Over the years that I have been working in music, I have had the opportunity to meet some pretty amazing individuals. Its a really, really long story but about 4 years ago I met Jason Abrishami. Jason is a very hardworking young man, fronting bands, booking shows. In June if last year he started his own management company, Surprise Attack! Management. His schedule is pretty hectic. The amount of passion and drive he puts into all of his projects is truly commendable. With an upcoming Surprise Attack! Showcase, I figured it would be a good time to pick his brain. The showcase is on May 27 at Cameo Gallery (Brooklyn) featuring 14 bands, including: Dot Square, Beach Moms, The Nico Blues, Wild International, New York Rivals, Beast Make Bomb, Edelweiss, Slam Donahue, HITS (formerly Jump Into The Gospel), Team Spirit, Eula, The Suzan, Electric Sun and Click Clack Boom. Pretty solid.
Lovecat: When did you start up Surprise Attack?
Abrishami: I started Surprise Attack Management during June of 2011.
Why did you want to start your own management company? What is the main goal of Surprise Attack?
I’ve been helping out managing bands for a while now and giving advice to friends that were in bands since I was about 16 years old. It seemed like the best idea for me while I was 21 at the time, gotta start young! Haha. The main goal of Surprise Attack is to help developing bands get more attention in the public eye, more so than just in the eyes of their friends and family. I began putting together showcases to help local bands play with bigger headlining bands about 4 years ago.
How many bands do you work with?
As of right now I only directly work with three bands, but I’m keeping my eyes peeled. Just because I’m directly working with three bands now doesn’t mean that I don’t help out a ton of others. I do.
How do you feel about the current state of the NYC/BK music scene?
It can get pretty diverse between the sounds coming out of Brooklyn as opposed to Manhattan. But I love em’ both.
You put together a lot of showcases featuring up and coming bands. Your next is coming up very soon, what can we expect?
Expect a festival that I put together on the 27th of May at Cameo Gallery featuring 14+ bands, it will be the biggest Surprise Attack showcase as of yet. But I will plan bigger ones for soon, stay posted!
