Diesel

Under the Diesel moniker, roots rock guitarist and singer Mark Lizotte, born in America, rose to prominence as one of Australia’s top-selling and most-honored recording artists during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Following the achievements of his initial group Johnny Diesel & the Injectors, he started a solo path in 1992 under the simplified billing Diesel, which produced the consecutive chart-topping releases Hepfidelity and The Lobbyist plus three successive ARIA Awards. Following a short return to the U.S. during the late ’90s, he reestablished his solo momentum throughout the 2000s via raw blues-rock efforts such as 2006’s Coathanger Antennae and 2008’s Days Like These. Into the 2010s Diesel stayed a consistent chart presence, reaching another career peak with 2016’s Americana.

Massachusetts native Lizotte reached Perth during childhood after his wandering father, saxophonist Hank Lizotte, concluded travels across America and the family established roots in Western Australia. Music formed a constant household presence, and while his siblings pursued teaching careers in the field, Lizotte joined bands and traveled from Perth to Sydney in 1986 to record alongside Innocent Bystanders. He departed to establish his own ensemble Johnny Diesel & the Injectors in June 1986, adopting the Johnny Diesel identity after earning the Diesel nickname through a petrol-pumping job. The outfit’s fusion of Southern rock, soul, and R&B together with Diesel’s skilled guitar work swiftly built a solid live reputation, prompting a September 1987 relocation to Sydney. Almost at once Diesel received an invitation to join Jimmy Barnes’ band, handling the opening slot on the Freight Train Heart tour with the Injectors serving as support and later contributing guitar to the Barnes headlining lineup. Chrysalis granted the group a worldwide recording deal, and they captured their self-titled debut album in Memphis under Terry Manning (Joe Cocker, Fabulous Thunderbirds, ZZ Top); the 1989 release climbed to number two on the ARIA charts and spawned multiple Top Ten singles such as “Don’t Need Love” and “Soul Revival.”

After four years and a London-recorded mini-album captured live, the Injectors disbanded in 1991, prompting Johnny Diesel to continue simply as Diesel the solo performer. His March 1992 album Hepfidelity shifted emphasis toward rock-funk and soul, attained the number-one position in Australia, and secured ARIA honors for Best Album and Best Male Artist. The following year brought The Lobbyist, an album of fresh material alongside reworked tracks from the prior release that likewise reached number one, after which he delivered the polished and entirely new Solid State Rhyme in 1994, earning his third consecutive ARIA Award for Best Male Artist. The raw blues project Short Cool Ones, recorded with Melbourne harmonica player and bluesman Chris Wilson, surfaced in 1996; Diesel then entered a period of inactivity, relocating his family and career to America. The compilation Rewind: The Best of Diesel gathered highlights from his solo years and maintained visibility during his New York residency.

Reemerging on Mammoth Records, Lizotte issued 1999’s Soul Lost Companion under his given name with Talking Heads member Jerry Harrison serving as producer. Both the name usage and U.S. stay proved brief, leading Lizotte back to Australia in 2002 where he resumed recording as Diesel and released the album Hear later that year. The next pair of projects comprised retrospectives: the live DVD set The First Fifteen ’89-’04 Live, captured at Sydney’s Metro Theatre, and the studio album Singled Out presenting acoustic versions of earlier material, both issued in 2004. Lizotte sustained his longstanding connection with Jimmy Barnes, appearing once more on the 2005 release Double Happiness. Returning to fresh output, he delivered the direct and unrefined Coathanger Antennae in 2006, captured largely live straight to tape, followed by the somewhat smoother Days Like These in 2008. Remaining a sought-after guitarist, he joined Dweezil Zappa’s band as a guest for multiple Australian dates on the 2009 Zappa Plays Zappa tour. Later that year he unveiled the horn-rich blues album Project Blues: Saturday Suffering Fools, featuring contributions from his father Hank along with brothers Mike and Brian Lizotte.

In 2011 he issued both the live collection Greatest Hits Live and the studio album Under the Influence, the latter featuring reinterpretations of material by figures such as Jimi Hendrix and Neil Young alongside several original instrumentals. Another hits package, You Get There from Here, arrived in 2012, the same year Lizotte supplied music for the six-part miniseries Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms. His eleventh solo album, 2013’s Let It Fly, wove together roots, blues, and folk strands, a direction continued on 2016’s Americana, which peaked at number 15 on the ARIA chart. Marking three decades in music, Lizotte released the career-spanning anthology 30: The Greatest Hits in 2018 together with an extensive national tour.