Aunt Helen

YEARS ACTIVE: March 1978 – November 1979 – Buffalo, NY

It was early 1977 and the punk scene in the UK was exploding, but in the faltering industrial city of Buffalo, NY “punk” was a word that wouldn’t become familiar to their music scene until late 1978; with bands like The Vores, The Jumpers and The Enemies. However, it was the two K brothers, who would later form one of Buffalo’s premier punk quartets in late 1979, who truly started the punk movement in Buffalo.

Having disbanded their group Grim Reaper the two K brothers were unsure of what to do next. A friend, Gregg Prevot, from the Chesterfield Kings, told them they should check out punk music. So on one fine spring day the boys journeyed to Rochester, NY to The House of Guitars music shop. There they purchased the latest records by the Sex Pistols, Dead Boys and the Heartbreakers. Within a matter of days after listening to this new style of music the two brothers with two friends would form Aunt Helen (March 1978). Pictured in the photo from left to right is KKK (drums, vocals), Zee (guitar) Rocky (guitar, vocals), Mr. Lunch (bass).

The group arrived at their name after they discovered that each had an aunt named Helen. They thought the name outrageous and unique, and yes, they were the first band to use this name…don’t be fooled by other bands called “Aunt Helen.” They started out doing three sets per night, a Kiss set, an Alice Cooper set and an originals set. But by the Fall of 1978 “punk” had come to Buffalo and they dropped the Cooper & Kiss sets.

With their long hair, heavy rock roots, glam dress, punk-ass attitude, and fast-paced, hard driving music (an amalgamation of all their fave punk groups with a little Alice Cooper, Kiss, and Rolling Stones mixed in), they set the standard for bands that would follow.

This local one hit band sold 800 copies of their only 7″ single, Big Money, in the 18 months they were together before disbanding in November ’79; with the K brothers going off to form The Toys.

		KKK Photo Coming Soon–We think!
Alice Cooper’s cousin Rocky Starr Early 1978
Zee	Zee, Mr. Lunch, KKK, Rocky Starr	Mr. Lunch

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