Ray Gun was an American alternative rock-and-roll magazine, first published in 1992 in Santa Monica, California. Led by founding art director David Carson, along with founding editor Neil Feineman, Ray Gun explored experimental magazine typographic design and unique angles on the pop cultural currents of the 90s. The editorial content was framed in a chaotic, abstract style, not always readable (it once published an interview with Bryan Ferry entirely in the symbol font Zapf Dingbats), but distinctive in appearance. That tradition for compelling visuals continued even after Carson left the magazine after three years; he was followed by a series of art directors, including Robert Hales, Chris Ashworth, Jason Saunby, Scott Denton-Cardew, and Jerome Curchod.
In terms of content, Ray Gun was also notable for its choices of subject matter. The cutting-edge advertising, musical artists and pop culture icons spotlighted were typically ahead of the curve, putting such artists as Radiohead, Björk, Beck, Flaming Lips, PJ Harvey and Eminem on its cover long before its better-known competitors. Those choices were guided by Executive Editor Randy Bookasta (and founding editor Neil Feineman for the first five issues), along with an editorial staff that included Dean Kuipers, Nina Malkin, Mark Blackwell, Joe Donnelly, Grant Alden, Mark Woodlief, and Eric Gladstone.
Ray Gun produced over 70 issues from 1992 through 2000. Owner-founder-publisher Marvin Scott Jarrett (one-time publisher of a late-1980s incarnation of Creem) also created the magazines Bikini, Stick and huH. Jarrett is currently editor-in-chief of Nylon, a New York–based fashion magazine. The most notable common thread among all of Jarrett's magazines (from his latter-day Creem through Nylon) has been an attraction to dynamic next-generation graphic design.
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