Mottau was part of the folk duo Two Guys from Boston, with Joe Hutchinson and recorded "Come on Betty Home" and "Shimmy Like My Sister Kate" for
Scepter Records released in 1964. The duo moved to
Greenwich Village shortly after the release of the single and were regular performers at
The Gaslight Cafe,
The Bitter End, Gertie's Folk City, and the Cafe Wha. The Duo then formed a band called
Bo Grumpus which included drummer Norman Smart, formally of Mountain and Jim Colegrove, of Great Speckled Bird, on Bass Guitar. Bo Grumpus recorded an album titled
Before the War, which was produced by
Felix Pappalardi for
Atlantic Records. The band then became Joliver Arkansaw and released an album titled
Home in 1969 for
Bell Records that was also produced by Pappalardi. In 1971, Mottau was invited to join bassist/producer Jim Mason, producer of the bands Poco and Orleans, to play guitar and co-produce the first solo album of
Paul Stookey, best known as a member of
Peter, Paul and Mary. Mottau's first solo album,
No Turning Around, was released in 1973 on
MCA Records. The album was produced by Stookey, and featured jazz great
Jerry Mulligan.
No Turning Around was re -released by MCA Records in Japan in 2001. Mottau collaborated and played guitar on
John Lennon's albums
Walls and Bridges,
Some Time in New York City, and ''
Rock 'n' Roll''. joining the Lennon all star band, including Jim Keltner, Klaus Voorman, Jesse Ed Davis, and Kenny Asher. Mottau was awarded a gold record for his contribution on the "walls and Bridges album, which charted at #1 with "Whatever Gets You Through the Night". Mottau went on tour with Lennon and
Yoko Ono appearing at the
Attica State concert at the
Apollo Theater in New York City and the
John Sinclair Freedom Rally in
Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1971.He appeared with Lennon and Ono on the Dick Cavett show in 1971 and 1972. Mottau's next solo album,
No Moulding, was released in 1977 by Neworld.
No Moulding was re-released in digitized format in the fall of 2020. In 2004, he recorded a record as a member of the trio Mottau, Drew & Clark, with bass player, singer-songwriter Jimmy Clark, and drummer and percussionist Bob Drew, producing the album
Dance for Love. He produced an album titled Converstions by singer, songwriter Wendy Keith in 2008 On October 1, 2020, Mottau, Drew & Clark released a new album titled
Revelation/Revolution. In 2022 Mottau co produced "FAZ NOW AND THEN" for
Paul Stookey == Personal life ==