Sebasstian came up with the band name while working at [[Microsoft]] as a landscape grunt.<ref name="indus_nation_8">{{cite journal |last1=Dankin |first1=Alexander |editor1-last=Valerio |editor1-first=Paul |title=KsK: Grunge Sucks |journal=Industrial Nation[[Industrialnation]] |date=Summer 1994 |volume=1 |issue=9 |page=44 |___location=Iowa City, IA |issn=1062-449X |publisher=Moon Mystique}}</ref> As the story goes, the mower he was using started to sputter and cough- so he thought aloud "Better hit the Kill Switch." Says Sebasstian:
{{cquote|As I reached down to shut the mower off, it was as if a light went off in my head. I had been looking for a band name for months and nothing seemed to fit the aggressive electronic direction my music was taking. The words "Kill Switch" kept rolling around in my head all afternoon. This was at the same time [[Jeffrey Dahmer]] was all over the news for his cannibalistic antics. A random thought of Dahmer with a switch on the side of his head marked "Kill" came to me. I thought what if Dahmer had a Kill Switch that went "Klick" and he instantly changed into the strange creature he eventually became. Klick was an after thought, so I have always written the name with the ellipses.}}
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===Formation and ''deGenerate'' (1993 - 1998)===
KsK originally signed with [[Urge Ltd]] in 1993, a label founded by Russell Ziecker (former bandmate of [[Charlie Sexton]] and before starting Urge working at [[Virgin Records]] Publishing). This relationship did not produce anything more than demo tapes and a rumored track "Big Dub" in the movie ''Headless Body Topless Bar''. The duo then signed to [[Cleopatra Records]] in 1994. The following year the band released the albumsalbum ''Beat it to Fit, Paint it to Match'', a compilation of demos and remixes titled ''Oddities & Versions'',<ref name="indus_nation_12">{{cite journal |author=KYron |editor1-last=Valerio |editor1-first=Paul |title=Kill Switch... Klick - Oddities and Versions (Cleopatra) |journal=[[Industrialnation]] |date=Spring 1996 |volume=1 |issue=12 |pages=67-68 |___location=Iowa City, IA |issn=1062-449X |publisher=Moon Mystique}}</ref> and went on their first US tour with bassist Paul Wynia. The tour was entitled "Muzak for the Masses", and also included grindcore artists And Christ Wept. This tour was a success for the band and added to their growing fan base. When Sebasstian returned from tour he released his first solo CD on his own imprint INDVSTA MVSIC. The disc was entitled One Minute Endless and showcased a more classical and experimental side to Sebasstians song writing. Each disc was signed and numbered and encased in pieces of orange plastic fence material held together with electrical zip ties. The title track was a twenty-minute ambient piece that used vague movie samples and textures washed together in a stream of reverbs and delays. Said Jester in ''Sonic Boom'' Magazine, "This album is the solo work of Sebasstian the lead vocalist from Kill Switch... Klick. The CD itself arrives in a nifty package consisting of two pieces of orange barrier fence twist tied together and the CD itself is individually signed, hand numbered and inserted into a liner sleeve. The music is quite unlike anything that D.A. has written for KsK and borders more on classical piano in some places rather than the traditional grinding electronic industrial that you might expect. Overall the music is much mellower, more emotional and deeply personal compared to other material Sebasstian has been responsible for writing. D.A. utilizes an inordinately large amount of keyboard work on this album. The keyboards ranges from classical piano to other classical keyboard instruments as well as various wacky samples." In 1996 the KsK began work on its second music video for the single "Produkt (Mass Market Mix)". They hired director Brent Watanabe to animate and direct this lo-fi animated homage to "consumerist corporate America". Sebasstian had worked with Watanabe on several short film project previously as both actor and sound designer. In 1997 Kill Switch...Klick added former [[Transilvia]] bassist Jeremy Moss, releasing the highly acclaimed album ''deGenerate'' released on Cleopatra. Said ''The Stranger'', "deGenerate is not a great album in a local or industrial sense. It's a great album period!" Later that year, and right before their second US tour, Ditmore quit the band to pursue a career with American aviation giant [[Boeing]]. KsK's 1997 tour was financially devastating to Sebasstian, when their tour van blew up just before their very first gig in [[San Francisco]]. Determined to finish the tour across the United States, Sebasstian borrowed additional money from Cleopatra Records, with the promise of a quick "no recording cost" release when the band returned from tour. This album was ''ALT.'' a b-sides and alternative versions CD that actually garnished decent reviews and in fact paid back the borrowed tour money to Cleopatra Records.
