Lost in Ohio Is Reissuing Aunt Bettys’ 1996 Debut Album

Over the years, I’ve written quite a bit about Michael Knott, the Christian alternative music pioneer whose turbulent-yet-groundbreaking career came to an end in 2024 when he passed away at the age of 61. One thing I haven’t written about, though, is Aunt Bettys, the alternative rock group that Knott fronted in the mid-to-late ’90s.

Aimed at the secular market, Aunt Bettys — originally called Aunt Betty’s Ford until legal action from Ford Motor Co. forced a name change — experienced its own turbulence, one characterized by label woes as well as internal struggles and addictions. (Knott had a long history of alcohol abuse, as did bassist Brian Doidge.) Despite a major label record deal and all of the hype surrounding them, Aunt Bettys only released two albums: their 1996 self-titled debut and 1998’s Ford Supersonic, which compiled the demos Knott and Co. recorded after their record deal fell through.

Lost in Ohio has just launched a Kickstarter campaign for their planned reissue of 1996’s Aunt Bettys, which will feature a remastered version of the album along with new artwork and extensive liner notes. The remastered album will be released on CD, cassette, and two vinyl versions. Other potential goodies include an Aunt Bettys t-shirt and poster. (The original Aunt Bettys release is currently available on Bandcamp.)

Lost in Ohio has already established themselves as a solid reissues label thanks to their work on Michael Knott’s Strip Cycle, L.S. Underground’s The Grape Prophet, Morella’s Forest’s Ultraphonic Hiss, The Julies’ Lovelife, and Love Spirals Downwards’ Flux (for which I wrote the liner notes) — to name a few. Their Aunt Bettys campaign looks to be just as successful; as I write this, it’s currently at 70% of its $25,000 goal with 30 days left to go.