6ft Hick – Notes From The Underground

A behind-the-scenes music documentary that reveals the messy, all-too human face of the low-budget music scene in stark contrast to the perceived glamour of an internationally touring rock band. Raised on a chicken farm in rural Nambour, on Australia’s northeast coast, front men Geoff and Ben Corbett sought their artistic beginnings in the 80s, dabbling in punk and performance art. They milked their North Queensland roots relentlessly for its inbred, bigoted imagery, filtered through wicked wit and self-deprecation. Touring for 15 years, the band has become an underground institution. One reviewer described their show as “an indistinguishable pulverising barrage of screams, sweat, spit and blood flowing over a fierce, raw pulsing din.” Their shows engender an atmosphere of trance and possession as the duo lurch around the stage, barrel into the crowd, hang upside-down from lighting rigs, drink beer from boots, eat the contents of ashtrays, and blood let. Their mild-mannered alter egos spend every waking moment maintaining day jobs and living normal lives, and amassing resources until they may re-awaken that beast. This documentary takes stock of the 6ft Hick machinery: what motivates and drives them in a world where music is about cashing in or bowing out? Offstage, these same figures are humble, considered and witty, offering candid insight into what they’ve created.