Editor’s Note: As we mentioned in our Spring newsletter, I’m starting a series about women in the audio industry. No, it’s not about those women you see with their husbands, the ones who look like they would rather be anywhere else. Rather, this series is intended to tell the stories of dynamic women who have been successful in their own right and are now making significant contributions to the audiophile world. A big thank you to Carol for agreeing to be interviewed. Please feel free to email me if there is someone whose story you think should be included here.
Meet Carol Clark
Since we started The Audio Beatnik a little over two years ago, I’ve seen Carol Clark at audio shows with her husband, Dave, and maybe with some of the guys that write for Positive Feedback, their online magazine. And, while we knew each other by name, I didn’t really know much about Carol until I interviewed her for this article a couple of weeks ago. Let me tell you, there’s a lot more to Carol Clark than you see at audio shows.
“I am a very shy, introverted person, and I don’t like interacting in a crowd of people because I always feel like it’s hard for me to be heard,” Carol says. So surprise number one for me in our interview was to learn that her college degree was in public speaking. So, I had to ask how that happened, and she said, “I discovered in my senior year of high school that I can stand on a stage with a microphone and everybody has to listen to me, and that’s pretty cool.”
Audiophile Roots
When Carol and Dave met in college, he was already hooked on audio gear and had a good system, and they shared a love for the same kind of music. A few years later, their passion for audio and a great friendship with their neighbors, Larry and Carrie Fisher, led them to start The Greater South Bay Audiophile Society in 1993 for audiophiles in the coastal communities south of Los Angeles. This group later became part of the Los Angeles and Orange County Audiophile Society. Along with the Fishers, Dave and Carol began to attend audio shows and went to CES for the first time in 1995.
Carol, who has always loved to write and Carrie, who had desktop publishing experience, took the lead and started a newsletter for the society called The Earful, which eventually grew to be a monthly, near magazine length publication. Carrie also taught Dave to use Pagemaker (desktop publishing software) so that he could step in and produce the newsletter if Carol’s day job got too busy. Carol’s regular column in the newsletter was first named “Carol’s Corner”, but Carrie later changed to “Carol on the Edge” as it was always placed on the edge of the page.
In 1998, Carol and Dave along with five other friends they met through the GSBAS started a print publication, audioMusings. They eventually merged their publication with Positive Feedback, forming a partnership with David Robinson and Lila Ritsema. Today, Positive Feedback is recognized and respected by audiophiles all over the world.
Professional Experience and Carol’s Life Today
“Teaching was the best thing that ever happened to me, and I did it for 16 years,” Carol says. Although she retired early due primarily to health issues, her teaching background plays a strong part in what she does today. “I’ve always been interested in writing and have taken writing classes. I enjoyed it when I started teaching students grammar and writing.”
She also says, “There is a certain sense of pride in seeing your work online and my function primarily is editing.” Carol says she primarily reads through the articles and tries to get things to flow better and sound better without changing the reviewer’s voice. “That’s the part that I take pride in. But otherwise, I don’t review equipment anymore. When we had our print magazine I used to review equipment, but now if I write an article, I’m writing about music because music is of interest to me.” She adds, “Dave is really into equipment, and he reviews equipment. To me, I just want to listen to music.”
Favorite Music
Alternative Rock is her favorite music When asked who she listens to, she says, “It depends. I always tell people that if you were to twist my arm and say, who’s your favorite band, I couldn’t name just one.” Right now she says she’s most likely to be listening to The Cure or The Notwist.
If you read Positive Feedback, you may have read Carol’s series of articles called “In Search of a Perfect Song,” where she digs out songs to write about. For her, a perfect song is one that touches you every time you hear it, and it may or may not be your favorite song. She says that for her the same artist may deliver more than one perfect song, but that’s because she really likes the artist. “I believe I’ve written about five articles in Positive Feedback on perfect songs, and they are all different. Many times the same artist will deliver more than one perfect song that I think is perfect, but it’s because I really like that artist.” You can read a recent post in this series here.
About Audio Shows
“I’m an active partner and not the tagalong wife,” Carol says. In fact, you will normally find her and Dave together at an audio show. “Our primary goal is to cover as many rooms as we can. The way I look at it is we’ve been going to shows for a long time, and I want to give the person sitting at home that doesn’t have the opportunity to go to these shows the idea of what it’s like to be at the show.”
Photo curtesy of Positive Feedback
As for me, I told Carol that now that I know her a little better, I’m looking forward to seeing her at the next show. I’m from the South, so I’ll probably give her a big hug. You can skip the hug if that’s not your thing, but be sure to say hello when you see her and watch for her posts in Positive Feedback. I know she will appreciate it.
