-By Kim Parnell-
On Saturday, September 19, Seafront Oval in Hervey Bay will be rocking when the Sounds of Rock Music Festival brings a stellar lineup of Aussie rock legends to town. And I, like many of you, can’t wait!
For my final interview before the event, I caught up with Australian musician Mark Lizotte, better known as Diesel, who will be taking to the stage.
Diesel has performed on the Fraser Coast many times and is always happy to return.
“I love The Esplanade in Hervey Bay. It’s one of my favourite runs. I also love to run out on the pier; I find it very grounding. I don’t have much time when I’m there, but I make the most of it.”
Diesel is almost always pictured with his guitar, but it wasn’t the first instrument he learned. That honour goes to the cello.
“As a youngster living in Arizona, I attended a public school with a string programme, something quite unusual in the US — and Australia.
“It was really just by chance that this school had funding. It was a brand-new school, so I was able to get an instrument and learn how to play.”
When the family returned to Australia, Mark continued playing cello in Western Australia and joined the WA Youth Symphony Orchestra, rehearsing every Saturday morning from around eight until 13.
At 14, he got his first guitar, and by 15 or 16 he was playing in bands and pubs.
“I had dexterity with my hands from the cello, so another string instrument was manageable. But I didn’t really know what I was doing technically. I use my ear.”
Looking back, Mark says his successful music career was both a surprise and inevitable, because it was all he ever wanted.
“I kind of had an epiphany one day and it just hit me. I was like, ‘I know what I’m going to do. I’m going to do music; it’s going to be my thing. I’m not just going to do something I love; I’m going to make it my life.’
“As a child, I was completely obsessed with music. I would draw pictures all the time of people on stage. I loved drawing pictures of gear and stages and amps and drums and guitars. I feel like I just pretty much drew myself into that picture, then I just made that picture a reality. They call it creative visualisation.”
Fast forward to today and Diesel has won six ARIA Awards, including three consecutive Best Male Artist awards, and has released 16 albums.
His 16th studio album, Bootleg Melancholy, was born during the COVID lockdowns. Mark had been coming off Sunset Suburbia, an album he never got to tour because the pandemic cancelled the planned dates.
“I had to get in the right mind frame to move on, so I made a blues record. I played all the instruments on it and made it sound like it was a band, but it was basically just me doing everything.”
Recorded in Mark’s home studio, Bootleg Melancholy explores family, childhood, dreams, travel and memories.
The album became a form of “armchair travelling” during a time when nobody could travel.
“There was a lot of lamenting, a lot of looking back fondly. Melancholy is definitely a theme through the album.
“I was blessed, though. I had a studio, and family with us, we had some really fun times. For some people it was not good at all, especially those living on their own.
“It was great to finally get back on the stage.”
Still, Mark remains fascinated by songwriting.
“I wouldn’t say I’m looking for it, but it just presents itself. A lot of times it’s when I’m asleep. I dream an idea and have to wake up and record it somehow so I can go back to sleep.
“I just know I’ll never get sick of it. Sometimes I pick up a guitar or whatever instrument it is and my hands just go somewhere, and you go, ‘Oh, what’s that?’ Then you follow the strings.”
When Mark steps off stage, his life is surprisingly low-key.
“I like pottering around the house, domestic chores. I love putting a load of laundry on — it’s sort of cathartic!”
He likes to retreat home, get into the kitchen, put music on and read The New Yorker.
But beneath the laid-back lifestyle, Mark says anxiety is something he manages regularly — something many people can relate to.
“I have anxiety that’s kind of just there all the time, to some degree, but I manage it and have my methods.”
For Mark, understanding what his body is telling him has become an important part of managing it.
“Once you start understanding the chemicals that are involved in your body — the adrenaline, the cortisol, these things that are just part of your makeup — once you understand what’s happening and why it’s happening, you can work out what works and what doesn’t.”
He believes lifestyle can play a role too, including sleep, exercise, diet and time in nature.
“When was the last time you connected with nature? When was the last time you just went and looked at something green?” he asks. “The trees on this planet, as well as being beautiful, are actually therapeutic.”
Mark runs, cycles or walks almost every day, finding physical activity helps reconnect his mind and body.
“I’m a very cerebral person and I need to remind myself that I have a body and I’m not just this head that’s thinking, thinking, thinking,” he laughs.
“Connecting with my body really grounds me. Sometimes I just have a rest. My body says, ‘You need to rest today.’ It’s just listening to your body.”
But he is quick to point out that anxiety isn’t something everyone can simply exercise or meditate away.
“If you need help, speak out. I’m not one of these people that thinks everything can just be fixed by going on a bushwalk or doing some yoga. Some people are chemically imbalanced and need help. They actually need scientific medical help, and I totally subscribe to that.”
For someone who spends much of his life performing in front of thousands, Mark’s openness about anxiety is a reminder that even confident performers can have a very different internal experience.
Ahead of the festival, Mark’s rider is refreshingly practical: honey, lemons, a kettle, water, soy milk, hummus and vegetables.
“The kettle is paramount because I need boiling water to really break down my honey and lemon and make it into almost a marinade.”
When Diesel and his band perform, audiences can expect a little bit of everything.
“We try to do all the facets that I have in my music — blues, soul, pop, funk and rock. I don’t like to go out and play one flavour because I’ve got a lot of things going on in my music. I just give them a smorgasbord of flavours.
“It will be high energy. My band and I have been together quite a while now. We have a language, and when we get on stage it just clicks.
“I really love playing with my band. It’s a real thrill and I’m so blessed that they’ve been with me for so long. We’re brothers.”
The festival lineup also includes:
Pete Murray
The Screaming Jets
Joe Camilleri
Toni Childs
Pseudo Echo
Richard Clapton
1927
Limited tickets remain: www.soundsofrockfestival.com.au.
Cover image: Diesel – Photo credit Jesse Lizotte
