Clark Dimond
Encyclopedia
Clark Dimond is a guitarist, composer and author who runs the Dimond Studios, a recording company in Colorado's Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
Born into a musical family in 1941, Dimond started playing piano at the age of five, learned the guitar when he was 17 years old and added the banjo at age 30. He attended Grinnell College
in Iowa and then moved to New York, where he worked as an editor on True Experience for McFadden-Bartell while writing scripts for Warren Publishing
and Web of Horror. In addition to contributions to Castle of Frankenstein
, he was an editor for publisher Martin Goodman
's magazine For Men Only.
and guitarist Arlen Roth.
Dimond wrote about illustrator Wally Wood
for Bhob Stewart
's biographical anthology, Against the Grain: Mad Artist Wallace Wood (TwoMorrows, 2003). His essay, "From the Woodwork Out," examines life and art in the Upper West Side where Wood's studio was located during the 1960s, and the book also features his interview, "Geronimo!", with artist John Severin
.
as "a classic of the genre." He collaborated with science fiction novelist Terry Bisson
on several stories for Warren Publishing's Creepy
and Eerie
.
Dimond's role in the Colorado commune counterculture is mentioned in Roberta Price's Huerfano: A Memoir of LIfe in the Counterculture (University of Massachusetts Press, 2004). http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1558494693/?keywords=clark+dimond&v=search-inside
Born into a musical family in 1941, Dimond started playing piano at the age of five, learned the guitar when he was 17 years old and added the banjo at age 30. He attended Grinnell College
Grinnell College
Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, U.S. known for its strong tradition of social activism. It was founded in 1846, when a group of pioneer New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College....
in Iowa and then moved to New York, where he worked as an editor on True Experience for McFadden-Bartell while writing scripts for Warren Publishing
Warren Publishing
Warren Publishing was an American magazine company founded by James Warren, who published his first magazines in 1957 and continued in the business for decades...
and Web of Horror. In addition to contributions to Castle of Frankenstein
Castle of Frankenstein
Castle of Frankenstein was an American horror, science fiction and fantasy film magazine, distributed by Kable News and published in New Jersey from 1962 to 1975 by Calvin Thomas Beck's Gothic Castle Publishing Company. The first three issues were edited by Larry Ivie and Ken Beale. From 1963 and...
, he was an editor for publisher Martin Goodman
Martin Goodman (publisher)
Martin Goodman born on was an American publisher of pulp magazines, paperback books, men's adventure magazines, and comic books, launching the company that would become Marvel Comics....
's magazine For Men Only.
Recordings
Performing in Colorado, Dimond plays bluegrass, Celtic, folk, jazz, classical and rock, and his studio is mainly devoted to recording and producing the work of Colorado musicians. Dimond can be heard playing banjo, keyboard and guitar and reading poetry on Little Orphan Aliens (Good Food Entertainment, 2001), followed by Good Food's Planet O Live and More (2003). He produced the CD Incarnation (American Primitive Records, 1994), featuring actor-vocalist Tucker SmallwoodTucker Smallwood
Tucker Smallwood is an American actor, author and vocalist.-Early life:From 1967 to 1970, Smallwood served in the United States Army Airborne Infantry. Commanding a Mobile Advisory Team during the Vietnam War, he was wounded in action...
and guitarist Arlen Roth.
Dimond wrote about illustrator Wally Wood
Wally Wood
Wallace Allan Wood was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, best known for his work in EC Comics and Mad. He was one of Mads founding cartoonists in 1952. Although much of his early professional artwork is signed Wallace Wood, he became known as Wally Wood, a name he...
for Bhob Stewart
Bhob Stewart
Bhob Stewart is an American writer, editor, artist and film maker who has written for a variety of publications over a span of five decades. His articles and reviews have appeared in TV Guide, Publishers Weekly and other publications, along with online contributions to Allmovie, the Collecting...
's biographical anthology, Against the Grain: Mad Artist Wallace Wood (TwoMorrows, 2003). His essay, "From the Woodwork Out," examines life and art in the Upper West Side where Wood's studio was located during the 1960s, and the book also features his interview, "Geronimo!", with artist John Severin
John Severin
John Powers Severin is an American comic book artist noted for his distinctive work with EC Comics, primarily on the war comics Two-Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat; for Marvel Comics, primarily on its war and Western comics; and for the satiric magazine Cracked...
.
Fiction
Fiction by Dimond includes "You Can't Fire Me for Doing My Job" in New Black Mask 7 (1986). When his mystery novel, No-Frills Mystery, was published by Jove Books in 1981, it was described by The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
as "a classic of the genre." He collaborated with science fiction novelist Terry Bisson
Terry Bisson
Terry Ballantine Bisson is an American science fiction and fantasy author best known for his short stories...
on several stories for Warren Publishing's Creepy
Creepy
Creepy was an American horror-comics magazine launched by Warren Publishing in 1964. Like Mad, it was a black-and-white newsstand publication in a magazine format and thus did not require the approval or seal of the Comics Code Authority. The anthology magazine was initially published quarterly but...
and Eerie
Eerie
Eerie was an American magazine of horror comics introduced in 1966 by Warren Publishing. Like Mad, it was a black-and-white newsstand publication in a magazine format and thus did not require the approval or seal of the Comics Code Authority. Each issue's stories were introduced by the host...
.
Dimond's role in the Colorado commune counterculture is mentioned in Roberta Price's Huerfano: A Memoir of LIfe in the Counterculture (University of Massachusetts Press, 2004). http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1558494693/?keywords=clark+dimond&v=search-inside
Listen to
- Clark Dimond on banjo: Devil's Stairsteps -- "Rattlesnake Bit the Baby" and "Won't It"
- Tucker Smallwood's Incarnation, produced by Dimond