Screen Hub Thursday 10 December, 2009 It is very rare to see a film which you know for sure will only be seen once in public. This is your chance, and it involves nudity, Andrew Denton, and a concession from the ABC. The documentary is called In the Raw, directed by Cousin Creep and produced by Jannine Barnes. The occasion is the 19th Meredith Music Festival. The event will occur on December 11th, at the Outlands Ecoplex Cinema, at 10pm. In the Raw, described by Jannine Barnes as "basically a moment of love and celebration for Andrew Denton and the ABC", is about the notorious moment in November 1988 when guitar band Lubricated Goat performed on Andrew Denton's Blah Blah Blah absolutely, totally and completely IN THE NUDDIE! It was the first time that male nudity had been broadcast on Australian television, proving that we do have testicles, and suggesting that we procreate in the normal way. This caused a sensation. Politicians, ABC management and shock jocks all became involved. Cousin Creep, a stalwart of Melbourne’s 3RRR with his Saturday night show “Paint the Town Clear Gloss”, and “The Breakfasters”, interviewed the group for a cassette fanzine, Aliens Mutants, and heard their side of the story. Not only had the Blah Blah Blah crew known this was going to happen, they also confused the Goat band with No More Bandicoots, an outfit that regularly forgot its trousers before performing. Creep went on to run an indie record label, Hippy Knight Records, suck up the magic of the internet, and move to Bakersfield, California, where he now produces political and themed podcasts. He continues to support the music of bands with names like Feedtime, Thug, King Snake Roost and Bloodloss. But he never forgot that faded frenzy, and started to work on the film in 2002 with Jannie Barnes. Shot around the world, it cost a few thousand in cash, and was a labour of love and high good humour. That joy was a bit strained when Barnes attempted to negotiate the rights to the three and a half minutes of goosefleshed glory which Auntie has cleverly kept. The cost was $40/second. For festival release, a flat fee of $3500. Not the kind of money you earn as an independent producer, or indeed as a rock and roll tragic haranguing the world from the home of California Country music. The ABC has agreed to allow one single public screening for no fee. Hence, the audience at Meredith will be privileged to participate in a moment of history, much like that original audience for Blah Blah Blah, some of whom probably still mourn the terrible time when lead singer Stu Spasm was stabbed in Berlin. Here is one review of the band, from Trouserpress: "Some of the crudest sounds from Australia's belly were belched up by Lubricated Goat, a band which originally featured two former members of Salamander Jim. Since getting underway in early '86, Goatees have slipped in and out and back in again, though the groans, gristle and guttural grunts of Stu Spasm (as well as the backdrop of bleating horns and discordant guitars) have held steady." He survived, as did the clip, which has somehow found its way onto YouTube - without the involvement of Barnes and Creep: I have seen In the Raw. It is funny and illuminating. Since the interviewees say so firmly that the ABC will never, ever run another nude band, perhaps the ABC could run the documentary, and then do just that. After all, Auntie can't have turned prudish, surely? http://www.screenhub.com.au/ | For Australian screen professionals

King Snake Roost - Top End Killer

This is taken from the unreleased documentary In The Raw about how Lubricated Goat came to appear naked on Blah Blah Blah November 1988.