Mike 'Amp-boy' Allen was an early friend of 'The Spiders' who they met just after leaving Cortez High School. He had a van, so was acted as a roadie for some years. He was driving the van when the 'Spiders' had their fateful car accident on Los Angeles, and he was there when they auditioned for Frank Zappa, and most other important events on the road to becoming 'Alice Cooper'.
From Alice's biography 'Me, Alice':
"We were all seated around Formica clubhouse one day (at the Glendale Community College) when a limbering guy sat down at the table with his lunch, pulled out a cap pistol and shot us all dead. This was Mike Allen, who also distinguished himself by carrying a 'Man From Uncle' badge and ID card. Glen said to him, "You're a crazy motherf***er," and Mike Allen laughed a lot. Mike became our amp-boy - which is what we called the big guy who carried the equipment for us skinny guys. He signed on with us and stayed for the next four years."
From Dennis Dunaway's Biography 'Snakes, Guillotines, Electric Chairs':
"We were impressed that the Byrds actually had a guy who did nothing but set up their amps. We immediately called on a friend, Mike Allen, who was already hanging around a lot, and asked him to be our honorary equipment mover. Although a quiet, passive fellow, Mike jumped right into the spirit of the band and started dressing weird—only, his concept of weird was weird. He wore a black turtleneck (copied from the TV spy show The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) and a velvet cape, and he always had a small pillow balanced on his shoulder. (Take that, Salvador DalĂ.) We called him Amp Boy."