Detox To Retox

i brought this back for my friend James Parker. wow. for...

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:03:40 -0500

i brought this back for my friend James Parker.

wow. for real.

we’re off to Lauren Ashley’s b Day! (i said Suarez’s GF, but i meant his FIANCEE!! )

this is the cutest thing ever. i always envision myself as a...

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 21:04:12 -0500

this is the cutest thing ever.

i always envision myself as a monkey b/c i’m lanky and goofy, and loud, and, i got dem big ol’ ears, and i like to throw my own dung at people . naw ;) i’m just kidding about the lanky part.

this monkey is dancing to a cover we did of the theme song to a cult japanese TV show from the 70’s.

the show opening: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iUMWy4hqAg

our cover of the song (up on youtube till the man takes it down): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OstnQWlVD-I

a TV (!!) performance of the Japanese band that WROTE the song PERFORMING IT!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKXrwK5h-l4

ready for a quiz:

1) see if you can tell which words we changed (*hint: you can kiss it)

2) who screams “i’m a monkey!”

great vid ryland made chronicling our European adventure. the...

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:49:38 -0500

great vid ryland made chronicling our European adventure.

the music is ryland’s nx leva beastz he made wif hees pc comppotah

yes, he is a genius.

and yes, i am lurking dgs today. thanks jac/q/k?

and yes, i did get ripped off by buying those lil vodka bottles.

bad jew. baaaaad jew!

First Ever Performance of “Hot Mess” Acoustic! not...

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:28:00 -0500

First Ever Performance of “Hot Mess” Acoustic!

not bad except for me and suarez fuckin it up at the end. ;)

ps: thank you juliana! xo

PPS: here is an HQ version of the performance from the NRJ site: http://mikl.fr/video.php?id=885

i can’t stop watching this video (for anyone who was...

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 04:38:12 -0500

i can’t stop watching this video

(for anyone who was wondering what the fuck my last tweet was about, i was just alluding to this dude in the ying yang shirt talking about his DJ and his next level beats..

ryland and i have a disagreement: i think they are fully conscious of their absurdity and play it off to poke fun at themselves while still being able to say some “real” shit. Ryland thinks they are 100% for real. ( i think he thinks that only because he’s in love with that girl).

what do you think?

ps: also, can someone PLEASE get me a pair of pink floyd boxers? k? thx!

just got home from european tour. it was insane. thank you to...

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 02:18:15 -0500

just got home from european tour.

it was insane. thank you to everyone who came out.

i didn’t realize people knew us all up in the Euniverse.

last show was in amsterdam.

it’s a good thing they changed the name of my home to New York. because if it was still new amsterdam, i’d still be eating space cakes..

Video

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:27:22 -0500

When we first saw this video last week, our minds were totally...

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 06:26:13 -0500

We are using Rivers from Weezer's speech about us as part of the intro that we walk out to for our live show.

When we first saw this video last week, our minds were totally blown (I honestly thought it was some kind of app, or a flash program that could make Rivers Cuomo speak whatever you type). And I kept watching it. And it kept blowing my fucking mind!

It’s not the fact that’s he’s saying nice things about us (there are plenty of people who have said nice things about us—and I of course have always been deeply and sincerely appreciative of all the love we’ve been lucky to receive and have done all I can to pay it forward). But it’s the fact that one of my idols (one of the people who has written some of my all-time favorite songs, someone I grew up listening to, looking up to, and whose work has influenced not only my own work, but also my outlook on life) –not only does he know who the hell we are (which is a win in itself), but more than that: he actually likes what we do!!?

But it get’s better, because not only does he likes us, but he hits the nail RIGHT ON THE HEAD! It goes without saying that our band is a bit out there; we don’t really fit neatly into any one genre. And that has always been an obstacle for us. But it has also been something we have worked towards: to separate ourselves from the rest of pop music, yet somehow finding a way to penetrate it and help shape it. And what he said in this video shows to me that he gets it. He just really GETS us!

He accurately articulates philosophies about our band that we consciously set-down as principle building blocks when we started Cobras three years ago. And I know I’m babbling, but at the end of the day, words can never truly express what it feels like to have one of the first people that you truly admired—someone that has been a constant source of inspiration; I can never fully explain what an amazing feeling it is to hear someone you revere so highly, flip the tables and praise YOUR work.

Sorry to sound like a fucking cheeseball. But this is a 1^st for me. And here’s the thing:

I am one jaded-ass, cynical motherfucker. I am not impressed by celebrities. I don’t care how much money you got in the bank, and I don’t care who your daddy is. And sadly, even if a “new” Rivers Cuomo were to come out today, I feel like I may be just a bit too “over-it” to even pay attention. And please do not interpret this as me thinking that I’m better than anyone; this is just something that I see happening to a lot of us as we grow up—we begin to develop our own answers and our own world views, and we are not as reliant on our “idols” for these answers.

I mean, I still love music, but the sort of idol worship that lead me to elevate a person like Rivers or Civ or Ian MacKaye and place them atop such influential pedestals could only have really occurred in my formative years. That’s because music was the most important thing in my life when I was 14/15/16 (actually, it was pretty much the only thing in my life). When the world I thought I knew started to disintegrate, when I was slapped in the face for the first time with some of the harsher realities of the world, and when I was forced to face some of the uglier truths of my existence.

And it was at this point in my life—when my parents just didn’t get it, when my teachers couldn’t give a shit, and worst of all, when I started to realize that even my friends were not who I thought they were—it’s at this point that music became my only salvation. It’s at this point that music exuded this uncanny power to truly affect who I was and who I could become. And it was at this point that it did. Because it’s at this point that someone you don’t even know can say something that will change the course of your life, or at the very least just give you a new perspective on your struggles.

And Rivers Cuomo was that person for me. Weezer was that band for me.

And last week’s experience—to hear one of my childhood idols who helped me through some of my roughest years say that he believes in me—made me feel like a kid again. It made me feel excited in a way I haven’t felt in years!

And yes of course, it’s a bit childish. But it’s real. And it’s rare. And it’s an amazing emotion to be able to feel.

So a couple of days ago, we sound-checked our new intro (with Rivers’ audio in it) and we saw a couple of people roll their eyes. So we talked about it later on the bus:

“hey, do you think that putting that as part of our intro is too egotistical; too self-aggrandizing? Should we not do it?”

We contemplated this seriously, because despite how sassy we act, and despite how much shit we talk, or how many times I grab my crotch, we honestly all do strive for certain virtues: to be humble, modest and grateful, and to always remain normal, approachable people. And it is not an unfair criticism to say that by using Rivers’ speech as our intro we are just turning into a bunch of self-involved, self-masturbatory douchebags. After all, it’s not some great piece of musical work we wrote, or some hilarious joke; it’s just some guy talking about why he thinks we’re cool. Is that really something the entire crowd needs to hear before we go on stage?

I contemplated it thoroughly. And I could see clearly how easily the intro could be construed as us showing off. But then I thought about the guiding principles of our band:

- to not take ourselves too seriously

- to make music we love

- to crack ourselves up on stage and have an amazing time playing shows

- to shred

- to shows kids these sides of us, with no inhibition and no bullshit,

- and to spread that positivity, that carefree spirit, and to make kids have the time of their lives

And when we hear Rivers sing our praises before we go on stage every night, the rest of the world just disappears. All our problems vanish. And the only thing left before us is this amazing opportunity to play a show for kids who support us, and to show them our deepest and most sincere level of appreciation for their love. Because doing what we love, what we have been doing for 3 years straight with the help of all our fans, has somehow, bizarrely, brought us to the attention of someone who inspired us to start playing music in the first place. And that. Is. Fucking. Insane.

To hear Rivers every night before we play fills us with so many emotions: excitement, gratitude, humility, bewilderment, pride, and joy. But most of all, we hope that seeing us huddle-up together, geek-out and fanboy over our metaphorical trophy will inspire some kid in the crowd to go follow his dream. To do what he truly wants; to do it with heart, and to know that if it can happen to a bunch of schmucks like us, it can definitely happen to you.

Wet Hot American Summer home video this is one of my faves from...

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:30:40 -0400

Wet Hot American Summer home video

this is one of my faves from our album. we wrote it when it was freezing in the mountains and the world was covered in snow. and listening to this makes me remember the sun shinning through the frosted windows, and imagining the days of summer that were about to be upon us… .

but seriously - What the fuck happened to summer? Is it really gone already? Because I don’t really remember it being sunny. And now it’s over. Really? That’s it? Fuck that. Fuckin’ bullshit. What a shitty summer. But looking back, we had some fun times, even though the weather sucked balls.

So here is our last hurrah: a collection of some of our fondest memories from the past few months, set to the tune of “Wet Hot American Summer,” imagining ourselves blasting “Regulators” as we cruise in Nate’s Jeep. Enjoy your last few days of freedom and t shirt weather before all the bullshit starts back up and you dust off that purple hoodie you’ve been sick of.
Thanks for an awesome summer
Xo
Gabe

Video

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 15:31:37 -0400

The unedited Cobra Cam Season Finale!!! the censors made us take...

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:44:00 -0400

The unedited Cobra Cam Season Finale!!!

the censors made us take a lot of really funny shit out.

but i don’t roll like that. sue me.

here is the original cut in all of its nastiness.

Also, cobras4life.com is up and running!!! sorry for the delay

My thoughts on Conan

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 22:24:00 -0400

The truth is, I thought it was awesome! We all did. And it was a huge accomplishment for us. Sure it wasn’t perfect, but it’s not about being perfect.

Here’s the (tl;dr) thing: I’ve never been a great singer, and I’ll never be a great singer. I was just a kid who loved music and had to figure it out. I wasn’t lucky to be born with talent and great pipes. But I was lucky to be born with something that I value more than natural ability: I’ve got heart, willpower, and an intuition that if I put my mind to something, I can accomplish anything. And guess what? I did.

I wanted to sing. Not because I could, but because I loved making music. Listen to the first Midtown record. My voice was HORRENDOUS. I really had no clue what I was doing. But along the way, it got better. I had to figure it out. And through the years I got better at it. Never great, but enough to get by. Because my point in being a singer was never to be a “singer,” but it was to be able to have a way to express my ideas and my emotions (oftentimes shouting them at the top of my lungs). My voice is just a vehicle. A vehicle that just needs to get me from point A to point B. Some people are lucky to have BMWs to get them to point B. I have a Volkswagen. It’s not pretty, but it does what I need it to do.

But then my Volkswagen had to go into the shop this year because she got a cyst. And that put her out of commission for a bit, but I got her back up and running. She never ran great to begin with, and now she runs a little worse. But she still runs, and I love her. And if YOU love her too, you don’t love her because she’s the most perfect thing in the world. You love her because she’s real.

I will never sing perfectly. But I will always be awesome. Even when I fuck up. I’m awesome because I am not afraid to fall nor ashamed to stumble. Because I never wanted to be beautiful, and I never pretended to be.

Now, on to the less dramatic part:

Estelle: she was dope. She did the song her way. She changed it up and made it her own. It’s not gonna be like Leighton nor like Victoria. And I back her for that.

Notwithstanding all that shit I just said about my voice, I think I did a pretty damn good job. Especially compared to the last time we were on Conan (which I really was embarrassed about). Have you guys seen other bands perform on TV? It always sucks. It’s not the same as seeing them live and it doesn’t sound like it even sounds in the studio audience. It always sounds like shit. It’s compressed as fuck because it has to be broadcast through the air and sent to your tv speakers. Unless the artist is lip-synching and/or using auto-tune (which we don’t), it always sounds weird.

Again, it’s not about being perfect. The beauty of a live performance are the imperfections.

Conan was fucking awesome. We’re just a bunch of dudes who got a chance to play on a show we’ve been watching since we were kids. We had a blast and we were real. And it was a personal milestone for us. I couldn’t ask for anything more.

Fanclub

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 12:21:10 -0400

So thank you guys so much for all your input on this. There have def been a lot of strong feelings going back and forth. And I’ve gotten a ton of emails from kids who totally despise the notion of fanclubs, but also lots of other emails from kids who have had great experiences. At the end of the day, we are giving this away for free as an experiment to see if this can work. Because I too am skeptical. The most important thing for me is to be able to make sure that our fans know about presales and can get tickets to our shows before they get bought up by scalpers. And then if we can throw in some other cool shit to keep our connection with you guys strong, I’ll be satisfied. For those kids who actually do want more in terms of a traditional fanclub, we’ll find a way to give you what you need as well. So here we go. At the end of the day, we’ll never know if it sucks unless we give it a fair shot. And there’s nothing wrong in failing. We’ll just wipe our shoulders off and move forward. Cobrastyle. Oh yeah, and the name. We really liked the Congregation of the Church of Hot Addiction (which Papi came up with), but that was a little long. So we decided to name it the Cobra Crew. A lot of our early fans already have their own Cobra Crews (OCC, Cobra Clan, etc). So we named the club that in honor of you guys (and also as an allusion to this line in “Smash it Up” : “so what you got a crew? I got a crew too.” Oh! And ps: just got this email from Papi. I don’t think I can say no to a Queen. You don’t want to get on a diva’s bad side (because a diva is a female version of a hustla ) > > Gabe! > > Um, so Fan Club eh? Honey, where was I for the deliberation? Did you > think you’d get rid of me that easy?! Girlfriend, you know I stick to > you like herpes. I’m your internet eyes and ears! > > Do you know how much time and effort goes into having a fanclub, much > less making it work?! It takes someone with balls of steel, someone not > afraid to walk in there with their cock out swinging! > > I was thinking, “Hey, someone’s gonna have to run that thing. Whose > gonna stay on Gabe’s ass (literally ;P) and keep things fresh?” > > Then it came to me! I would make the perfect Fan Club President! I was > the President of the weekly “Babysitters Club” book club back in > high school! I know the Cobra kids! They know me, we could make this > thing huge. > > I expect to hear from you soon. > > You know I’m right. > > > - Papi

just found these – fucking awesome!

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 23:18:00 -0400

just found these – fucking awesome!

and the winner is . . . . .!!!

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:15:56 -0400

So we spent hours going through all the suggestions and votes. I can’t believe the response! Thanks to everyone who gave their input.

I got to check out a TON of awesome new bands and I wish we could take out more than one, but the winner is ……. ***drum roll*** The Audition!

We haven’t even told them yet, so if you Audition boys read this – congrats! ;)

We’re looking forward to having these guys on the tour. In all honesty, Ryan’s been hitting me up about touring together for almost 2 years now, so I’m glad we finally get to go out. Plus they’re shredders at Halo 3.

Go pack your bags boys!

Now before I go and pack mine, I got one more thing I need input from you guys on:

So for the past year we’ve been getting pressured by the suits to start a fanclub. I’ve always said no because every time a band starts a “fanclub,” kids get pissed. It just seems like the band is taking advantage of the kids who support them the most. And it just seemed corny to me.

The suits told me I should stop being such a hater, and told me that if I actually took the time to see how some clubs ran, I would realize that fanclubs can actually be a good thing for the kids. They told me about all the special perks; the pre-sale opportunities, the early admission to shows; the limited-edition goodies, etc, etc.

But I was still not convinced.

The truth is, that anybody who actually GOES OUT and purchases a CD in this day and age of digital singles and illegal downloads, in my opinion is already a die-hard fan and should be automatically given these perks. So I told the suits, “if you’re willing to give everyone who buys the CD a free membership to the fan club, I’m willing to give the fan club idea a try.” If it sucks, and it seems like a sham, then the kids will just not stay in it. But at least you wont have felt cheated or ripped-off.

But I want to hear from you guys what your thoughts are:

Does this deal I made make sense? Do you back it? Or should I go back to the suits and tell them to fuck it?

If we have a fan club, what kind of stuff would you guys like to see? What perks?

What are your favorite things from other clubs? What do you hate about other clubs you’ve joined? etc etc

Hit me up with your thoughts in the comments!

Thanks guys!

gabe

band on the hot mess tour

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 21:17:57 -0400

Yo! We are super bummed that The Plasticenes had to drop off our tour. :(

And now we are having a really hard time choosing what band should replace them so
we figured since you are the ones coming to the shows - why don’t YOU choose
the band! No formal polls or any bullshit like that - just comment and
tell us what you think and we will pick a band based on that.

Here are the bands:
The Audition
Paper Tongues
Down With Webster
Zolof and the Rock and Roll Destroyer
Runner Runner
The Postelles
A Cursive Memory
2AM Club
Everybody Else
All Leather
Champagne Champagne
Hot Chelle Rae
Tina Parol
Young and Divine
Go Crash Audio
Days Difference
School Boy Humor
The Sunstreak
Love Sick Radio
Jonny Craig
Care Bears on Fire
Flipsyde
Endless Hallway
Valora
Letlive
Let’s Get It
The Urgency
Miss Derringer
Anarbor
Mercy Mercedes
We Shot The Moon
What Happened In Vegas
Kids Of Survival
The Flying Skulls
Woodhands
Suburban Legends
Seven Story Fall
Brian Bonz
Jonas Sees in Color

so we are putting the finishing touches on our album (yes, we...

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 05:26:00 -0400

so we are putting the finishing touches on our album (yes, we will be breaking hearts like cusak for all you shelf kids„„ but it will be hidden…), but the fuckin legal department at the label tells me there are too many fucking curses on the record. so not only am i gonna be slapped with my first parental advisory sticker ever, but i also had to go and re-record certain lines in our songs to be able to make a “clean” version of the record for certain stores and for itunes.. fucking bullshit! but instead of getting bummed out about it, i decided to look at it as a positive thing and have fun with it.

so here is a clip of the line i had to change in “pete wentz is the only reason we’re famous”

since when is “cock” a bad word anyway!??!?!? !WTF!!!!

Suarez here writing for G.A.B.E.

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:04:29 -0400

Hey guys! Gabe gave me the info to log into his blog while he is sipping away at margaritas on the beach.

I just got off the phone with him and he was saying how people keep bothering him while he is trying to relax about Ashley Tisdale this and Ashley Tisdale that… people just keep asking him “Gabe – who is this Ashley Tisdale chick and why is she trying so hard to ride your jock”

¡¡¡¡¡IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT, CHECK THIS OUT!!!!!

please click the link below.

http://buzzworthy.mtv.com/2009/06/30/cobra-starships-mtv-buzzworthy-blog-fan-qa-part-1/

ALSO, we just want to apologize if we are skipping over your city on the Hot Mess small venue tour. we are doing a “bigger” tour in the fall and unfortunately we are not allowed to play some of the same cities. We did our best, so please don’t be mad at us ! :( and don”t worry, we will almost certainley hit up your city in the fall tour.

We just really wanted a chance to do some small shows before hitting the enormo tour.

xoxo Cobras.

Ta-da! here is the HOT MESS album cover. our friend Bim already...

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 17:59:00 -0400

Ta-da!

here is the HOT MESS album cover.

our friend Bim already had “HOT ME” tattooed on her lips, so all we had to do was add the two S’s. i’m just playin. much love to Bim Fernandez for not only allowing us to tattoo our album name on her face, but for also singing on the record. You Rule!

I think you can start pre-ordering the record on 7/7/09.

but then again, what the fuck do i know.

also, if you’re in NYC, i’m gonna go see my friend Cody’s new band Jaguar Love (ex- Blood Brothers) at the Highline Ballroom in an hour. it’s the Nylon tour with the Plasticines (!!!)

check out this video

i don't like to count my chickens before they hatch...

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:12:54 -0400

but i think one of the chickies is startin to poke it’s lil beak out the egg!

i always tell everyone not to give me good news because it just gets you excited and sets you up for disappointment.

but today i woke up and found out that we just entered the Top 40 charts for the first time ever at #38.

i’ve been makin music for 10 years, and i’ve never been on the Top 40 chart. i mean, we’ve gotten some great video play, and a couple of spins on the radio here and there, but this is definitely something new for me. i feel like it’s a new accomplishment; like something i can call my folks about and tell them. i can let myself be happy about that, right? it can’t be that bad for me to get excited about something every once in a while. ;)

thanks to all you guys who have been supporting us and getting our song requested and played. and thanks especially to all you guys for supporting us and spreading the word about Cobras for the past 3 years so that we’ve grown to the point that radio stations noticed us!

xoxo

gossip gabe