“Mark Lizotte or Diesel is an American-born, Aussie-based roots rock guitarist and singer. He has spent decades cementing his status as one of Australia’s greatest music success stories. First turning heads with his first band, Johnny Diesel & the Injectors, Diesel soon launched a solo career in the 1990s, introducing the world to Diesel – and the rest truly was history. With multiple #1 albums, several ARIA Award wins, including three consecutive wins in 1993, 1994 and 1995, Diesel has remained both a chart staple and live fan-favourite over the years. From opening for Jimmy Barnes through to recording with the likes of Terry Manning (Joe Cocker, Fabulous Thunderbirds, ZZ Top), working as a producer and multi-instrumentalist, and balancing grittier blues rock territory with moments of soul, jazz and introspective lyricism throughout his solo career, Diesel most recently expanded on his powerful discography in 2023 via the release of his 17th studio album, Bootleg Melancholy, with the album praised for its lyrical cohesion, warmth and soaring pop hues.
Diesel is touring at the end of January around Australia, tickets are on now on sale, check them out before they sell out!
We chat about going solo, his love of music, flow state, performing sober, bad venues, the importance of listening, his new shows (out now), navigating success, touring plus plenty more!”
There are so many wonderful takeaways from this chat. I love how Diesel mentioned the concept of taking 10,000 hours to learn a skill, and how there is often no easy shortcut to mastering a skill or talent. When talking about playing the guitar, he explains that while it might look simple, it really is complex, and consistency is the key to getting there.
I think this message is so prominent for us because we live in a world where society can reward instant gratification, and while we all love an overnight success story, the reality is that there is no substitute for hard work and practice. This is a reminder to all of us that putting in the time even if we experience some setbacks, challenges and difficulties along the way. This hard work will almost always pay off in the long run, and it is this consistency that we can thank later.
Quotes:
“Good things take time, as they should. We shouldn’t expect good things to happen overnight. Actually, getting something too easily or too soon can cheapen the outcome,” John Wooden.
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