Gabe Saporta of Cobra Starship: NewNowNext Interview!

 

How did Cobra Starship get so darned gay-friendly? Could it be the influences of Pete Wentz and Patrick Stump from Fall Out Boy, Travis McCoy from Gym Class Heroes or William Beckett from The Academy Is...? Probably, but from the gay end, we're all about front man Gabe Saporta.

Oh, yeah - and for the skeptics who only know Cobra as that Snakes on a Plane promo effort, I'll just say with two albums, sold-out tours and VMAs performances, Cobra's gotten more legit than its off-shoot britches. And as a total fan of Cobra's shameless party-pop sounds, I was psyched to speak with Gabe after the band's TRL showing last week.

P.S. Gabe's kind of beautiful in person ... and, like, 6'4" (I'm just sayin'...).

 

Read the Q&A after the jump! We chatted about Cobra's gayness, Gabe's occasional guy-on-guy make-out, his love for Madonna and his views on keeping sexuality open.

 

It's the (new) "Guilty Pleasure" video

 

I just saw the new "Guilty Pleasure" this morning, but I've also seen the original ... What's behind the remake?

It's just spoofing that whole scenario; it's a video about making a video. So it's great for the fans, because the kids that are our core aren't gonna be like, Oh, f*ck, you guys already did that video, and I like the original one better. We're kind of laughing with them about how we do it. And it also gives us the chance to wear some really fun outfits and ... wear roller blades.

I loved your zebra-print pants.

Those are actually my pants that I already owned before the video...

So I'd say Cobra is a gay-friendly band.

[laughs a little in agreement.] Yeah.

Do you have close gay friends?

I do. And my girlfriend actually has a surrogate boyfriend, her gay boyfriend when I'm gone. But yeah, most of our friends work in fashion or photography. In fashion, most of the guys are gay, and if they're not, they're very hetero, you know? It's a weird dichotomy, opposite ends of the spectrum. ... And we're also very fashion-conscious.

 

 

I read about plans to remix your album or to sing it in Spanish...?

Yeah, we did remixes for "City Is at War," and Alex [Suarez] is working on a remix of "Kiss My Sass" that's really, really ... almost like a house version of it. And I just recorded a version of "Guilty Pleasure" in Spanish. I don't know if we're doing the whole Viva La Cobra, but we're definitely having two remixes and a Spanish version.

Ooh, I think gays would love a house version of "Kiss My Sass."

Yeah, it's like, [sings] They say that kiddie's got soul, soul, soul ... So yeah, it's pretty awesome.

 

An - ugh - censored version of "City Is at War"

 

Do your gay fans come up and talk to you a lot?

The thing is, I always like to go out after shows and party and hang out, but I'm careful about ... giving out my number to people, because it just gets weird. So one time this guy, this gay guy, was like, Oh, yeah, let's hang out, let's after-party - my friend's DJing... Whatever. I'm like, Cool.

And he did this thing, like, Take down my number and call me later. And I pretended to put down his number, but it actually went through and I called him. And then he gave my number to all his friends. So for the next two weeks, I had all these random people calling me.

All gay guys?

Gay guys and some girls too ... that, um ... I don't know if it's an appropriate name for these girls ... but, you know, girls who hang out with guys...

Oh, fag hags?

Yeah. I don't know if that's kosher for me to say or not. But yeah, fag hags.

The thing is, at concerts it's so hard, especially now the love we're getting from TRL ... it's weird because the bigger you get, you feel like your fans just become younger. But it's just the most outgoing ones are the youngest ones who are just so excited, and they want to meet you, and they'll stand there for five hours just to meet you ... Suddenly you feel like they might be your only fans.

But when we go out to clubs and we meet people, we can tell that we have people that are our age, definitely ... And we have a strong support in the gay community when we go out and meet people, like, Oh, my god! Cobra Starship. We love you guys. And we'll go to Web sites and see what people say...

 

 

Do you ever mess with the media, if you're checking Web sites? Just to see what people will say about you?

I've kissed my guy friends before. I like to kind of be sensationalist, so I got no problem doing that. You know, I feel like a lot of people talk about sexuality like it's a black-and-white thing, and I think it's a very ... it's not something you can just define. I think that the more you show people it's not so easily defined, the more you have a better understanding of what it is - and you keep it an open thing.

Totally - especially the seeing it part. The more people actually see it...

Exactly - the more they're comfortable. Kind of like cocaine, too: The first time I saw cocaine, I was a little kid, and it really scared me, you know? Now I just don't think twice about it. [laughs] I'm just kidding.

 

 

So are you still a big Justin Timberlake fan?

Huge. Absolutely. I think the only thing that's weird .... it was funnier before. When we had no fan base, it was kind of funny for me to go around to hipster clubs wearing the Justin Timberlake necklace. Now it's like, we're on TRL legitimately as an artist ... sometimes I feel like I'm too much of a fan boy. But I am a fan boy, you know?

And I have no shame saying that I love Justin Timberlake. One day I'm going to end up meeting him, and he's going to be like, Oh, you're that creep who’s been wearing my stuff for two years. I'm like, Uh – no that's the other dude. That was a joke. Ha-ha-ha.

And what if Madonna called you up for a collaboration?

Oh my god, I'd cream my pants. The thing is - you have to understand - I model my career after Madonna more than anyone. She was like this ... New York, hipster club girl. She knew all the cool stuff that was going on in New York; she went to all the cool parties; she was friends with really cool bands. She did a collaboration with Sonic Youth back in the day; it was called Ciccone Youth, because her real name is Madonna Ciccone, and they put it out. So she was like really, really down.

And she took all the cool stuff that was happening: the electronic, the No Wave stuff and then also the stuff that was happening uptown at Club Fever ... all the free-style sh*t that was going on, the Brooklyn, Latino sh*t. She took the hipster stuff, took the Latino sh*t and melded it together and made it something that was consumable by the rest of the market. She kind of dumbed it down a little bit, made it less edgy - still edgy enough, you know? - but not as edgy, and she put in these huge hooks and made it something the rest of America could understand.

And that's kind of what we think about Cobra Starship: We all listen to this really cool - like, French electronica stuff, hipster dance stuff – but we know that kind of stuff doesn't work in the mainstream. It's too cool for people. So we're like the dumbed-downed version of all these bands. All the bands that we like, we're just like them but ... stupider. [laughs.]

But yeah, I can't believe she did something with Justin. That's great. I'm all for Justin too, but...

 

 

So tell me about some of those bands you like.

Something that I've been listening to for a while, one of the biggest influences for us, is Chromeo. And Ratatat ... we went to go see Ratatat, and they're great.

And I love Uffie. She's this French chick - and she sings in English, and it kind of sounds like '80s rock - but her songs are just f*cking raunchy – like she has a song called "Ready to F*ck."

I know you're around gay people all the time now, but were you ever around them growing up?

No, no, no ... I grew up in a very conservative, middle-class, Jewish community.

I always lived close to the city, and I'd always go to shows by myself. And I actually remember the first time a gay kid hit on me was when I was, like, 16: I went to go see Pavement. I'd go see a lot of shows by myself, because I didn't have a lot of friends who would want to go take the bus with me from the Jersey suburbs. So I'd make friends at these shows, and we'd meet up again.

And there was this one kid ... that was my first experience; I didn't know he was gay. We were just hanging out, talking, and then one time at a show, he was kind of ... feeling me a little bit. Like, Ah, OK... It's cool. We stayed friends, but you know...

It's cool you have that attitude toward sexuality even though you weren't exposed to it your whole life...

Yeah, and I think it's really cool ... I think America in general has a much more progressive attitude than when I was growing up. Like, you'd never see a gay character even on a sitcom; now the biggest sitcoms have gay characters. Especially in New York - it's, like, cooler to be gay, you know?

 

 

Comments

[Cindy Moore]

Gabe is amazing & i think that its SO cool that he likes gays! he is now like my hero!!!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU GABE! & not just cauz ur hot, cauz u have a soul unlike some rockstars!!!
Love ya! *Kiss Kiss*

[Naiomi]

lol wow Gabe is now even more awesome to me :)

[Christopher]

Um...someone should tell Gabe Saporta that Madonna never collaborated with Sonic Youth. Ciccone Youth was Sonic Youth's collaboration with Mike Watt from fIREHOSE, and they only covered two Madonna songs.

[Pete Wentz]

Gabe remember that time in the backseat.

Best night of my life
but what am I supposed to do with the baby=0

[William Beckett]

Gabe fucked me so hard OMFG

Gabilliam lives

[daisy]

i loveee cobra starship <3

[Chloe]

:]
i loveee cobra starship.
and gabe is so hilarious.

ohh mmyy.
<3

[J. Kie]

I love Cobra Starship and i think that Gabe is the Sexiest man on earth... This interview just takes him up to ...In the Existence of Man!!! I love You Gabe... My second Husband (Henry Rollins is Number 1)!!!

cobra starship u guys r totally NARLY DUDE! I LOVE UR SONGS! gabe u r so hilarious man would be cool 2 see and talk 2 u 1 day :)

*peace*

Nikita

[William Eugene Beckett Jr.]

GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!GABILLIAM IS REAL!!!!

[ivan]

i've also kissed my guy friends before
i wouldn't i have to say i'm bi
and i really know Gabe is REAL and i like that about him.

:)

[Ryland Blackington]

Wait... I thought I was his first gay experience.

:-(

gabilliam is real

[Kiara]

Gabe is awesome.
I'm a massive Cobra fan, but let's face it...
Gabilliam exists ;]

[Felipe]

Ohhh!!! Gabe is soooooooooooooooooooooo Hooooooooooooooot :P ... and it is easy to understand because it is Latin, like me jeje... well, he have a great personality too. I'M IN LOVE XD

[eric]

gabe is gay if he sangs i kiss a boy and hollaback boy he is gay and hot