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,