INTERVIEW: Timeless Style With Rock Legend Diesel

By Benjamen Judd

Too often, my fellow men tend to let themselves go as they get older. We start to turn a blind eye to the small details that make the difference between slob and suave.

But the reality is, good style, like good wine, should only ever get better with age.

You learn what works for you, get better at editing the wheat from the chaff when it comes to trends and you’re overall more comfortable in your own skin.

Which is something that iconic Australian musician Mark ‘Diesel’ Lizotte knows a little something about.

With a career that spans over twenty years and includes thirteen albums, Diesel is an example of how true style remains ageless.

Ahead of his latest national tour, the Amplified: Electric Band Tour hitting the road in May, we sat down to chat with Diesel to discuss his approach style and discuss his upcoming tour.

Thanks for taking the time to sit down and chat, Diesel. How would you describe your own personal style?

Minimalist with a few details thrown in. I’ve ‘been around the block’ having started in the music business at a young age in post-punk times. I was later compelled to have my own ‘personal 70’s’ in the 90’s’ having missed it by being too young the first time around.

I’m pretty sure if I were in any other career my boss would have pulled me aside! Nevertheless, I had fun but the experience has made me somewhat conservative. Basically I steal elements I like from other cultures, usually the most wearable, practical aspects like skate culture, for example, for their great selection of trainers.

Are there any men that you find particularly inspiring when it comes to personal style or fashion?

My friend Gary Saunders who works in PR, he’s worked in the fashion biz for a long time but has somehow managed to not be affected by it. He always dresses in great muted tones with just enough detail.

When it comes to doing what I do on stage, I always think of what B.B. King said – “dress for a gig like you are going to see the Bank Manager for a loan”. I really love the way the Blues legends like John Lee Hooker, Lead Belly and Muddy Waters dressed – if I can grow old with that aesthetic, I’ll be doing okay.

What advice would you give your fellow men when it comes to style?

I see a lot of men wearing ill-fitting clothes, the “it used to fit me” t-shirt being the most common. When it comes to fit, close enough is not good enough. I think everyone is entitled to wear what they feel good in, just make sure it bloody fits!

Your latest tour, Amplified: The Electric Band Tour is about to begin. What can fans expect from you in your latest tour?

A show that is maybe a little less apologetic but still dynamic, I like to mix it up when it comes to basic elements, feels, grooves etc…

You’ve been known as an acoustic artist for a while now – what inspired you to return to electric?

The acoustic thing happened almost by accident around 2005 when I started doing a small solo show weekly at the Sando in Newtown, Sydney. I actually didn’t even own an acoustic guitar when I started out, not because I didn’t want one, it was just that an electric was all I had at a time when moving house meant putting all my possessions in two garbage bags and calling a cab.

Is this return to rock something we can expect on the next studio album?

Recordings start out sometimes with the intention of being more acoustic, inevitably I start turning those ideas into electric guitar, there is something about the alchemy of a guitar and an amp that I find irresistible, it’s the struggle to get the Two elements to “play together” that I must like.

Diesel’s Amplified: The Electric Band Tour will hit the road this May, including performance at Newtown Social Club on May 9 .

http://dieselmusic.com.au/