Skincage

music / musicians / skincage

Skincage in front of a classic Kozik print at Vaudeville, String Theory series, Tucson, Winter 2004.

Skincage (aka Jon Ray) conceals his prolific life as an electronic composer under a gently ironic persona; asked about his artistic direction he replies, "Dark ambient, solo electronics, live looping. whichever sounds better on a flier is fine with me." While Jon works on multiple ventures, Skincage leads as an electro-acoustic dark ambient project employing improvisation and sampling. His typical arsenal includes looping devices, effects, and a variety of odd sound sources. He's another gem in Tucson's electronica crown, and always amiable besides. Just don't call at an indecently early hour.

--cia romano, WINTER 2004

NAME:

"Jon Ray"

OCCUPATION:

"Box jockey."

QUOTE:

"Learn the glitch, find the gleam, scratch the itch, mend the seam."

BANDS:

"Skincage"

OTHER CO-CONSPIRATORS:

"Happily there have been enough that I'm at a loss to name them all. Recently released was a collaboration with NYC's sickrobot under the name Testset. I've also been on several compilations in the last few years and I always enjoy that. I look forward to working with other musicians on studio projects as well as live."

LIFE STORY IN BRIEF:

"I'm from a small military town in the Southeastern US. I met some great people and saw some great things there, but in general the place is a deathtrap and I got out as soon as I could. I came to Tucson to live with my
wife and to start over. I like it here but I want to travel more. I've been making noise for about ten years, the obsession growing from my first tape recorder to a room full of gear. I have only played a handful of shows but
I'm looking forward to playing more. It's a good release for me, and hopefully for the audience as well."

BORN IN:

"Fayetteville, North Carolina"

HOW LONG IN TUCSON:

"July will be 2 years, I believe."

ONE WORD TO DESCRIBE TUCSON:

"Wonky."

WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN ON THE LOCAL SCENE:

"More collaboration between creative people."

CONNECTING POINTS:

"Thrift stores, junkyard, dumpsters, anywhere I can mine the debris of the past. Back East I enjoyed abandoned buildings but there doesn't seem to be as much of that kind of thing here. I'd like to spend more time in the desert itself."

ARTIFACTS:

"www.skincage.com (skeletal, and always under construction, but it's a start) and a full length CD 'Axon' available for sale as well as compilation appearances and the occasional collaboration project."

CONTACT:

skincage@infin8ty.com.
skincage on AIM.