BAND: Cobra Starship
INTERVIEWER: Kelly Engle (kelly@bandvibe.com)
INTERVIEWEE: Gabe Saporta, Vocals
DATE OF INTERVIEW: 11.24.06

BAND MEMBERS:
Gabe Saporta (vocals)
Nate Navarro (drums)
Alex Suarez (bass)
Ryland Blackington (guitar)
Eliza Schwarty (keytar)

BV: How did Cobra Starship Develop?
Gabe: There is a whole series of events here. I was in a band called Midtown. I had a lot of questions of what I wanted to do next. I went on a spiritual quest out in Arizona with a bunch of Native American dudes, and we were smoking peyote. So, I was out in the desert meditating, and one night, I was looking out into the sky, and I saw these weird lights. I was contemplating the meaning of the universe, and I realized there’s so much you can’t think of. As I’m realizing all this, a Cobra comes out of nowhere and bites me on the neck. I was dying for like a week and having all these visions. When I wake up, the Cobra is still there and starts telling me about the future. He said, the end of days is near, and you’re going out, so you might as well go out in style. So he taught me how to not take myself so seriously, make beats, and dance. Then when we were done, he told be to start a band called Cobra Starship. So I started writing songs for this a year ago and I wrote "Bring It." I was making all this music, working with all these beats, and using what the cobra had taught me. I’m sitting there for a year and nothing was happening. Then I started to think that maybe I had imagined the whole thing. All of the sudden, I was losing my faith, and then the "Snakes on a Plane" thing landed in my lap. I thought about combining Cobra Starship with "Snakes on a Plane" and realized this was a sign. So I recorded the song "Bring It" for the movie, and all of the sudden, it just took off. At that point I said I would never lose my faith in the Cobra again. Since then, it’s been amazing.

BV: When did Cobra Starship start recording this new CD?
Gabe: I had a lot of different pieces of songs. After a year, I had forty different pieces, but I still didn’t have a record deal or anything. All of the sudden the "Snakes on a Plane" thing came about in April. We recorded "Bring It" and it got a lot of buzz, and that was in May. I got a deal really quick. They (Fueled By Ramen Records) told me I had to have the record done in three weeks. I wanted to have time to do what I wanted with these songs. They told me if I took longer to record then "Snakes on a Plane" would have come and gone and you’ll have no shot. It was hard because I had no band at that point. The entire month of July, I was recording and putting a band together, and I got no sleep. Overall, I think I got to do a great record, and it came out in October. Now kids listen to it, they’re loving the record and we’ve got these great tours going. It’s just been one great thing after another.

BV: Do you write the music as well as all the lyrics?
Gabe: Yes, I write everything. These sounds are very beat oriented. Half the reason I wanted to start Cobra Starship was because I’ve been writing music for ten years now, but I felt limited with only guitars and vocals. I wanted to take a different approach to it and start with a beat. From the beat, we’d build with different instruments and things. It’s more of a scientific process. I sit in a room with a computer, and I won’t leave the room for two days, just building and building. The possibilities are endless. I played the guitar and bass on the record, but I was still looking for band members. Once I got them, I wanted them to be involved, so I got them recording as well. My producers worked with me a lot. We were all like mad scientists. Computers were a huge part of this. As an artist you always want to do something completely different than you had done before but you still have to give the fans what they want to hear. I think this record is an embodiment of that. It was a great experience making this record.

BV: Is there a message you try to get out in your music?
Gabe: What I realized with this is you need a balance. You can’t be serious all the time, and you can’t be preaching all the time. That’s what the cobra taught me in the desert. The point of Cobra Starship is yeah there are problems in the world and it’s going to Hell, but if it’s going to Hell we’re throwing a fucking party. I want everyone to run forward, have fun, and forget about everything. Just have a good time and dance your ass off.

BV: Are you working on anything now?
Gabe: We have so many parts of songs and ideas. There will definitely be a follow up album. I would hope to have a new album out by this time next year. But we’ve just been getting such great tours that we can’t say no.

BV: Is there anything you would like to say to your fans at Bandvibe?
Gabe: I really appreciate that we’re here. Being talented and working hard is great, but you can’t accomplish anything if you don’t have fans.

For more official information on Cobra Starship, please log onto:
http://cobrastarship.com/
http://www.myspace.com/cobrastarship