the Sleeping With Giants tour). Here's the video for Checkmarks just to let you see what his band's all about.
Sometimes he plays accoustic guitar. Sometimes he plays the tamborine. Mostly, he sings. He has amazing stage presence and has mastered the art of making individual audience members think he's looking just at them.
Yes, he's a real boy (word on the street is that he has a wife and kid now).
He's also a force of nature on-stage. I will not be surprised if reports of him braining a fellow bandmate with his mic stand surface someday.
He's also a goofball (it's a requirement for membership in Cobra Starship).
Meet Travis McCoy from Gym Class Heroes. He's got a 'fro and a Monroe and usually doesn't look this preppy. Sometimes, people call him 'Travie' or 'Schleprok'. He's from New York (Geneva, not the Big Apple) and was born in '81.
This is him throwing up the gang sign he invented for Decaydance. Gym Class Heroes and The Academy Is... are both also signed to Decaydance (TAI was originally signed to Fueled By Ramen before FBR gave Wentz his own vanity label. He was the one responsible for getting them signed).
Travis claims to have written his part for "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)" in the shower and then recorded it in 15 minutes. I believe him. He once won an MTV MC Battle. The man has skills. He also has a toothbrush in the video The Queen and I.
He also adds vocals to the track "Kiss My Sass" on the second CS album. (I may have shrieked "Travie!" and flailed at the computer screen when I first heard him.)
This is Maja, actually on-set of the "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)" video. The four of them were playing the villains who sneak the snakes aboard the plane. Actually, the boys did the sneaking; Maja entranced the security guard by taking off her jacket. If you watched the Making Of... clip, you'll see she finds the concept silly too.
Maja dances like no one else and acts out guitar sex on stage during her band's shows. She can also kick you in the head without a warm up stretch...in heels For proof of her mad dancing skills, check out The Sounds' videos Living in America and Painted By Numbers.
She's Swedish, was born in 1979, and is purportedly bisexual. She talks about her girlfriend and her preferences in this interview.
Travis and Gabe both reportedly had crushes on her. Are you surprised?
I think that it is her confidence that makes her so incredibly attractive.
Snakes on a Plane (Bring It). The song that started it all.
The Making of Snakes on a Plane (Bring It). Learn the proper way to pronouce 'Maja', among other things.
I'll just finish off the bit on the supergroup by picspamming the members together:
On to Cobra Starship Part 2: The Touring Band
The Prologue:
So, there's this movie. It's called Snakes on a Plane and stars Samuel L. Jackson.
Then there's this singer (and sometimes bassist) for a pop-punk band called Midtown, Gabe Saporta. Drive-Thru Records is in a state of flux, and all the Midtown boys have wandered off to do side projects. Gabe calls his 'Cobra Starship' (supposedly after two vintage-style jackets that he owns). One day, he's hanging out with his friends The Academy Is... and they mention the film (they had inquired about maybe contributing their song "Black Mamba" to the sound track). Well, Gabe already had a partial song written featuring the lines "Popping cheap champagne/Going down in flames". So he and TAI's lead singer, William Beckett, change it up. Then, they ask their friend, Travis McCoy from Gym Class Heroes (GCH), and Maja Ivarsson of The Sounds to contribute. They each record their parts separately, and Maja doesn't even meet the guys until they come together to shoot the video.
The song is "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)". The video is sassy and cameos Samuel L. Jackson and Pete Wentz. It is followed by a record While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets released on Pete Wentz's label, Decaydance (at the time he was signed, Gabe was the only solo artist on Decaydance). Nick Wheeler (All-American Rejects) and Joe Trohman (Fall Out Boy) both have guest parts on the first album.
Dramatis Persona (Cobra Starship, the supergroup):
William, Gabe, Travis, and Maja performing together.
And here they are at the premier of Snakes on a Plane.
This would be Gabe. He's ridiculously tall (reports say around 6'5"), a bit of an asshole, and a bit of an attention whore, but we love him anyways.
Midtown seems to be on permanent sabbatical. Before that, he was with the New Jersey band, Humble Beginnings. (Give It Up by Midtown.)
He was born in Uruguay in 1979 and speaks Spanish (and sings in it on "The Ballad of Big Poppa and Diamond Girl"). His family moved to Queens when he was 4.
Gabe on-stage. The necklace he's wearing is a picture of Justin Timberlake. The story goes that Timberlake gave it to him and told him it would give him the power to dance. Sadly, it seems to have either broken or been lost since he wasn't wearing it anymore as of The Really, Really Ridiculously Good Looking Tour.
Gabe's an odd duck. The bio on the group's page has this conversation between him and a cobra who was wiping his brow with a moist towelette:
"Am I supposed to save the world!?"
"Uh, no," replies the cobra. "Not exactly. You see kid, there is no salvation." The cobra goes on to tell Gabe about the world's final days. Cobras were the only ones who survived.
Shocked by this tale of Armageddon, Gabe finally asks in bewilderment, "then what do you need me from me? What is my destiny?"
"The purpose of your life is to make sure mankind goes out in style."
"How do I do that?"
"By teaching hipsters to not take themselves so seriously and by telling emo kids to stop being pussies. How's that for a start?"
The first time I met Gabe was at the Houston stop on the Honda Civic Tour in June 2007. While waiting in line, I heard a girl ask him to sign her boobs, and he said no because there were little kids around. Imagine my surprise when I first heard "Damn You Look Good and I'm Drunk (Scandalous)" and the lines "don't ask me to sign your skin / can't you see these little kids?"
Moving on...
William Beckett of The Academy Is... Also ridiculously tall and lanky, he is 23 and from Chicago. Before forming TAI with Mike Carden, he had a solo-project called Remember Maine. The bandana tied around his leg is something of a trademark of his (which he seems to have abandoned circa the Sleeping With Giants tour). Here's the video for Checkmarks just to let you see what his band's all about.
Sometimes he plays accoustic guitar. Sometimes he plays the tamborine. Mostly, he sings. He has amazing stage presence and has mastered the art of making individual audience members think he's looking just at them.
Yes, he's a real boy (word on the street is that he has a wife and kid now).
He's also a force of nature on-stage. I will not be surprised if reports of him braining a fellow bandmate with his mic stand surface someday.
He's also a goofball (it's a requirement for membership in Cobra Starship).
Meet Travis McCoy from Gym Class Heroes. He's got a 'fro and a Monroe and usually doesn't look this preppy. Sometimes, people call him 'Travie' or 'Schleprok'. He's from New York (Geneva, not the Big Apple) and was born in '81.
This is him throwing up the gang sign he invented for Decaydance. Gym Class Heroes and The Academy Is... are both also signed to Decaydance (TAI was originally signed to Fueled By Ramen before FBR gave Wentz his own vanity label. He was the one responsible for getting them signed).
Travis claims to have written his part for "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)" in the shower and then recorded it in 15 minutes. I believe him. He once won an MTV MC Battle. The man has skills. He also has a toothbrush in the video The Queen and I.
He also adds vocals to the track "Kiss My Sass" on the second CS album. (I may have shrieked "Travie!" and flailed at the computer screen when I first heard him.)
This is Maja, actually on-set of the "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)" video. The four of them were playing the villains who sneak the snakes aboard the plane. Actually, the boys did the sneaking; Maja entranced the security guard by taking off her jacket. If you watched the Making Of... clip, you'll see she finds the concept silly too.
Maja dances like no one else and acts out guitar sex on stage during her band's shows. She can also kick you in the head without a warm up stretch...in heels For proof of her mad dancing skills, check out The Sounds' videos Living in America and Painted By Numbers.
She's Swedish, was born in 1979, and is purportedly bisexual. She talks about her girlfriend and her preferences in this interview.
Travis and Gabe both reportedly had crushes on her. Are you surprised?
I think that it is her confidence that makes her so incredibly attractive.
Snakes on a Plane (Bring It). The song that started it all.
The Making of Snakes on a Plane (Bring It). Learn the proper way to pronouce 'Maja', among other things.
I'll just finish off the bit on the supergroup by picspamming the members together:
On to Cobra Starship Part 2: The Touring Band