Zoogz Rift
Born Robert Pawlikowski in Paterson, New Jersey, Rift was raised in Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey and moved to Los Angeles while in his mid-20s.
Also recorded as Robert Pawlikowski · The Liquid Moamo
Zoogz Rift
- Name
- Zoogz Rift
- Birth Name
- Robert Pawlikowski
- Born
- 10 July 1953
- Died
- 22 March 2011
- Occupation
- Musician, composer, painter, pro wrestling entertainer
- Spouse
- Laura Bonanno (ex-wife)
- Nationality
- United States
- Fields
- experimental rock
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Documentary summary
Born Robert Pawlikowski in Paterson, New Jersey, Rift was raised in Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey and moved to Los Angeles while in his mid-20s.
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gnd · 10304985-X · wikidata · Q220158 · wikipedia · Zoogz Rift
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Zoogz Rift • Birth Name — Robert Pawlikowski • Alias — The Liquid Moamo (pronounced mo-ah-mo) • Born — 10 July 1953 • Died — 22 March 2011 • Origin — Paterson, New Jersey, U.S. • Instrument — Guitar • Genre — * Experimental rock • art rock • post-punk • avant-prog • Occupation — Musician, composer, painter, pro wrestling entertainer • Years Active — 1972–2006 • Label — SST Records • Website — http: zoogzrift.4mg.com/ • Spouse — Laura Bonanno (ex-wife)
Musical career
Musical career
The Trouser Press 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 and Captain Beefheart as well as Salvador Dalí and Ayn Rand. 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 tune, "A Blind Man's Penis"). Rift released several albums through SST Records during the 1980s. Richard Gehr, writing for Spin, noted that by the time of 1985's Interim Resurgence, Rift had completed a transition from "Zappa sycophancy" to "a conceptual continuity of his very own." Keyboard Magazine, in a special "Experimental Music" issue, described Rift's album The Island of Living Puke as "moments of outstanding free-form rock, sandwiched between scrupulously obscene interruptions."
Wrestling career
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. 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, and his fascination with possibly training 60-year-old Vince McMahon to become a main-event wrestler. Zoogz' wrestling career was cut short after being torture racked by Lex Luger.
Death
Death
Zoogz Rift died on March 22, 2011, aged 57, due to complications from diabetes.
Identity and overview
Identity and overview
The following is established of the heading itself.
Discography
• Studio albums • Idiots on the Miniature Golf Course (1979) • Amputees in Limbo (1982) • Ipecac (1984) • Interim Resurgence (1985) • Island of Living Puke (1986) • Water (1987) • Water II: At Safe Distance (1987) • Son of Puke (1987) • Nonentity (Water III: Fan Black Dada) (1988) • Murdering Hell's Happy Cretins (1988) • Torment (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)
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Zoogz Rift”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q220158: Zoogz Rift
Reputable secondary · Wikidata
authority file
- Gemeinsame Normdatei 10304985-X, Zoogz Rift and His Amazing Shitheads.
General reference · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.artist.
- 2."Passings; Zoogz Rift", Los Angeles Times, 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."
- 3.Gehr, Richard. Zoogz Rift. Trouser Press. Trouser Press LLC.
- 4.artist. discography. Discography.
- 5.Gehr, Richard. Spins. Spin. SPIN Magazine. 1. 8. 27. December 1985.
- 6.Resources. 13. 1. 85. January 1987.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority file
Gemeinsame Normdatei 10304985-X, Zoogz Rift and His Amazing Shitheads.Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
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This entry is compiled from 8 catalogued sources across 5 independent registers. The registers consulted are Crossref registry, Internet Archive, Deutsche Nationalbibliothek, Wikidata and Wikipedia. Every statement above is held against the register that stated it; where the registers are silent, the entry is silent.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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