Cobra Starship facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Cobra Starship
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Cobra Starship performing at Warped Tour on June 20, 2008
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| Origin | New York City, New York, United States |
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Cobra Starship was a fun American band from New York City. It started in 2005 with Gabe Saporta, who used to be in another band called Midtown. Gabe made their first album, While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets, mostly by himself at first.
Later, other talented musicians joined him: Ryland Blackinton on guitar, Alex Suarez on bass, Nate Novarro on drums, and Victoria Asher on keytar. All of them also sang backup.
Over ten years, Cobra Starship released four albums. They also had two songs that made it into the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 music chart. Their first album came out in 2006, and their last one, Night Shades, was released in 2011.
Cobra Starship officially announced they were breaking up on November 10, 2015.
Contents
The Story of Cobra Starship
How the Band Started (2005–2007)
Cobra Starship began in 2005. Gabe Saporta, who was the bassist for the band Midtown, went on a trip to Arizona. While there, he got an idea for a new band. He wanted to mix synthpop and hip-hop sounds.
When Gabe came back home, he rented a house and started writing songs for what would become Cobra Starship's first album. He put a song called "Hollaback Boy" online. It was a funny song that answered Gwen Stefani's hit "Hollaback Girl." This song made Gabe popular on the internet. Soon, he signed with Decaydance Records, a music label owned by his friend, Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz.
Gabe then got a chance to record a song for the movie Snakes on a Plane in 2006. He teamed up with members from other bands like The Academy Is... and Gym Class Heroes. They recorded "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)," which became a small hit song.
While making the first album, Gabe started looking for other band members. He first found Nate Novarro, a drummer he met on tour. Then, guitarist Ryland Blackinton and bassist Alex Suarez emailed Gabe after seeing him in a magazine. They wanted to join the band. The group was completed by Elisa Schwartz on keytar. Later, Victoria Asher took over as the keytar player.
The first album, While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets, came out on October 10, 2006. The music video for "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)" was even shown during the movie's end credits. In late 2006, the band went on tour with Thirty Seconds to Mars.
¡Viva la Cobra! Album (2007–2008)
With the band members all set, Cobra Starship started touring across the United States. While on the 2007 Honda Civic Tour, they began writing new music together. They recorded their parts on their laptops while traveling on the band's bus.
By the time they went into the studio, most of the songs were already written. Their second album, ¡Viva la Cobra!, was recorded in just twenty days in Brooklyn, New York. It was released on October 23, 2007. Patrick Stump from Fall Out Boy produced the album and even sang some backup vocals. People described the album as "11 tracks of fun party songs."
The band toured a lot around the world to support the album. Cobra Starship led the "Really Really Ridiculously Good Looking Tour" in early 2008. They also played on the Warped Tour in 2008 and led the "SassyBack tour" later that year.
The album cover for ¡Viva la Cobra! was even used to help promote the purple iPod Nano.
Hot Mess Album (2009–2010)
In 2008, Cobra Starship recorded their own version of Katy Perry's song "I Kissed a Girl." Their version was called "I Kissed a Boy" and was released on August 25, 2008. The band also worked on a project where they remixed another song.
In April 2009, Cobra Starship went on the "Believers Never Die Tour Part Deux." They opened for Fall Out Boy and played many shows in the US and a few in the UK.
In 2009, the band went to a cabin in Pennsylvania to write new songs. They even broadcast live from the cabin, which helped create a fan club called the "Shelf Kids." After this trip, they announced a new album was coming out that summer.
The band worked with famous songwriters and producers like Kara DioGuardi and Kevin Rudolf on their new album, Hot Mess. The actress Leighton Meester from the TV show Gossip Girl sang on their song "Good Girls Go Bad." This song was the first single from the album and became very popular. Another song, "Pete Wentz Is the Only Reason We're Famous," was released on their YouTube channel.
Hot Mess was released on August 11, 2009. It reached number four on the US Billboard 200 chart, which was the band's highest-charting album ever. Guitarist Ryland Blackinton said they wanted to make music that was "fun and kinda make people just forget about whatever problem they might be having during the week."
To promote the album, the band started the "Hot Mess Across the US Tour" in August 2009. They played at a special party before the MTV Video Music Awards in September 2009. Cobra Starship also performed at the Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica 2009 awards show with Mexican singer Paulina Rubio. They won an MTV Award for "Best Performance."
On January 6, 2010, Cobra Starship performed live at the People's Choice Awards. Nicole Scherzinger from The Pussycat Dolls sang with them.
In February 2010, Cobra Starship went on their first European tour. They also toured in Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. Later, they went on a co-headlining tour with the band 3OH!3. In late 2010, the band worked with British singer Alexandra Burke on a song for her album.
Night Shades and Breaking Up (2011–2015)
Cobra Starship canceled their 2011 Australian tour to finish their fourth album. They worked with producers Ryan Tedder and Kara DioGuardi. Gabe Saporta shared a song from the album called "Don't Blame the World, It's the DJ's Fault" on his blog. He later announced the new album would be called Night Shades.
The first single from the album, "You Make Me Feel...", came out on May 10, 2011. It featured the singer Sabi. The music video for the song was shown on MTV in June 2011.
The band announced that Night Shades would be released on August 30, 2011. They also released an EP (a shorter album) with acoustic songs. To promote the album, the band performed "You Make Me Feel..." with Sabi at the MTV Video Music Awards pre-show in August 2011.
Night Shades was released on August 29, 2011. It included "You Make Me Feel..." and three other songs released earlier to promote the album. Cobra Starship also performed "You Make Me Feel..." on the TV show Dancing with the Stars.
In 2011, Cobra Starship recorded a cover of Buddy Holly's song "Peggy Sue" for a tribute album. In September 2011, Cobra Starship was the main band at the Fueled by Ramen 15th Anniversary show in New York. In March 2012, they played at the Soundwave music festival in Australia.
On April 19, 2014, after almost three years without new music, Cobra Starship said they were working on a new song. Their single "Never Been in Love", featuring Icona Pop, was released on August 25, 2014.
On October 21, 2014, bassist Alex Suarez and guitarist Ryland Blackinton left the band to do other things. Eric Halvorsen and Andy Barr joined the band to replace them. The band played their first show with the new members on October 30, 2014, and also performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in November 2014.
On November 10, 2015, Cobra Starship announced on their website that they had broken up.
After the Band (2015–Present)
In November 2015, Gabe Saporta said he would no longer be making new music or performing. He decided to work behind the scenes in the music industry, helping younger artists achieve their dreams.
In October 2016, guitarist Andy Barr started touring with the rock band America.
In October 2021, Cobra Starship released a new song called "Beautiful Life" through Fueled By Ramen. In December 2021, they released another song, "Party With You." Both songs had videos and were old songs that had not been released before. These songs were part of a special event for Fueled By Ramen's 25th anniversary. Even with these new songs, the band still has no plans to get back together.
Band Members
- Final members
- Gabe Saporta – lead singer (2005–15), also played bass (2014)
- Nate Novarro – drums, percussion, backup vocals (2005–15)
- Victoria Asher – keytar, keyboards, backup vocals (2007–15)
- Eric Halvorsen – bass guitar, backup vocals (2014–15)
- Andy Barr – guitars, backup vocals (2014–15)
- Former members
- Elisa Schwartz – keytar, backup vocals (2005–07)
- Ryland Blackinton – guitars, backup vocals, synthesizer (2005–14)
- Alex Suarez – bass guitar, backup vocals, synth-bass (2005–14)
Discography
- While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets (2006)
- ¡Viva la Cobra! (2007)
- Hot Mess (2009)
- Night Shades (2011)
Images for kids
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Cobra Starship performing at Warped Tour on June 20, 2008
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Cobra Starship performing in 2008
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Gabe Saporta performing on November 28, 2009
See also
In Spanish: Cobra Starship para niños
