Diken graduated from Carteret High School in 1975, together with Jim Babjak.
Diken has been a constant member of the Smithereens since 1980 but has also worked as a session drummer since the 1980s. He toured with former Shangri-La Mary Weiss in the late 2000s and has since 2014 toured with former Kinks guitarist Dave Davies' solo band. On December 18, 2015 during Dave Davies’ concert at Islington Assembly Hall in London, Diken was drumming while Ray Davies joined his brother Dave on stage for "You Really Got Me". It was the first time the two Kinks had performed together in nearly 2 decades. Diken also toured with Ronnie Spector in the late 2010s.
In 2002, Diken collaborated with keyboardist Dave Amels forming the band Husky Team, which released the album Christmas in Memphis on the Confidential Recording label. The album consists of instrumental Christmas songs recorded with Memphis soul/R&B-style grooves. In 1997, Diken and Amels had produced the track "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" for Ben E. King on the tribute album One Step Up/Two Steps Back: the Songs of Bruce Springsteen.

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