Concerts That Made Us

This week Brian is joined by Robbie Kowal AKA Motion Potion AKA MoPo

Robbie Kowal, also known by his professional names Motion Potion or MoPo, is an American DJ, record producer, and concert promoter. Known for blending electronic music with the genres of funk, hip hop, and psychedelic rock, he first started mixing live in 1995.

After moving to San Francisco in 1997, he co-founded the concert promotion company Sunset Promotions or SunsetSF in 2001, which became known for producing festivals such as the SF Funk Fest and North Beach Jazz. Since then he has helped found and/or produce festivals and concert nights such as All Shook Down Music Festival, Sea of Dreams NYE, Ghost Ship Halloween, Loveboat Halloween, North Beach Jazz, Festival of the Golden Gate and Mojito Café. According to the Los Angeles Times, in 2006 MoPo was the first DJ to play a silent disco in the United States, and since then he has founded Silent Frisco, a headphone dance concert production company. In 2015, Silent Frisco and SunsetSF merged to become HUSHconcerts, an event production company that now contributes to more than 1000 events per year.

Topics covered include:

How Robbie entered the music industry.

His music career.

How he formed Hush Concerts.

What is Silent Disco.

Adapting and overcoming problems faced by the live events industry during the pandemic.

Find out more here:

https://www.hushconcerts.com/

https://soundcloud.com/mopo

Find CTMU here:

https://linktr.ee/Concertsthatmadeus

If you would like to support the show you can do so by signing up at https://www.patreon.com/Concertsthatmadeus and you will gain access to a range of benefits including video versions of the episodes.

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This week Brian is joined by Robbie and Kenne from Doomtrigger.

Doomtrigger are a 4-piece metal band hailing from Stellenbosch, South Africa. Initially intended as a solo studio project, founding member Kenne Loubser started writing a selection of songs during Covid lockdown in 2020.

A few weeks into the journey, Kenne learnt that a friend and fellow metal enthusiast, Jason Smith, had just returned to South Africa after teaching in Vietnam for 3 years. Fast forward 3 years, Kenne approached Jason about collaborating on a single. This turned into Jason becoming a full time member and lead vocalist of the project. Realizing they were onto something special, they knew Doomtrigger had to be a full band. The search was on.

In June 2021 Drummer Etienne Nel aka "Frank", was added to the group. Kenne and Frank

became friends in their college days and together with another close friend, lived together in their early working years. During that time, they had regular jam sessions playing mostly Slipknot covers and metal improv - much to the dismay of conservative neighbours in the area. Predominantly a rock drummer, this was the first time Frank started exploring metal drumming. It wasn't until 12 years later, upon joining DOOMTRIGGER, that his true potential as a metal drummer was unlocked.

Eventually an idea sparked to invite Robert Blair, former rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of hard rock outfit Four A Penny, to the pack. Ken and Rob were former band mates in the aforementioned group and had become good friends over the years. Appreciating Rob's love and passion for the metal genre, Ken had in fact been sharing snippets of DOOMTRIGGER material with Rob over the course of a few months as a

soundboard for thoughts and feedback. So, when Rob was eventually approached in July 2021, it was an easy conversation. The pack knew that over and above the fact that Rob would settle comfortably on bass, he would also bring the edge of a second extreme vocal to the mix, nudging the band's offering to a new dimension. Finally, the line-up was complete.

In its short existence the band has already made notable waves in the local metal scene in South Africa, attracting attention from industry peers and metal fans alike. The band made their live debut at Trenchtown on 11 June 2022 and saw the formation of a pit mere moments into their first song, a rare sight for a band on live debut, let alone first on the bill. The energy continued through the set and the reception was more than what the group could have hoped for. All and all a successful debut with praise from organisers, supporting bands and newly acquired fans alike, leaving the band humbled and hungry to continue their mission.

Tune in to hear all about:

• The history of Doomtrigger.
• The EP 'Enter The Cosmic'
• Concert experiences including playing Metal4Africa '22.
• Future plans including the next EP 'Dark Continuum'
• And much much more!

Find Doomtrigger here:

https://www.instagram.com/doomtriggercore/

https://www.facebook.com/doomtriggercore

https://ditto.fm/enter-the-cosmic

Find CTMU here:

https://linktr.ee/Concertsthatmadeus

Newsletter: https://concertsthatmadeus.aweb.page/p/f065707b-2e34-4268-8e73-94f12bd2e938

If you would like to support the show you can do so by rating/reviewing us on Itunes and Spotify or by signing up at https://www.patreon.com/Concertsthatmadeus

Save 10% on Band Builder Academy membership by following this link https://bandbuilderacademy.com/Brian_Concerts/join and using promo code "concerts" at signup.

Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/concerts-that-made-us.

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This week Brian is joined by Danny No No from Big Eleanor Records.

Topics covered include:

Danny No No's music influences and career.

The process of setting up Big Eleanor Records.

The day to day of running a record label.

Homemade Ski Mask.

Music included in this episode:

Back on my Bullshit - Homemade Ski Mask

Outro - Shaw Calhoune

Find Big Eleanor Records here:

https://www.instagram.com/bigelrecords

Find CTMU here:

https://linktr.ee/Concertsthatmadeus

If you would like to support the show you can do so by rating/reviewing us on Itunes and Spotify and by signing up at https://www.patreon.com/Concertsthatmadeus and you will gain access to a range of benefits including video versions of the episodes.

Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/concerts-that-made-us.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode Johni Holiday stops by again to share details on Ruff Majik's new album "Electric Ram" releasing on April 28th and the European Tour they are embarking on in August and October.

‘Elektrik Ram’, the latest album from South Africa’s megalithic Ruff Majik, is the kind of audio palate cleanser that we all yearn for from time to time. Kicking the vibe back to a sepia-toned era where bell-bottoms and fuzzed-out bass were de rigueur, the ‘Majik lads take a well-known template and drench it with their unique attitude and stoner-esque sensibilities.

Ruff Majik will be playing festivals and venues across Europe including Blue Moon Festival, Trafostation 61 Festival and Riffields. Stay tuned to their social media to stay up to date on further announcements.

Find Ruff Majik here:

https://www.ruffmajik.com/

https://www.facebook.com/ruffmajik/

https://twitter.com/ruff_majik

https://www.instagram.com/ruffmajik/

Find CTMU here:

https://linktr.ee/Concertsthatmadeus

Newsletter: https://concertsthatmadeus.aweb.page/p/f065707b-2e34-4268-8e73-94f12bd2e938

If you would like to support the show you can do so by rating/reviewing us on Itunes and Spotify or by signing up at https://www.patreon.com/Concertsthatmadeus

Save 10% on Band Builder Academy membership by following this link https://bandbuilderacademy.com/Brian_Concerts/join and using promo code "concerts" at signup.

Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/concerts-that-made-us.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode Brian is joined by Jesse from Chokesetter.

Chokesetter formed in 2018 with a few old friends and longtime veterans from the local music scene in Northwest Indiana. Having played in notable separate bands for years, these gentlemen forged a path together that would form a heavy hitting band of crunchy riffs and smooth grooves.

Chokesetter combines several musical influences from Black Sabbath and Clutch all the way to Fu Manchu and passionately grind their wheelhouse in authentic feel-good rock-n-roll, stoner rock riffs and swing style blues. Chokesetter rises above the rest by being well seasoned and experienced in playing live to any kind of audience and making new fans wherever they play in any variation of lineup.

Each member of the band has played in front of audiences of all sorts for over 20 years giving them elevated experience in engaging the crowd regardless of being a support or a headlining act while presenting a professional and seasoned business attitude. All of the guys in the band would honestly say that they will never give up on their love for purely rocking out and working hard to manifest their long time dream of being on the big stage with the deep understanding that being in a band is a passion, a privilege, a relationship, a business, a commitment, and a wild ride with all the ups and downs and that no matter what, Chokesetter is in it to win it.

Tune in to hear all about:

The single Motorboater and WorldEater.

The history of the band.

Best and worst concert experiences.

And much much more.

Find Chokesetter here:

https://www.facebook.com/chokesetter

https://instagram.com/chokesetter?igshid=NmNmNjAwNzg=

https://open.spotify.com/artist/0Pa2xVvrYvI5WrRShGqxyJ?si=CVqp4thNTLu_wg8TBcBe1g

https://music.apple.com/us/artist/chokesetter/1554149208

https://youtu.be/oJDqHJKu_Kk

Find CTMU here:

https://linktr.ee/Concertsthatmadeus

Newsletter: https://concertsthatmadeus.aweb.page/p/f065707b-2e34-4268-8e73-94f12bd2e938

If you would like to support the show you can do so by rating/reviewing us on Itunes and Spotify or by signing up at https://www.patreon.com/Concertsthatmadeus

Save 10% on Band Builder Academy membership by following this link https://bandbuilderacademy.com/Brian_Concerts/join and using promo code "concerts" at signup.

Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/concerts-that-made-us.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.