Their irreverent, X-rated and sometimes dangerous live shows were the stuff of legend – but now, the Texas psych-punk jesters finally bare all.

Paul Leary looks like a normal suburban dad; you’d hardly pick him as lead guitarist of the Butthole Surfers, alt rock’s most chaotic, hilarious band. Paul was a clean-cut San Antonio MBA student when he fatefully bonded over doobies, Frank Zappa and gross-out medical photos with wild-mannered accountant-cum-vocalist Gibby Haynes. Touring the US in a campervan, the pair spent the next 40-odd years building a cult reputation for not just blackly absurd psychedelic noise-punk and experimental tape editing but also bacchanalian live shows involving onstage nudity, fake blood, shotguns and gnarly projected visuals. They made fans of Jello Biafra and Kurt Cobain; a go-go dancer of RuPaul; and enemies of Steve Albini and a revolving door of bassists and drummers.

Director Tom J. Stern won SXSW’s Best of Texas award for this affectionate, long-gestating documentary project. Stern summons the weirdo Butthole Surfers spirit through lewd, violent puppetry and zine-style animation, plus a cavalcade of talking heads including Flea, Dave Grohl and Richard Linklater – who, before becoming a celebrated filmmaker, served as the band’s first projectionist.

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