Keeping The Motor Idling For An Extension Of The BY REQUEST TOUR With DIESEL

For a man who has been there and pretty much done it all in the Australian music industry, Mark Lizotte - or Diesel to his friends - is one hell of a humble guy.
First snapping necks with Johnny Diesel & The Injectors in the mid to late 1980s, the 90s saw Diesel launch a solo career that has seen his career progress in a steady trajectory that is a testament to the workman-like way in which he goes about his business. Singer, guitarist, producer and multi-instrumentalist, Diesel has mastered all aspects of his craft with a youthful exuberance and genuine love for music that is as infectious as it is rare.
After releasing his 17th studio album Bootleg Melancholy in 2023, Diesel could be forgiven for being a touch pickier about where, when and how he plays, but by talking to the man, you get the feeling such thoughts are barely a whisper in his subconsciousness. Instead, Diesel has spent much of this year on the road, culminating with his current By Request Tour, which sees fans and audience members choosing his nightly set list in a performance where it is guaranteed no two shows will be alike.
But rather than hang his guitar on the rack at the completion of this successful run of shows, Diesel recently announced his intentions to fire it back up again for round 2 early next year, with another 21 shows added from January through to April. And seeing how it is blatantly obvious Diesel doesn't know what to do with his spare time, HEAVY jumps at the chance to keep him busy by accepting the invitation to have a yarn about life on the road. We start by pointing out that he must be a glutton for punishment to basically turn straight back around and head out for another run of shows.
"I hope it's not punishment," Diesel laughed. "No, it's been really fun, I have to say. I've really enjoyed these ones. I think in the back of my mind, I was always like, well, if we're going to do regionals, let's do some cities too. Take it to the big smoke."
We get a bit cheeky and ask if the songs for each night's set list are 100% as voted by the fans, or if he sometimes takes liberties with what he feels like or doesn't feel like playing.
"I try to attach a person's story or name to every song," he smiled. "I've got the analytics come to me in a document, and it's all very… It's great, actually. They've got graphs of songs and which ones have been chosen, and I can see which ones are more popular than others on particular nights. It's a lot of information for me to digest. And along with that, I think the thing that is most usable and intangible are the comments that people write about why they want that song."
In the full interview, we ask Diesel if there have been many surprise requests, any that he has seen come up and cringed, and if he can see any trends between different eras of his career. We ask how he remembers so many songs on demand, the range of songs people can draw from, and the personal nature of these particular performances.
We look back on his career and ask Diesel if he ever has time to reflect on his achievements, next year's run, which starts in Tasmania and ends at the Sydney Opera House, the prestige of playing there, and more.

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