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Keeping The Motor Idling For An Extension Of The BY REQUEST TOUR With DIESEL · HEAVY Music Interviews

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: The Diesel on heavy I'm beautiful Diesel, thanks for joining
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: us in day brother. So mate, yeah, you're a dead
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: set glutton for punishment because like, following the sci your
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: current fifteen date by a request to are, you've decided
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: to book even more between January and April next year,
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: and that's on a further twenty one shows.
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: I hope it's not like punishment, but yeah, no, it's been.
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: It's been really really fun. I have to say I
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: really enjoyed these ones, and I think, yeah, in the
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: back of my mind, it was always like, well, I'm
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: going to do regionals. Let's do some cities too, you know,
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: take it to the to the big smokes.
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: It's a great concept, bro, Like you've got fans curating
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: your set list every night, but a fair deacon isn't
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: made like the band's just pick a couple of songs
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: out of what's sent in and right the rest of
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: themselves or is it one hundred percent every night in
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: order what the fans asked for?
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: Well, I try to like attach a person's story or
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: name to every song, and yeah, I got like the
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: analyticals come to me and in a document and it's
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: all like it's all very like it's great. Actually, they've
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: got graphs of like songs, you know, like which have
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: been which would have been, which ones have been chosen?
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: And I can see which ones are you know, more
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: popular than others on particular nights. It's all like a
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: lot of information for me to digest. And along with that,
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: I think the thing that is most kind of you know,
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: usable and tangible are the comments that people write about
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: why they want that song. That's the thing that like
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: gets in my heart and like it's like, okay, that
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: that's a really cool story. I'm going to you know,
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: dedicate that song to that person. I'm not gonna lie,
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: you know, like if you want to win me over,
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: that's how you do it. Yeah.
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: Nice, nice, And how like you wouldn't have you wouldn't
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: have closed yet for next year's too, or so how
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: do people actually get involved in the process.
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: Yeah, with the ticket process, they they get the ticket
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: and then there'll be an email that comes to them
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: and that directs them to two this platform or survey
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: which basically they fill in. It's like which song do
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: you want? Which song? Which cover song do you want?
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: Because I've given them a choice of covers as well,
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: and then a comment you know, there's still like pretty easy.
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: It's shouldn't be too hard. It's not like a driving
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: test or anything. And yeah, that's that's it. It's really
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: simple by buying, by purchasing a ticket, that that's they
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: get the notification of being able to like do the
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: song choice thing.
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: Yes, right, people can ask the songs from your entire career,
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: from the Johnny des from the Ejectives here right through
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: the bootleg Melancholy. But do you find that there's a
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: bias towards one era at all with the selections or
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: does it very No.
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: It's really really quite spread. I have to say, I'm
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: really I'm surprised that they knows many nooks and crannies
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: like I I know that these are the people that
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: take the time, are you know, they're definitely in that
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: super fan type league. And the ones that haven't, you know,
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: I'm not. It's that's totally fine too. I don't think
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: everybody that buys a ticket, you know, needs to feel
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: the pressure to like to go and pick songs. It's
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: fine if you just want to go to the show,
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: that's fine. But you know, the ones that have taken
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: the time. They're definitely like super fans and they know
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: everything that I've done.
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: I take everything, have any any requests cup ended have
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: taken you by surprise.
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: There's been a few like like songs that are not
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: on the on the on the browsing lists that are
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: like from like obscure b sides to singles and things.
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: It's like oh that yeah, God, I mean you have
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: to think about it. Well, I have to think about it,
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: like I know the title, but you know, go to
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: Spotify like try to find it. Yeah, It's it's pretty funny.
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: Like I mean, I think we when you get to
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: hundreds of songs that I've you know, there's now it's
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: it is hundreds that I've released, just released on records,
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: and then there's you know, hundreds that that I've written
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: for other people and that I haven't released. It's there's
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: a lot of music that all. That's what I'm saying
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: that I've gone through my brain. So I you know,
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: I'm I wouldn't say I'm struggling to like keep track
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  Speaker 2: of it all. But there are definitely going to be
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: things that are a little vague, you know, like when.
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: You gets understandable, you know, have you ever been like
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: looking through your spreadsheet when songs come up and you
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: just gone, yeah, gosh it, I hope no one else
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  Speaker 1: votes for that tonight.
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: Oh no, no, thankfully not. I thought we were going
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: to say something else about like drawing a blank, because
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: sometimes I get I get printounced from my publisher of
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: all these titles, and I look at a title and go,
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: I think I remember writing that title, but I cannot
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: remember that song. Sounds like it's just like blank. And
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: and you know, sometimes I listen to demos, especially from
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: years ago, and I pull it up and I'll be like, yeah,
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: I remember, I know I made this, but I have
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: no recollection of like the process. It sounds like I
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: spent a lot of time. Like it's like, man, I
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: really went crazy. Is that that is the byproduct of
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: of being you know, hyper focused? As they say, like
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: I get so hyper focused on stuff and then I
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: just stop and then I put it in a drawer,
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: you know, metaphorically and literally. It's crazy how hyper focused
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: the musician can get.
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I've seen it. I've seen it. And do you
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: play them like from the most requests or at least
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: requests to the most of them, lie like Is it
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: a countdown or do you sort of play together?
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: I sort of, yeah, I kind of mix it all up.
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: I don't. I don't like sort of doing things in
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: the usual kind of I guess yeah. Or the set
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: is you know, Disney definitely has like a bit of
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: a framework, and but I change like elements every night.
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: And it's fun because you know, I might not get
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: to play one song one night and be like, oh damn,
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: you know that song sits on the bench tonight, but
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: done you know next night? Oh, someone's you know for
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: a group of people, you know, like there's it's like
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: a thing that happens in some towns. Are just all
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: these people want this one song. It's like do they
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: know each other? Are they family or something? No, it's
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: just it's just it's just a phenomena. It just happens.
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: It'd be amazing. Next year's Bory request or kicks off
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: and Chas May and you're on January thirty and one
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: year every state of Australia before finishing the Sydney Opera
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: House on April twenty sixth May. Yeah, a special and
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: humbling way to finish the draw.
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: It's nice. I mean, you know something about walking up
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: to that venue. Yeah, I mean it's just breath taking
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: and yeah it's a nice you know, being that's my hometown, Sydney,
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: it's a nice kind of way to finish. I guess
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  Speaker 2: just creep into home base.
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: At the Opera House man.
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: My words, you know, Yeah, I see how we're holding
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: up after all that.
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: So read my three your career for this interview made
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: like you've had an absolutely amazing career.
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: Bro.
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  Speaker 1: You deserve every bit of success that comes your way. Bit,
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: do you personally take time to reflect on what you've
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: done in the enduring legacy that you're going to leave
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: on Australian music?
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: You know, maybe not enough I reflect on them. I
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: try to take time to reflect in general. Just reflection
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: as something. You know. My mum always said, don't make
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: sure you take time to just reflect, you know, And
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: I wasn't probably so sure of what she was talking
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: about when when I was like nineteen twenty or something.
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: It's like, yeah, mom, don't worry. But as you get older,
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: you know, I know what she means. It's just like
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: take time to just look back all the roses because yeah,
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: it's kind of like you don't want to like looking
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: back and remorse or you know, ruminating about like, you know,
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: the past sort of thing. You know, it's like the
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: past is the past, and you know, it's like the
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: future is not certain. It's like you've got to live
• 8:18
  Speaker 2: live in the present, you know, be present. And and
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: I'm very much about you know, I've always been like,
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: look forward, look forward, you know, kind of like I
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: don't like looking behind. I don't like you know, but
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: I think, you know, since doing the Greatest Hits in
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: twenty eighteen and then the Redo of Fidelity has been
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: it was at first I was like, oh, do I
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: really want to, you know, do this retrospect kind of thing.
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: But then then I was like, you know what it's
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: it's kind of like, yeah, it's it's cathartic. It's also
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: like it was sad, you know, pulling up all some
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: of the master fire of Have Fidelity and just realizing
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: that so many people that worked on that album are
• 9:04
  Speaker 2: just not here anymore, you know, because they were a
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: lot older than me when they were making the music.
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: But you know, yeah, it's just music people. People in
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: the music industry, like, let's just you know, it's not
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: a cheerful thing to talk about but people in the
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: music industry are you know, I don't have a great
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: life expertency for a lot of factors. So yeah, it
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: was kind of sad. It's like going, well, that person's
• 9:29
  Speaker 2: gone out there on that gone looks like I couldn't,
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: you know, get on you know, the phone, or stand
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: an email or hit them on social media and go
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: hey we're doing this blah blah blah. You know it was.
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: It was a really sobering thing. So I think it
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: was good to Yeah, it was kind of like pushed
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: it in my face and made me sort of like
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: realize that, like, you know, we are here for a
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: finite time and just make the most of it and celebrate.
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: I think this is the word celebrate. It's not a
• 9:57
  Speaker 2: bad thing to celebrate.
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: Oh, it's actually cool because all I was looking back
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: through all this stuff but reminded me of something I've
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: forgotten clean about here now. But you're probably one of
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: the first live bands I ever saw at Gold Coast Parklands.
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: You're playing behind Sea Rod there with Barnsey on the
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: and my first music memories is of seeing you playing
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: guitar on stage.
• 10:16
  Speaker 2: Wow. I remember the Fisherman Wharf, the Fisherman Wharf shows
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: up there too, a lot great. Yeah, they were fun.
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: The Gold Coast has always been a good place to play,
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: and thankfully with like Miami Marketta now being there, it's
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: just you know, it's a great venue, and you know
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: it can be a really transient feeling place. But I'm
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: knowing that there are plenty of locals there, and you know,
• 10:43
  Speaker 2: I feel like I've been tapping into them with the
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: Blues Fest and with Miami Marketta. There's just great places
• 10:48
  Speaker 2: to play. I love doing the Blues first too.
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: It was actually quite sobering for me, Like you look
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: back at that and just go like, you're actually a
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: part of my musical journey. And I'm sitting here today
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: chatting with you brothers, like.
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: Thanks man that much. I'm glad. I'm glad my shows
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: have had, you know, some impact. That's really great to hear.
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: Fantasty. Well, before I let you go, brother, I've started
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: a new things just chatter to your last called photo bombs.
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: So basically I've trod through your social media. I've come
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: up with a few photos that I want to ask
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: you a little bit more about. Sure, So the first
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: one actually forgot So I'm sure. You get a lot
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: of people ask you what it takes to play the
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: guitar mape and I reckon, you should just put that
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: in your back pocket. Yeah, someone asked to show them that.
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: Well, I mean, those are you know, those are my tools.
• 11:39
  Speaker 2: You know. Unfortunately it's like skin and flesh, but they
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: need to be kind of like hardened like a like
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: a tool, you know, otherwise I can't. I can't do
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: sort of what I do. I mean, it's just really painful.
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: It looks shameful pushing pushing a cheese grater into your fingers,
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: but thankfully my fingers do this ridiculous thing that I mean,
• 12:04
  Speaker 2: I can't. I can't get over it myself. Sometimes, like
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: even after just like a couple of shows, my calluses
• 12:11
  Speaker 2: just sort of just suddenly go boom and they're just there.
• 12:14
  Speaker 2: It's not my body through evolution on whatever. It's like
• 12:18
  Speaker 2: adaptation is insane. Like my body just knows to just
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: like quickly send. It's like quick make callous, you know.
• 12:26
  Speaker 2: I mean, I've got like a ridge in my shoulder
• 12:29
  Speaker 2: here from the strap. That's that's adaptation, you know, Like
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: it's crazy, like the way what it has done to
• 12:35
  Speaker 2: my body, Like doing it as much as I have
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: over the years. But yeah, look, you know, I make
• 12:40
  Speaker 2: the choice to use these stupidly heavy strings because I like,
• 12:44
  Speaker 2: I like the way they sound, and I can make
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: it easier on myself or just use a lighter, lighter gauge,
• 12:49
  Speaker 2: but I just love that that sound that they produce,
• 12:52
  Speaker 2: so I just, yeah, I have to go through that
• 12:54
  Speaker 2: process every time, and yeah, I wouldn't recommend it, but yeah,
• 12:58
  Speaker 2: I do have to use super glueccasionally and like just
• 13:02
  Speaker 2: like to make like to stick the cracks together because
• 13:05
  Speaker 2: they do split and that's thankfully not in the warmer months,
• 13:10
  Speaker 2: but in the cold in the colder months. It's it's
• 13:13
  Speaker 2: a real thing. It's just like it's my little cross
• 13:16
  Speaker 2: that I carry, my axe that I have to have,
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: my little cross to bear.
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: Oh there's one more photo, mate, Like most of your
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: photos are like you on stage, you're you with your guitars,
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: and they're all cool band photos. But sitting there in
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: the middle of all of them, yeah, princess, some guy
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: dressed up in the doctor's outfit behind you.
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that that is I don't actually don't know where
• 13:44
  Speaker 2: that's from. That I don't even recognize that.
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: No, I was sitting there a moost of your things.
• 13:48
  Speaker 2: I'm wondering if you were on Yeah, I know that
• 13:51
  Speaker 2: that might have been some magazine that I was trawling
• 13:54
  Speaker 2: through at the time. But that's doctor doctor Fink behind him,
• 13:57
  Speaker 2: the one that dressed in the surgical scrubs. Yeah people player,
• 14:00
  Speaker 2: Yeah wow good. Yeah, that's really early like that's well,
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: that's Wendy or Lisa I think next tim Yeah, Wendy,
• 14:09
  Speaker 2: I've Wendy and Lisa fame. You've stopped me there, man,
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: you've stip me there.
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: All right. Well, on that note, brother, I shall let
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: you go because you've got other other people to speak
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: to you.
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: Bro.
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: The melon not the melicory, sorry, the buy request or
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: kicks off. You're he thirty down in Tasmania. I'm definitely
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: gonna make it through a Brisbane show this time.
• 14:25
  Speaker 2: Mate.
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: We'll catch up.
• 14:28
  Speaker 2: Sounds good, all right man?
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: You take care of you so if go and get
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: some yeah, I will take it easy, brother.
• 14:34
  Speaker 2: Thanks for having me.
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: Oh way, it's a pleasure.
• 14:36
  Speaker 2: Help Bye.