|
|
Diesel / Mark Lizotte
Under
the name Diesel American born guitarist/singer Mark Lizotte became one of
the biggest selling and most awarded Australian recording artists of the
late 80s/early 90s. He arrived in Perth as a child when the travels of his
itinerant saxophone playing father exhausted America and the family settled
in Western Australia. Mark always contended that he grew up with musical
instruments in his playbox. No instrument intimidated him, but it was the
electric guitar which excited him. While his siblings gravitated towards
music as teachers, Mark started playing in bands such as The Kind, Innocent
Bystanders and Close Action. It was with Innocent Bystanders he made his
recording debut, and his first taste of the national music scene when the
band made the long trek from Perth to Sydney in 1986 to record their second single.
In June
1988 Lizotte and members of Innocent Bystanders formed a new group, Johnny
Diesel and The Injectors. There are two versions of how Mark turned into
Johnny Diesel. One version says it came from a nickname after a stint of
pumping petrol. Another says the name was derived from bassist John
Dalzell's. Whatever, from then on Mark Lizotte became Johnny Diesel. The
group's blend of Southern rock soul and r&b, plus Diesel's adept guitar
playing and pop star looks quickly earned the band a strong reputation on
stage, and in September 1987 they relocated to Sydney under the guidance of
Angels drummer and manager Brent Eccles. Their impact was so immediate and so
strong, one of the people attracted to check out what the buzz was about
was Jimmy Barnes' wife Jane. She passed the word to Jimmy who was looking
for musicians with which to tour his 'Freight Train Heart' album. Diesel
was offered a place in Jimmy Barnes' band, playing the opening slot on the
tour with the Injectors as support act, and then joining the headlining
Barnes band on guitar. His group was signed to a worldwide recording
contract by Chrysalis and recorded a self-titled debut album in Memphis with
American Terry Manning, who had also recorded the Angels.
After
four years and a mini-album recorded live in London the Injectors broke up,
and Johnny Diesel became Diesel, solo artist. His March 1992 'Hep Fidelity'
album shifted the musical ground to rock-funk and soul, reached the
national #1 spot and earned him awards for Best Album and Best Male Artist
at the annual ARIA awards. From here a restlessness seemed to overcome
Diesel, as if he felt everything should be possible but a certain 'thing' was
expected of him. He released an album of new songs and reworkings of songs
from the previous album - 'The Lobbyist' - and finally got down to business
on 1994's sophisticated 'Solid State Rhyme'. But his heart seemed much more
in the raw blues album 'Short Cool Ones' he made with Melbourne bluesman
and harmonica player Chris Wilson.
Diesel
ended up packing up his career and recently accumlated young family to
relocated to America. Nothing was heard from him until October 1997 when he
reappeared with 'Lost Soul Companion', released under his given name, Mark
Lizotte. Every live encounter confirms a musician and songwriter of immense
natural talent. In 2006 Diesel took his touring band of several years into
the studio for the self-financed 'Coathanger Antennae,' that musician and
songwriter again at the peak of his powers, simply in love with the
creation and making of music. He'd stopped "over thinking" his
music. No more demos. Just getting on with it
Exploring
all the possibilities now at his disposal 2008's 'Days Like These' was
largely recorded at home, straight to computer, moving into bigger studios
if required, with several of the songs growing out of jams with his band.
'Project Blues: Saturday Suffering Fools' was another tribute to the blues
ala 'Short Cool Ones', this time enlisting former 'Injector' Bernie
Bremond, plus his father Hank and brothers Mike and Brian Lizotte on horns,
with his regular drummer Lee Moloney and bassist Richie Vez anchoring
proceedings,
2011’s
‘7 Axes’ EP put the focus on Diesel the guitarist. In July of that year he
celebrated 30 years under the ‘Diesel’ name with ‘Under The influence”, 15
tracks retracing the music of his heroes in music - Jimi Hendrix, Neil
Young, 50s R&b, and so forth.
|
|
