Though Blackinton found modest work in New York, he didn't land any major roles, and grew more focused on his musical career. In 2005, pop punk band Midtown broke up, and rumors swirled that frontman Gabe Saporta was starting a new, more pop-oriented musical project. Blackinton and Suarez had both been fans of Midtown, and Midtown drummer Rob Hitt lived in the same apartment building as Suarez. Therefore, they knew about Saporta's new project, and Saporta knew about them. He contacted them early on inviting them to join his new project, but Blackinton and Suarez declined, choosing instead to focus on This Is Ivy League. However, once Blackinton and Suarez learned that Saporta's project, now named Cobra Starship, was set to record the title track for Samuel L. Jackson's Snakes On A Plane, the two of them changed their mind and contacted Saporta asking to join. The band still needed a guitarist and bassist, so he agreed, and the two of them became members. (As both Blackinton and Suarez knew how to play lead and bass guitar, and neither of them had any preference, they flipped a coin to determine who would be the guitarist and who would be the bassist.)