One of the great double-edged swords in the life of a big-time rock band is international travel. Sure, if you get to a certain point in your popularity, you could visit exotic locales, eat excellent food and meet interesting people. On the other hand, it's likely you'll really only see Rome, Frankfurt and Dublin from the windows of your bus or your hotel room. A little sympathy is necessary when you consider the sort of schedule most of these bands maintain on the road (especially in a foreign country), which is why Cobra Starship frontman Gabe Saporta can be forgiven for having a bit of a meltdown on Twitter earlier today.
The string of tweets (over three dozen in total) began when Saporta responded to a news story about how clothing retailer American Apparel was forced to fire all of their undocumented workers, most of whom were illegal immigrants. "Sorry to go on a political rant, but the U.S. is a country built by immigrants," he wrote. "The Irish, the Italians, etc. As an immigrant, this is hurtful." The statement inspired a number or responses and re-tweets from his followers and friends (in an unrelated dialogue, he was talking to Perez Hilton about cell phone service at the same time). He first buried the Republican party, but eventually threw all politicians under the bus. "Democrats and Reublicans are both horrible. I'm not either," he tweeted. "Just think about: What kind of self-serving ambition would lead one into politics?"
Eventually, Saporta wound down and explained where all the vitriol was coming from. "I normally try to steer clear of politics," he tweeted. "But as an immigrant myself, it's obviously an issue close to my heart that affects me. And it hurts me to see so much discrimination against the people who toil endlessly and without recognition to keep this country afloat."
You would not have considered that the guy behind "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)" and "Good Girls Go Bad" would have such powerful political opinions, but maybe he'll be making his transition into a Bono-type do-gooder sooner rather than later.