It’s difficult to comprehend that Diesel has been a prominent name in the Australian music scene for over thirty years now. With six ARIA’s to his name, Mark Lizotte, that ever youthful Sydney based singer songwriter, has been busy steadily drip-feeding his fans with new music over the past twelve months or so, firstly by dropping his ‘Sunset Suburbia Vol.1’ EP back in August 2019 and following that up with the ‘Sunset Suburbia Vol.2’ EP in November, both of which culminated in eight new songs for our listening pleasure.
August 28 sees the release of the ‘Sunset Suburbia’ album through Bloodlines and features a total of ten original tracks, four of which are from the previous two EPs with six new compositions for us to sink out teeth into. The Rockpit managed to garner some quality talk time with Mark, as he was counting down the days to album release day, which is his first original full-length album since 2013’s ‘Let it Fly’. Songwriting techniques, the exhilaration of playing live and how impressed he was of WA’s very own Freo Social Club were just some of the things we discussed…
Sean: Hi Mark, it’s Sean from The Rockpit over in Perth.
Diesel: Hey, how are ya?
Sean: Good thanks. How are you doing?
Diesel: I’m doing ok.
Sean: Well, I must start by saying congratulations on the new album. You must be so proud.
Diesel: Yes, it’s been a while since I actually listened to it but yes, I am. I was happy I think around March when I started finishing the last bits and pieces on it. There’s been a lot of distractions since then [laughs]. It was sitting with me rather nicely so I’m pretty happy.
Sean: It’s been quite a refreshingly different way to release it, what with the two EPs preceding the album because that means there has been so much new material.
Diesel: Yes, kind of a slow release.
Sean: Almost like drip feeding the fans, which has been great.
Diesel: Yeah, drip feeding. Exactly. It also gave me more time to germinate more ideas and stuff instead of signing on to make an album straight away. Ok, an album always feels like such an epic sort of a… unless of course you make a live record or on old records when I’ve done it in two weeks…Bang. That sort of thing. An album of new material. I was like, “Oh God. Can we just start with some EPs first?” [laughs]
Sean: [laughs] Breaking yourself back into it gently?
Diesel: [laughs] Well yeah, exactly. I had lots of ideas and stuff but I didn’t have any demos. I got kind of… well you know, you can record so easily on your phone now. The process used to be that the artist had a home studio and you would use that to make a demo and then at some point the record company would give you this budget and then you would go and make the record but now because nearly every artist has a studio, I’ve collected skills from, you know, the late 80’s working with producers & engineers and I’ve got thirty years of this skill set now and I’m a producer & engineer myself, you know so the idea of making a demo is like, “what?” But when people come to me, I encourage them to make the roughest demo possible you know. Don’t give me something that sounds like a record, just give me the song really raw. I find most people do that now. They rarely do those ad-hock demos like you used to hear with an awful drum machine and those slapped down parts that you can tell were done in ten minutes.
Sean: They are the demos that are worth a fortune when they get uncovered [laughs]
Diesel: Yeah, totally. There’s a real demo-itis thing too which you can avoid by just not making a demo. Just make the record because sometimes inadvertently you make this shitty demo and it’s got this vibe to it and people end up chasing their tail and go, “There is something on this demo.” Well use the fucking demo then! [laughs] In some cases that’s what they’ve ended up doing. Coldplay’s first album for instance, that’s all the demos like with some enhancements and they did a few bits & bobs but they then actually made that whole record properly and then went, “Nah, we hate this” and went back to the demos [laughs]
Sean: Wow, I didn’t know that.
Diesel: Yes, so that was a classic case of do it properly and then everyone agreed, “You know what? The demos. We had it already!” They were a little bit more low-fi, but they just had the vibe.
Sean: So, did you get a bit impatient because originally there was going to be three EPs released and then an album, but you only ended up putting out the two EPs [laughs].
Diesel: Yeah, the third EP just ended up becoming part of the album because we realized that it was going to start competing with itself and we looked at the timeline and thought, “No, that doesn’t make sense, you know.” Then add to that the COVID carbuncle so I was just like, “You know what…” and I’ve now got some tracks there in the vault now that I will probably use as extras at some point, but I decided to just leave it at two and focus on the album now.
Sean: There are plenty of different styles through the album and the EPs as well. I even got a bit of a Don Henley/Eagles kind of vibe from ‘In Reverse’.
Diesel: Look, jeez he’s one of the most amazing songwriters ever when you say that name. There is a bit of a… it’s got that melancholy thing which I imagine you’re hearing which reminds you of… you know, he manages to get this incredible melancholy in his melodies. I was kind of going for… I don’t know what I was going for there – People have said War on Drugs and all kinds of things. Echo & The Bunnymen someone said [laughs] and I was like, “Ok”. It’s really driven by the bass. The guitar sort of floats on top so it’s a real bass & drums driven song, which is cool. I sort of wrote it on bass, so it makes sense.
Sean: How much material do you write to create something like these releases? I imagine you must have written quite a few.
Diesel: The thing is, I kind of had four rough ideas in my head that were literally in my head, banging away and I would basically grab a guitar or a bass and put like a rough down and it was just my drummer & I and our engineer, so I was sort of playing bass & guitar and we’d be like, “Yeah that arrangement feels pretty good. Let’s work from that.” We might make some changes later like chop that bit because it’s too long or this bit needs to be longer but basically get a vibe going so that the sooner I could get the bass on… the MO was like, Ok let’s get a shitty guitar & vocal down, might have some words, I’ve got a melody, got this & got that, got two parts, OK get in there and bang some drums then I’d pick up the bass and that’s when it would start to sound like something. Then we would wrangle the skeletal system of the groove and that’s almost the most important thing – finding that pocket and finding where it wants to live, tempo wise & stuff and that proved to be a pretty good process… a sketch and then start banging away and laying bricks basically. Laying bricks within an hour of the song being kind of born, I guess.
Once you kind of start rolling and you have studio time booked and got people coming, ok three to four days… I felt kind of like a schoolteacher. Each night I would be like, “I need something for tomorrow. I need to listen to that idea I put down two months ago or two weeks ago or two days ago.” I’d be like, “That sound like something there. I’ll stretch that out & elaborate on that.” By the next morning I may have two or three ideas that I can present to the class [laughs]. I was just basically making it up each day but that became the norm instead of being prepared with sixteen songs and saying, “We are going to record these and they are all finished demos with lyrics and these are the shitty versions and now we are going to make good versions” which is all very calculated, so it became more of a construction pit, you know? I think when you have got the experience that myself, my drummer and my engineer have, we’ve all made a lot of records between us… and I’ve heard stories of people writing & making albums in the studio and you think that sounds exciting so I always wanted to try it and it’s something that I will definitely do more of because it feels exciting, you know. One minute there is nothing and the next you’re listening to a song through the speakers and then it becomes, “Ok, what does this song want to say?” It’s kind of like a puzzle and once you let things come in it’s your responsibility I guess and then there is the excitement to make this thing valid and have a reason to be here.
Sean: As a song writer who has now been in the industry for over three decades, do you find your influences have changed a great deal or are you still going back to the influences from your father’s record collection?
Diesel: Look, there are such strong influences like watching that movie the other night ‘Echo & The Canyon’ which is about all that West Coast music which was a big influence on me living in Arizona for those three or four years, listening to FM Rock stations in Arizona. You know it really brought a lot home and that, along with my dad’s Jazz collection & the Blues that I grew up with, that made me who I am to a large degree and then the rest is coming to Australia and being influenced by a lot of English music which I probably wouldn’t have gotten to hear if I had stayed in Arizona. I’d have probably got maybe Depeche Mode and The Clash because they became massive bands in America in the 80’s but I think the Anglo sort of British element really kicked in here in Australia.
One of the great things about growing up here was that the connection with the English scene and the American scene was very strong, you know. I feel there was very strong influences from both sides of the Atlantic here and then we turned it into this hybrid thing ourselves. That’s what gives the Australian music it’s distinct thing. It’s not particularly completely just English influences and it’s not just completely just American influences when it comes to… it’s influences from all over and it’s great seeing now more than ever the Indigenous culture rise from our influence and bring their sixty thousand years of music history into the light and now we finally have our own Australian culture
Sean: As you can tell from my accent I’m from the UK originally and have been here ten years now but I remember years ago before I moved here, when I would go back to the UK after a holiday here I would say it was some of the best elements of the UK & of American rolled into one.
Diesel: Yeah, it kind of is. Some might say, “Isn’t that Canada?” [laughs]
Sean: Too cold in Canada [laughs].
Diesel: [laughs] Yeah.
Sean: I managed to see you live twice last year and they were two very different shows; The first was at the Red Hot Summer Tour out at Sandalford’s Winery where I think everyone just melted that day. You had your full band and there was a ten thousand sell out crowd but then I also got to see you at Freo Social Club with just you and your guitar for a much more stripped back and personal show. I wanted to ask what is more intimidating for you? Just you and your guitar in a four-hundred-person venue or standing out there with your full band in front of ten thousand?
Diesel: You know, both are exhilarating. There’s definitely another level of… of kind of stress, I think is the word. It’s mostly just that at those gigs because it’s such a big stage. I don’t have time to kind of fuss around with my gear and generally with those gigs you get put on and, the crew are fantastic of course, you go on and its like, “Well, lets see what happens today!” [laughs] and you hope for the best. You don’t want the crowd to know that “Damn, I can’t hear the bass player” or “I can’t hear the high hat” and also, you’re spread out more than you usually are. There are all those factors, but you just get to get up there and kick arse. There’s that sort of stress but its worth it because its like your riding a big wave as opposed to like a six-foot wave. You’re riding a frickin’ fifty-foot wave and it’s just so exhilarating.
Having said that a gig like that Freo Social Club, I remember that one in particular, the one that you saw, that was one of the best gigs of the tour. I went away feeling that was probably the magic moment of that tour for me because the sound of the room, the crowd was so responsive that night, it just felt like a bath tub I had gotten into that was at the perfect temperature, I’m so comfortable, I feel that I want to be here not for just an hour or two hours but I want to be here a whole week. Talk about ticking all the boxes, that really ticked it for me. That whole venue, I have to say, from the minute you walk in the door, the whole experience before you even do the gig it feels like someone really thought about this to make it a good experience. You know, happy band, happy punter.
Sean: It’s got such a great vibe in there and the sound is fantastic.
Diesel: And even the backstage area, just everything is like… even down to a thing on the wall with the wi-fi code. It’s like, “Oh God, someone’s even fucking thought of that shit.” [laughs]
Sean: Well, I went to the gig with a mate who had seen you before and he was blown away by that stripped performance. It was an incredible night. I even copped one of your guitar picks in my pint glass [laughs].
Diesel: At least it wasn’t your eye socket [laughs] It’s fun because it gives me a lot of space to explore the guitar, that’s what I find when I’m doing those shows. Its not always pretty. If I have a really rowdy crowd and I can say without a doubt, it all depends on what time of the night I go on stage and this is a conversation I have with my tour manager and my agent all the time. The later I go on as a solo artist the harder it is going to be from me. I like challenges but when I’m dealing with people’s alcohol content in their body and tiredness it’s just not fun. Nine o’clock, perfect. Eight-thirty, even better. In Japan I do that show at like seven p.m. which is the normal time in Japan, sometimes even earlier but that’s the culture.
With the whole COVID restrictions, well at least in New South Wales now, there are some little shows that are happening, and people are doing two shows: one early and one late. It’s actually gone back to the sixties where no one would do one show. It was like, “Why would you do one show when you can do two or three?” That was the whole mentality. You do as many shows as you can on the day. And then Australia turns into this culture of, and it was probably the same in the UK too, you do multiple shows. They started early and went into the night. And then it turned into this one band, one night and everyone comes to the venue and be there for eight hours and drink the whole time so they make the money on the bar – that’s a different way of monetizing people coming into a room but people are restructuring the whole thing now and its actually not a bad thing to have people come in and out and then another crowd come in.
Sean: And more people get to see and enjoy the experience.
Diesel: Yes, exactly.
Sean: I’ve just realized I’ve run out of time, Mark but I have one question I would love to end with.
Diesel: Yes, sure.
Sean: If you could be credited with writing any song ever written, what song would you choose?
Diesel: [laughs] Oh, mate. Jeez… probably ‘Someday We’ll All Be Free’ by Donny Hathaway.
Sean: A new song to my list. Nice
Diesel: Oh man… the chords. Donny Hathaway gives me goosebumps just thinking about his stuff. The mere thought of that song… yeah. Amazing.
Sean: I’d just like to thank you for your time and also wish you all the best with ‘Sunset Suburbia’. The title track at the end is certainly a case of saving the best till last. That’s my favorite on the album.
Diesel: [laughs] Yeah, it’s got some stinky, dirty bass on that one, I can tell you that. I was supposed to replace it with a bass that had clean & dirty and then I thought, “Nah, just leave it – the dirt.” [laughs]
Sean: Brilliant. All the best with everything and hope to see you back on the road as soon as possible once everything settles down.
Diesel: No worries. Give my love to everybody in WA.
Sean: Will do. Thanks mate.
Diesel: Alright buddy. Bye
