Color Of Your Eyes

A Brief History for the Listener by Josh Mottley I was born on November 9th, 1972. On my tenth birthday I received my first guitar. Two years later, I started my first band. Since then I spent 28 years playing thousands of shows. I spent countless hours writing and recording with bands such as Nowhere Dreamer, Venus Butterfly, Poet's Moon, Buddha Stick, Outta Body, Wild Angels Band, and Speeding Slow. In August of 2008, after years of tireless work, I grew disillusioned with the music industry. I put the final touches on my 39th album, Speeding Slow's New Morning, turned off the lights and sold everything I owned. I said goodbye to the only life I had ever known... On the night of December 13th, 2012, I awoke to a terrible pain in my abdomen. As I was rushed to the hospital, I slipped in and out of consciousness. I have vague recollections of that terrible night: the bumpy ambulance ride to the hospital, the tight gurney, the rush of surgeons hustling around me, and a nurse slipping a mask over my face, saying count back from ten to one. As I counted ten, nine, eight, seven, six, the anesthesia overcame me. I left the chaotic reality behind and I started to dream. This album is the story of what I saw and heard, note for note, during that life-altering surgery. I was standing in the sand, near the Ocean at Dawn. Dawn at the ocean's shore, sunlight beams through scattered clouds as it highlights the waves that ripple up to my bare feet, planted in the cool wet sand. A breeze comes off the water, refreshing my face, smelling of seaweed and salt. The cacophony of seagulls and terns slowly fades into the distant background as a growing swell of beautiful music surrounds me, creating a wonderful aural cocoon, an envelope of comforting sounds that stirs answers to my questions. Who am I?, How did I get here? and What's next for me? * * * I would like to thank God for this 53-minute gift, Jim Tessier for believing, Jed Mottley and Feed the Kitty, Jessica, Carol, Amorist, Wagner, and Dad. This record is dedicated to Mom. RIP. - J.M.