Zoogz Rift (born Robert Pawlikowski; July 10, 1953 – March 22, 2011) was an American musician, painter and
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...
personality.
Born Robert Pawlikowski in
Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey and moved to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'', March 31, 2011. Accessed August 11, 2019. "Rift was born Robert Pawlikowski on July 10, 1953, in Paterson, N.J., but grew up in Parsippany, N.J. He moved to Los Angeles in 1977 after starting his career in the early 1970s."
Biography
Musical career
The ''
Trouser Press
''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...
'' describes Zoogz Rift as "an iconoclastic original" who is "as imaginative and stimulating as he is irritating and vitriolic." Rift was influenced by
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...
and
Captain Beefheart
Don Van Vliet (; born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as Th ...
as well as
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarr ...
and
Ayn Rand
Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum;, . Most sources transliterate her given name as either ''Alisa'' or ''Alissa''. , 1905 – March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and p ...
. Zoogz Rift began his recording career with the album ''Idiots on the Miniature Golf Course'', released by Snout Records in 1979. His long-time collaborators included Richie Häss and John Trubee (the latter being famous for the
songshark Songshark is a term for a dishonest music publisher, whose main source of income is the naivete of new songwriters, whom they charge for services a reputable publisher would provide free to their clients.
"Song shark" is the trade name for any indi ...
tune, "A Blind Man's Penis"). Rift released several albums through
SST Records
SST Records is an American independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by musician Greg Ginn. The company was formed in 1966 by Ginn at age 12 as Solid State Tuners, a small business through which he sold electronics equipm ...
during the 1980s. Richard Gehr, writing for ''
Spin
Spin or spinning most often refers to:
* Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning
* Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis
* Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
'', noted that by the time of 1985's ''Interim Resurgence'', Rift had completed a transition from "Zappa
sycophancy
In modern English, sycophant denotes an "insincere flatterer" and is used to refer to someone practising sycophancy (i.e., insincere flattery to gain advantage). The word has its origin in the legal system of Classical Athens. Most legal cases o ...
" to "a conceptual continuity of his very own." ''
Keyboard Magazine
''Keyboard'' is a magazine that originally covered electronic keyboard instruments and keyboardists, though with the advent of computer-based recording and audio technology, they have added digital music technology to their regular coverage, inc ...
'', in a special "
Experimental Music
Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...
" issue, described Rift's album ''The Island of Living Puke'' as "moments of outstanding free-form rock, sandwiched between scrupulously obscene interruptions."
Wrestling career
By 1985, Zoogz Rift had indicated his plans to enter professional wrestling. Zoogz Rift booked the UWF ( Universal Wrestling Federation) in 1993. He left the promotion in March 1994, but returned in May 1995 to become Vice-President, alongside founder
Herb Abrams
Herbert Charles Abrams (July 9, 1955 – July 23, 1996), also known by the nickname Mr. Electricity, was an American professional wrestling promoter from Queens, New York, who founded the Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) in 1990.
Early life ...
. After Abrams died in 1996, the UWF promotion closed and Zoogz was left without a job. Zoogz hosted an online wrestling show, entitled ''Puke-A-Mania'' that provided a weekly assessment of WWE and TNA promotions, with Zoogz giving insight on wrestling issues. His rants on the show included the pushing of former WWF superstar
Warlord
A warlord is a person who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region in a country without a strong national government; largely because of coercive control over the armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of h ...
, and his fascination with possibly training 60-year-old
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the w ...
to become a main-event wrestler. Zoogz wrestling career was cut short after being torture racked by
Lex Luger
Lawrence Wendell Pfohl (born June 2, 1958), better known by the ring name Lex Luger, is an American retired professional wrestler, bodybuilder, and football player. In 2011 he began working with WWE on its wellness policy. He is best known for ...
.
Death
Zoogz Rift died on March 22, 2011, aged 57, due to complications from diabetes.
Discography
;Studio albums
*''
Idiots on the Miniature Golf Course
''Idiots on the Miniature Golf Course'' is the debut studio album of experimental rock composer Zoogz Rift, released in 1979 by Snout Records. It is dedicated to Don Van Vliet.
Release and reception
Critics of the ''Trouser Press'' wrote that ...
'' (1979)
*''
Amputees in Limbo
''Amputees in Limbo'' is the second studio album by Zoogz Rift, released in 1982 by Snout.
Track listing
Personnel
Adapted from the ''Amputees in Limbo'' liner notes.
*Zoogz Rift – vocals, guitar, production, cover art, design
;M ...
'' (1982)
*''
Ipecac
Syrup of ipecac (), or simply ipecac, is a drug that was once widely used as an expectorant (in low doses) and a rapid-acting emetic (in higher doses). It is obtained from the dried rhizome and roots of the ipecacuanha plant (''Carapichea ipecac ...
'' (1984)
*''
Interim Resurgence
''Interim Resurgence'' is the fourth studio album by Zoogz Rift, released in 1985 by Snout Records.
Track listing
Personnel
Adapted from the ''Ipecac'' liner notes.
* Zoogz Rift – vocals (A2-A4, A6, B2, B4), guitar (A1, A2, A5, B2 ...
'' (1985)
*''
Island of Living Puke
''Island of Living Puke'' is the fifth studio album by Zoogz Rift, released in 1986 by SST Records.
Track listing
Reception
'' Keyboard Magazine'', in a special "Experimental Music" issue, described ''The Island of Living Puke'' as "mome ...
'' (1986)
*''
Water
Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...
Son of Puke
''Son of Puke'' is the eighth studio album by Zoogz Rift, released in September 1987 by SST Records. Side one contains tape manipulations of music that had been previously recorded by Rift's band. The second side contains a discarded musical reco ...
Torment
Torment may refer to:
* The feeling of pain or suffering
* Causing to suffer, torture
Films
* ''Torment'' (1924 film), a silent crime-drama
* ''Torment'' (1944 film) (''Hets''), a Swedish film
* ''Torment'' (1950 British film), a British thr ...
'' (1989)
*'' War Zone'' (1990)
*'' Nutritionally Sound'' (1990)
*'' Villagers'' (1992)
*'' Five Billion Pinheads Can't Be Wrong'' (1996)
*''Sanitized For Your Protection'' (1998)
*''School of the Criminally Insane'' (1999)
*''Born in the Wrong Universe'' (2001)
;Compilation albums
*''Kiss My Bleeding Dork'' (1984)
*'' Looser Than Clams... A Historical Retrospective (Greatest Hits, Vol. 1)'' (1986)
*''This Is the Music Your Parents Warned You About, Vol. 1'' (1995)
*''This Is the Music Your Parents Warned You About, Vol. 2'' (1995)
*''This Is the Music Your Parents Warned You About, Vol. 3'' (1996)
*''Sunken Treasures: The Very Best of Zoogz Rift'' (2000)
*''Demons Are Stabbing Me With Pitchforks'' (2000)
*''Dada Is Surrealism With a Sinister Agenda'' (2002)
;Cassette albums
*''With No Apparent Reason'' (1976)
*''Music Sucks'' (1982)
*''Can You Smell My Genitals From Where You're Standing?'' (1983)
*''None of Your Damn Business!'' (1983)
*''The Diseased Confessions of Moamo Milkman'' (1984)