Gabe Saporta’s journey from New Jersey’s ’90s DIY music scene to fronting Cobra Starship has been one of transformation and reinvention. From leading the emo-punk band Midtown to spearheading the genre-defying, dance-infused Cobra Starship, Gabe’s journey has been anything but ordinary. Now, as Cobra Starship returns to the stage, he reflects on the Cobra Starship’s legacy, one marked by catchy hooks, theatrical flair, and an undeniable connection with fans, and how his past continues to influence his current ventures, including a men’s skincare line and indie record label, demonstrating the same level of passion and innovation that he brought to his music. The story goes beyond the music. It’s a story of evolution, of an artist honoring his roots while embracing the future. A story of growth, reinvention, and the enduring spirit of a band, an artist, and a person who is ready to embrace the future while honoring the past.
After an exhilarating appearance at When We Were Young Fest and Warped Tour, Cobra Starship was ready to return to the stage once again, here in Chicago at Riot Fest. Now, a decade later since Cobra first ended, Gabe is just excited and grateful that people still care and are coming out to see them, stating how it’s the youth specifically that are the most vital aspect to their return.
“I think that one of the things that contributes to a band’s longevity and legacy is having new people discover you, a younger generation…when I look out in the crowd, I see so many young faces.”
Cobra’s return to the stage arc is fueled by honoring the past while also respecting and looking toward the future. It’s about continuing a chapter in a book that was never properly closed. Gabe explained how he “…always had a vision for Cobra Starship that was never really fulfilled just because we never really got that big…I feel like now I was really able to bring that vision to life.” Whether it was an expectation-shattering Warped Tour performance as they closed out the weekend on Sunday night, connecting past and present together, or WWWYF curating the perfect nostalgia trip for attendees, Gabe has been soaking up every second of this incredible, continued journey under Cobra Starship.
To understand Cobra Starship’s continuing legacy, you must look to the past to connect it to the present, as it serves as the kindling and foundation for the fire being seen today. New Jersey is one of the most underrated music communities in the nation. At the same time, the Drive Thru Records era of bands was equally as influential, even if it was fairly short-lived. Gabe found himself experiencing both of these eras first-hand as a youngin going to shows in Jersey and eventually becoming the singer for Midtown, stating how his experience being young at NJ shows “…was incredible. Jersey had a super fertile scene…basically [being] this big suburb between New York and Philadelphia…and you had all these young kids growing up…There [was] nothing to do, so we started putting together shows”.
One of the most densely populated states in the nation, New Jersey offers an incredibly unique experience, since you can drive 20 minutes and have access to a 100% holistically different scene. Booking shows at VFW Halls, American Legion Halls, and anywhere else that would tolerate them, Gabe remembers how they had to create everything from pure scratch, figuring it all out along the way, “build[ing] our own world”, explaining how it quickly grew into something massive beyond any single person, as 600, 700, 800 kids would come out to a show.
A pivotal moment for Gabe and Midtown specifically was when they played the Get Up Kids record release show for Something to Write Home About, (Gabe even reminisces on getting the CD for it through his brother before the band even had them), where literal hundreds of people were in attendance for this show, demonstrating just how big the NJ music scene was growing. It was no longer that small scene with just a few small bars that mostly hosted dad rock bands. It was something so much larger than anyone anticipated it would become.
While shows are being packed out and iconic bands are gracing the stages across New Jersey, Gabe and the rest of Midtown found themselves struggling even though they helped lay the groundwork for this pop-punk and emo fusion sound they cultivated, watching new brands start to outpace them in much shorter time spans.
“We helped build [that sound] in a way. And you see a lot that the first ones, it’s usually the second adopter who finds more success because the first one is building something that doesn’t exist…It [became] very difficult for us to see other bands kind of…cruise down the highway that we help[ed] pave…[so] that took a toll on us emotionally.”
Not understanding the ebbs and flows of the industry at the time, Gabe explained how, at that point, Midtown decided to end things for the time being. With one door closing, another starts to open as Gabe had started experimenting with programming and electronic elements on the last Midtown record (specifically the interludes), eventually resulting in the birth of Cobra Starship.
Believe it or not, the transition for Gabe going from Midtown to Cobra Starship was an extremely difficult and unnerving one. Artistically speaking, it was difficult as it was working and creating within a whole new style and medium, making things “difficult from a technical sense,” while also proving challenging to get interest moving as it was equally “…difficult for people to understand what I was trying to do.” It was also challenging on an individual level for Gabe as he had to push past his worries, fears, and uneasiness to prove to not just everyone around him, but also prove to himself that this new project could work.
It wasn’t until “Snakes on a Plane” was released that things finally began to truly fall into place and start happening for Cobra Starship. Even with this launching pad, the band was still catching flak as “…people thought it was a joke that just connected the music to the movie. They didn’t think it was a real band. When people don’t think you’re real, you can argue with people like that all day until your face turns blue…or you can just go out and prove it”. Catapulting Cobra Starship to a new level, Gabe took the band out on the road heavily for a year straight to prove to everyone this was a serious project, cultivating a die-hard fan base in the process. The rest is history.
Now, years later, Gabe looks back at these experiences with a set of newfound eyes, appreciation, and understanding, especially after having started his own men’s skincare line, co-founding an indie record label, and bringing back Midtown and now Cobra Starship for special reunions. Having come from the underground, but also having moments of celebrity-ness in his life, Gabe has a unique dual lens on his perspectives and outlooks. When asked about his time in bands and in the music industry equipping him personally and professionally, Gabe emphasized community building and a DIY approach to everything, stating the importance he places on “world building, community building. I don’t approach anything like a product, I approach it like…a band almost, like I’m trying to build a community of people that are being helped by we’re trying to do.”
His approach to music is nearly identical, explaining how outside this world of alternative music, there are very big differences in the ethos and purpose of one’s involvement in the music space, most notably being the alternative music space being a space of passion and commitment, versus in many other circles people’s approach to music is more similar to wanting to become an actor or someone famous.
Coming from a DIY background further enabled Gabe in more ways than he could have ever thought, equipping him for life’s many challenges and ups and downs.
“I learned that after kinda doing things for myself, when I didn’t have anyone that wanted to book my bands, I just did my own shows…that DIY mentality is also what entrepreneurs have to do as well too”.
That even now, decades later, the uncountable amount of hard and soft skills he learned, life experiences gained, and more would all lead him down the path he took to where he’s currently at now. Whether it was buying his first van for a band from Ant-Money of E. Town Concrete, to starting Cobra Starship, to becoming a record label founder and entrepreneur to starting his own skincare line.
Now, life is different for Saporta—a family man, a businessman, and, at times, a rockstar on occasion. As new chapters in life start and old ones close, priorities shift. Right now, Gabe’s main priority is his family.
“I think one of the hard things about doing music for a living is that you have to make some other sacrifices…a lot of friends I know…haven’t had a chance to build a family, have kids, so I really wanted that. That was important for me. I don’t want to ever go back on the road to sacrifice that. I don’t want my kids to not see their father for four months”.
Right now, he is extremely happy with the balance in his life and with his musical projects, including Cobra Starship. Hitting the major festivals every few months, even alternating between Midtown and Cobra, is the perfect balance currently. Having released seven albums between both bands, Gabe isn’t envisioning new music anytime soon either, believing that “I said everything I wanted to say, I felt like I have a good of catalog and legacy. I said what I wanted to say”. While new music isn’t on the way anytime soon, that doesn’t mean Gabe will be slowing down anytime soon as he continues his long-standing passions, while discovering new ones along the way.
A 20th anniversary edition of While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets is out in December and you can pre-order it here. Follow Cobra Starship on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for future updates.
