Photo by Bridger Flory
Diet Lite
Diet Lite: Evan Marsalli, Max Niemann, Kelson “Kelso” Kuzdas
Remember that local guitarist who played a Weezer song 990 times on TikTok, until Rivers Cuomo invited him to play “Buddy Holly” on stage? Despite his impressive guitar chops, Evan Marsalli is the drummer for the rock trio Diet Lite, a Milwaukee band known for their live show theatrics.
“It was like dropping a kid off to school for the first day,” joked lead singer and guitarist Max Niemann, who supported Marsalli from the audience alongside also-lead singer and guitarist Kelson Kuzdas. “We waved him goodbye, made sure he had his lunchbox, and sent him on his way. He did a great job.”
While the Weezer collaboration made headlines, the band is preparing for their biggest national tour to date as headliners of their own. Diet Lite will be making 14 stops across the US, hitting major cities on the East Coast and the Midwest. Those who attend the tour will also get sneak peeks into a trove of unreleased DL music.
The rock trio has garnered a reputation for their out-of-the-box performances: from crowd surfing, to “parting the red sea” of the audience, to shaving Kuzdas’ face mid-performance, fans can expect equal parts shenanigans and stellar showmanship from a Diet Lite concert. “When you’re on stage, you’re not just a musician,” Marsalli said. “You have to entertain. That’s what sets apart good bands from great bands.”
Diet Lite takes this approach with their promotion, as well. After witnessing U-Haul concerts during COVID, the trio was inspired by the idea; however, instead of setting up in a set location and inviting fans, they decided to make it more of a marketing opportunity.
“We hit a bunch of spots all over Milwaukee, kind of guerilla style,” Niemann said. Surprising pedestrians going by, the band opened the back of the truck and released a wall of sound.
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“It was pretty cool, because we engineered the whole thing that day,” Kuzdas explained. “We strapped a generator to the back of this rented vehicle, which we had full liability for, and just blasted people with tunes.”
Only in Milwaukee
Photo by Bobby Knopp
Diet Lite
Diet Lite
After crashing the public market, they earned several new fans, getting tagged in Instagram stories with captions like “Only in Milwaukee” and “my city.”
Diet Lite embraces their reputation as a Milwaukee band. While bigger acts elect for stops in Chicago, they’ve loved the support they’ve received locally. “There’s a very strong, thriving, grassroots, DIY art scene here. And we just want to be champions of that,” Niemann said.
This became even more apparent to them when their gear was stolen two years ago on Water Street, and their fans did everything in their power to help. They raised money to replace their instruments and even found the name and license plate of the perpetrator. “It was really cool to see the community rallying behind someone like that,” Kuzdas said. “And I really appreciate that about Milwaukee as it’s an intimate community of brothers and sisters that have got each other’s backs.”
All three members promised no matter how big their presence becomes, they will always take pride in their Milwaukee roots.
Catch the first night of their tour at Cactus Club on May 24 and get your tickets at bandsintown.com/e/105441709.
