Motion Potion

Background

Kowal was born in Boston, Massachusetts.

Career

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 his current base of 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 San Francisco 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, North Beach Jazz, Festival of the Golden Gate and Mojito Café.

Motion Potion tours frequently, and from 2002 to 2004 was the first and only DJ at Bonnaroo.

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. The San Francisco Weekly has called MoPo "the godfather of the silent disco," while SFist called him "one of the nation’s foremost purveyors of the "Silent Disco" concept." He periodically produces music, and in 2008 he released a series of three EPs titled Electric Nostalgia Volume

1-3. In 2014, MoPo announced an upcoming Radiohead-themed European Parliament.

The following is a list of selected notable appearances by Motion Potion as a DJ:

New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (2000, 2001, 2003, etc)

San Francisco Funk Festival (2000-2004, 2008, etc)

High Sierra Music Festival (2000, 2001, 2002, 2012, 2013)

Berkshire Mountain Music Festival (2001, 2002, 2003, etc)

North Beach Jazz Fest (2001, 2003, etc) - produced 2003, 2007

Gathering of the Vibes (2001, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014)

Bonnaroo Music Festival (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011)

Burning Manitoba Festival (2004, 2005, 2007, 2008)

Jamcruise II (2004)

Exotic Erotic Ball (2004, 2005) - host and DJ

Noise People’s Festival (2006)

Vegoose Festival (2006, 2007)

Rothbury/Electric Forest Festival (2008, 2013, 2014)

Camp Bisco (2009, 2011, 2012)

Lightning in a Bottle (2009, 2013, 2014)

Treasure Island Music Festival (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014)

Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014)

Metallica XXX (2011)

Sonic Bloom (2012, 2014)

Earthdance (2012)

Panic en la Playa (2013, 2014)

Mayan Holidaze (2014).

Achievements

• He is a board member of the California Music and Culture Association and founder of the San Francisco Outdoor Events Coalition.