Cobra Starship
This article or section needs expansion. |
| RPF Fandom | |
|---|---|
| Name(s): | Cobra Starship |
| Scope/Focus: | Cobra Starship band members |
| Date(s): | 2005 - 2015 |
| See also: | Decaydance, Fueled By Ramen, Bandom |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Cobra Starship is an American band fronted by Jewish/Uruguayan-American Gabe Saporta in 2005 after Midtown disbanded. As most often written in Bandom fanworks, it is often composed of Gabe, Ryland Blackinton, Alex Suarez, Nate Novarro and Vicky-T. Very rarely, the band will be the version created for the "Bring It! (Snakes On A Plane)" video[1] which is usually referred to as "Supergroup."[2] The band officially called it quits on Nov 10, 2015, though it had been inactive for a while before that.[3]
History
The official story of Cobra Starship is as follows:
Gabe headed for the arid wastelands of the Arizona desert to contemplate his existence.In the desert, Gabe spends his days and nights pondering the nature of being, the collective unconscious, the irreducible complexity of bacteria flagellum, and perfecting blue steel--it's more of a softer look; he uses it for footwear.
However, every evening his meditations are interrupted by mysterious lights plaguing the night sky. On one particular such night, the lights are so mesmerizing that Gabe enters into a trance-like state. He becomes catatonic and weightless, so weightless in fact that he begins to levitate. But just as Gabe is beginning to lift off the ground, a cobra lunges from the depths of the darkness and bites him! Bites him right in the ******* neck!
After a week on the brink of death, hallucinating from the venomous bite, he awakes to find the snake with a wet towel in its fangs, patting down Gabe's sweltering forehead.
"Holy ****," Gabe exclaims, "this snake that almost killed me is patting down my forehead with a moist towelette!"
"Good morning to you too," says the reptile.
"Holy ****! A talking snake!"
"I am a cobra," corrects the snake, "and the lights that have hounded you night after night are from the starship that brought me here. You see, I have been sent from the future to find you."
"Me?" Gabe asks, flattered and excited at the possibility of validating his existence. "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?"[4]
However, the reality of the band is much messier. Initially, Cobra Starship was conceived as a solo project for Gabe. He wrote their first album himself, but Gabe soon recruited Ryland Blackinton, Alex Suarez, Nate Novarro and Elisa Schwartz. During their first tour, Elisa left the band in a highly dramatic fashion[5] and she was replaced by Vicky-T.
CobraCam.tv
Cobra Starship's official video podcast. The band released humorous tentative titles for the album (which parodies several other notable albums) "Griller", "Tha Ryland III", and variations of their ¡Viva La Cobra! album. Also known simply as "cobracam" by fandom.
Ryland Blackinton portrays recurring character Guy Ripley. Cobracam brought more attention to supporting members of the band like Alex Suarez and Nate Novarro.
Fandom
As part of Bandom, an RPF fandom featuring a large but specific group of American bands, Cobra Starship is often featured in inter-band crossovers. Intra-band fic for Cobra Starship is much rarer than intra-band fic for some of the larger bandom bands, mainly because Gabe Saporta's previous connection to many of the people making up the major bands of bandom means that he's a frequent side character in bandom fic. Often, Gabe will be the only character from Cobra Starship to feature in a crossover fic.
The most popular bands for Cobra Starship to be paired with are with The Academy Is... and My Chemical Romance, due to the fact that Gabe was friends with William Beckett and Mikey Way while he was in Midtown. He also commonly shows up in Decaydance fic, primarily ones featuring Fall Out Boy since Patrick Stump produced Cobra Starship's second album. Also Pete Wentz once got Gabe's face tattooed onto his body because he lost a bet[6] and he signed Cobra Starship to Decaydance records.
Pairings
The single most popular ship in Cobra Starship is the crossover ship of Gabilliam,[7] mostly due to the fact that Gabe and William have been baiting fans with the ship for years with stage gay and Instagram posts,[8] but "Gabe Saporta/everyone ever" is a good description of bandom's shipping habits. The most popular ships are crossovers with other Bandom bands, such as:
- Gabe/Pete Wentz of FOB
- Ryland/Pete Wentz
- Gabe/Patrick Stump of FOB
- Gabe/Mikey Way of MCR
Intra-band pairings include het pairing Gabe/Vicky-T, Ryland/Alex Suarez and Cobra GSF.
Example Fanworks
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Fanfic
Intra-band
- You Have My Heart (in your hands) by rsadelle. Victoria finds out her boyfriend's cheating on her. Then she finds out she's pregnant. Cobras are never alone, and Gabe's there every step of the way. Gabe/Victoria.
- Repent At Leisure by rsadelle. Gabe and Victoria are drunk when they get married, and they aren't in love, but they make it work anyway. Gabe/Victoria.
- Sheepish Wolves (just don't put your teeth on me) by paperclipbitch. Crossover with My Chemical Romance and others. In which Victoria is tired of being a teenage girl and a werewolf, Greta learns about life from teen movies, Gabe doesn’t give up easily (or at all), and Victoria isn’t the only one with a secret... First in a series. Gabe/Victoria.
- Projekt Gayhem by jedusaur. Gabe gen where he has to learn the rules of being a hipster.
- Too Fast for Love by romantical. h/c while touring for Hot Mess. Gabe's making terrible choices, blowing out his voice, and relying on Ryland a lot. Gabe/Ryland.
Crossovers
- We're Like Magnets by adellyna. Gabe/William.
- If Only I Were a Painter, I'd Paint for You the Moon by foxxcub. Gabe/William WWII AU.
- Congruence by AirgiodSLV. They’ve made it this far. If they were going to fall apart, they would have done it already.. Gabe/Mikey Way, Gabe/Mikey/William Beckett.
- Make The Season Bright by adellyna, set in AirgiodSLV's Tis The Season verse. Ryland/Pete Wentz.
- Out Where the Sand's Turning to Gold by inlovewithnight. Gabe/Gerard Way AU.
Podfic
- You Are My Lucky Star, read by fire-juggler, Gabe/Pete.
- After the First Midtown Show, read by argentumlupine and dapatty. Gen.
- Bury This Town, read by dapatty. Greta/Vickty-T.
- Every Minute of the Day, read by melusina. Gabe/William.
Art
Fannish Resources
Fanworks:
Primers:
- Gabe Saporta/Cobra Starship primer by dreamofthem (April 2007)
- Cobra Starship Picspam of Fucking Doom by ladysorka (October 2007)
- Cobra Starship Primer by mercurybard at bandom_primers (March 2008) (broken images)
- G-A-B-E gonna get you high! by lessthangreat (January 2008) (archived; broken images)
References
- ^ Bring It! (Snakes On A Plane). Posted 25 Jul 2006. Accessed 25 Sept 2019.
- ^ Cobra Starship Primer, Part 1 (Supergroup). Posted 20 March 2008. Accessed 25 Sept 2019.
- ^ Cobra Starship Breaks Up; Gabe Saporta Explains What's Next, Billboard interview posted Nov 10, 2015, accessed Jan 12, 2016.
- ^ Cobra Starship bio, reposted on absolutepunk.net, Cobra Starship Website Up, July 2 2006. (Retrieved Sept 26, 2014).
- ^ Cobra Starship's Gabe Saporta Speaks Out After Keytar Kerfuffle. Posted 25 Jan 2007. Accessed 25 Sept 2019.
- ^ Pete Wentz Gets Gabe Saporta's Face Tattooed on His Leg. Posted 28 /Oct 2009. Accessed 25 Sept 2019.
- ^ Cobra Starship tag on AO3. Accessed 25 Sept 2019.
- ^ Post by William Beckett. Accessed 25 Sept 2019.