Essentially ‘punk kids’ in a very, very successful stateside power-pop band, bassist Alex Suarez of Cobra Starship (signed to Pete ‘Fall Out Boy’ Wentz’s Decaydance label) takes us back to the beginning.

Gabe Saporta (singer) insists he got the band name after being bitten by a cobra in the desert – a sort of snake poison-fuelled epiphany. Do you believe him?

He swears it’s true, but I believe him probably as much as you do. I tried to sneak into his bunk once on tour with a flashlight to look for bite marks on his neck but I couldn’t see anything. Maybe he got bitten somewhere else though.

When you were starting your first band, did you ever think you’d end up making music like Cobra Starship?

I gotta be honest, definitely not. But I couldn’t be happier now; it’s such a blast. I feel like we are the outcasts of the pop world. It’s really awesome that we get to be a part of it, but we’re still different, we’re still a bunch of punk kids at heart.

You’ve released a single with a Gossip Girl and played with a Pussycat Doll. Ever get star struck?

Nicole [Scherzinger] and Leighton [Meester] are really amazing and very talented – but I’d be more star struck if I saw Belle and Sebastian walking around in Glasgow. They were one of my idol bands when I was growing up and I don’t really have all of the Pussycat Doll records…

Do you think Belle and Sebastian would like your music?

(Laughs) They might think it was really fun. I hope they’d get a kick out of it.

Cobra Starship play ABC, Glasgow, Sun 7 Feb.