Brian Lizotte in conversation with Jim Kellar

Newcastle Herald

Brian Lizotte talks about himself, his passions and his business during a quiet interview in February 2023.

Transcript

00:00 Okay, three, two, one.

00:01 Good afternoon, we're talking to Brian Lizotte

00:06 at his very famous venue here in the heart of Newcastle.

00:10 When does your day start, Brian?

00:12 - I get up at least between six and 6.30 every morning.

00:16 I'm awake.

00:17 - What's your first drink of the day, Brian?

00:21 - I drink a huge glass of lemon,

00:23 fresh lemon juice and water.

00:25 - Do you have breakfast?

00:28 - 75% of the time.

00:31 - What's usually on the breakfast menu?

00:33 - Breakfast menu could be some sourdough with avocado

00:37 and lemon and tomato and cucumber.

00:40 Kind of a Turkish breakfast is one of my favorites.

00:43 - You only live a couple blocks from the office,

00:45 is that right?

00:46 - I do, I just live about 100 meters from the restaurant.

00:49 - Is it easy to leave the office at work?

00:51 - It's getting easier and easier all the time.

00:57 - What's your favorite alcoholic drink, Brian?

00:59 - I'm a little bit partial to a good Pinot Noir

01:04 and I don't mind the odd medicinal gin and soda as well.

01:09 - When does your day end?

01:12 - My day ends normally when I am so tired

01:16 that my clock tells me that I should go to bed.

01:20 - What's the last thing you do at night

01:23 when you close the club?

01:27 - Put the alarm on.

01:27 - How much time do you spend with the artists

01:32 who play your venue?

01:33 - Not enough sometimes.

01:35 Probably I like to take their dinner order

01:41 and often I will clear their plates

01:45 and see how they enjoyed their meal

01:47 and that's my special time with them

01:50 and look after just catching up with them

01:53 and seeing what they've been up to.

01:54 - Are they a fussy mob when it comes to eating?

01:56 - Musicians travel on their stomachs

01:59 and the biggest thing is that I've learnt

02:03 and my mantra has always been look after the artist

02:06 and the rest of it looks after itself.

02:07 So feeding musicians is an integral part

02:10 of making sure that they come out on stage

02:14 and do a great show.

02:17 - Some of them like particular concoctions

02:19 for their voice, don't they?

02:21 - They do, we've been very famous

02:22 and we have a special little tonic

02:26 that I've just actually drank.

02:27 It's a lemon myrtle,

02:29 some of the most beautiful native Australian plants

02:34 that there is from northern New South Wales originally

02:37 and yeah, it's called lemon myrtle

02:39 and it's got a great citrual medicinal effect

02:43 on an artist's throats

02:44 and I've fed it to just about every musician that there is.

02:48 - What's your favourite show of all time

02:51 here at the Newcastle venue?

02:54 - Jim, I was hoping you wouldn't ask that question.

02:56 It's a terrible question to ask a person

02:59 that had 25 years of looking,

03:01 oh, 35 years of looking after musicians.

03:04 I would have to say because he's just coming,

03:08 one of my favourite all-time artists is Eric Bibb.

03:11 It'll be a Sunday that will be the most incredible,

03:17 it'll be the gospel according to Eric Bibb that Sunday.

03:24 - Would you still like to get to play the venue?

03:27 - I've been chasing Paul Kelly for far too long.

03:30 So if you're out there, Paul, come and play my room.

03:32 - How often do you get to pick up your own trombone?

03:36 - A question I didn't want to answer.

03:40 Not often enough.

03:42 I suppose when I've been prompted,

03:44 when I've got artists that I will get up with,

03:47 I brush up my chops,

03:49 but I do plan to be before I pass this earth,

03:53 I do plan to be a better trombone player is my goal.

03:56 - You still guide the menu here at the venue

03:59 as you always have?

04:01 - I still have something to do with the menu.

04:03 A lot of the signature dishes have my recipes thrown in.

04:08 I like my chefs to be creative

04:11 and as the food trends change and whatnot,

04:14 but yeah, I'd like to say I've always got a finger

04:17 in the pie, so to speak,

04:18 to make sure that the quality controls there.

04:21 And yeah, hopefully that's being done.

04:24 - You have a few things on the menu

04:25 that have been here since day one?

04:27 - They have.

04:28 A lot of my sauces and signature dishes have been on,

04:32 you know, a lot of them using Australian native ingredients.

04:34 So that's always been a highlight for us also.

04:38 - Do you eat your own food?

04:41 - I do.

04:43 I love cooking and I do a lot of my cooking at home as well.

04:46 And I love cooking for friends and family.

04:49 So I do like my own food, believe it or not.

04:53 - Which favorite dessert?

04:55 - Ooh, dessert.

04:56 That's one thing I've stayed away from lately,

04:58 but I am a bit partial to a good tiramisu.

05:03 a good tiramisu.

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