Ray Zilla
Born Ray Villadonga, Ray Zilla (d. 2017) was the host of Sonic Irritations, an experimental music show on the Tampa, Florida community radio station WMNF. To quote the station's tribute to him,
He first came to WMNF in 1986, helping Big Band programmer Allan Humphrey with tapes, and I assume making friends with every single person at the station. At the time Bud Mayhem was hosting the Difficult Listening program. Eventually Bud left, and in 1989, Sonic Irritations was born of Ray’s fevered mind. Ray was uniquely suited to program the show. His love of Zappa, Stockhausen, and lesser known composers meshed with equal love of rock, mixed with the rhythms undergirding Tampa, and amped up with music theory and knowledge gained in college and years of playing in bands, going to shows, and listening to everything.[1]
