Probably best known for the song “Bring It (Snakes on a Plane),” the theme to the movie “Snakes on a Plane,” Cobra Starship has taken the world by storm. Their second album, “¡Viva La Cobra!” hit #80 on the Billboard 200, and they’re currently headlining a tour of their own alongside The Cab, We the Kings and Metro Station, which has sold out more than half of the venues. The Chronicle had the chance to talk to Cobra guitarist Ryland Blackinton about pranks, MTV, and much more.
Chronicle – How’s the “Really Really Ridiculously Good Looking Tour” going so far?
Ryland Blackinton – It’s going better than we ever could have expected. We’re revisiting venues we have played in the past, and it’s nice to come back to some of these places and sell them out. It’s a true testament to how much work we’ve done over the last year and a half. It justified all of this touring.
Chronicle – Before you played the first stop of the tour, 27 out of the 40 shows had already sold out.
Blackinton – Yea, I know! And still counting. It’s amazing.
Chronicle – Being that there’s a lot of testosterone on this tour, are there an abundance of pranks pulled backstage?
Blackinton – [Laughs.] It’s still early, so I’m sure that’s gonna happen sooner or later. There is a lot of testosterone on this tour, unfortunately. But we have a significant amount of estrogen in Victoria [Cobra Starship’s keytar player].
Chronicle – Is there any type of pre-show ritual you guys do?
Blackinton – Drink vodka. And I know this is cheesy, but you know how when you were younger and you played in Little League, and right before a show, or a game rather, the whole team would put their hands in the middle and say “one, two, three, Go Tigers or whatever,” we do the same thing. We go “one, two, three Cobra!” We’ve done it before every show, always.
Chronicle – And what are some of the funniest on stage moments? At the first stop of the tour, at the School of Rock in Jersey, Gabe did the Soulja Boy dance. Would that qualify?
Blackinton – Oh my God, wasn’t that amazing? Gabe has this ability to be a total horse’s ass. He could go on for hours, it’s amazing to watch him. Thankfully though, nothing like that has happened again, just that one at the School of Rock.
Chronicle – Do you think you being on MTV has contributed to the rising success of Cobra Starship? And what’s the best think about appearing on TRL?
Blackinton – Well, I think it definitely has introduced us to a broader audience, so yea, I think so. And the best thing at TRL are brownies backstage, they’re really good. Every time we go, they have these amazing brownies in the shapes of triangles and they’re just so good. And everyone over there is really nice.
Chronicle – What’s a typical day like for you while you’re on tour?
Blackinton – Well, I have to confess, I used to be an early to rise guy. When we were on tour with The Academy Is., I’d get up at nine, I’d do push-ups, throw a medicine ball around with The Butcher [The Academy Is… drummer Andy Mrotek]. But now I’ve been going to bed late, so I wake up around noon, watch a movie, listen to music, and depending on the town we’re in, I like to explore the towns. In Montreal, I found a really nice restaurant. Today, I went to the Mongolian Barbecue [At interview time, the band was in Cleveland Heights, OH]. I also like to do a lot of thrift shopping in vintage stores.
Ryland – To everyone out there who’s coming to the rest of the shows on the tour, I’m looking forward to seeing you. It’s gonna be a lot of fun, we’re looking forward to seeing everybody.
