Kill Switch...Klick: Difference between revisions
Sebasstian (talk | contribs) Added band promotional pictures. |
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Kill Switch...Klick's sound was very different at that time from a [[Seattle]] music scene steeped in the then current [[Grunge]] Sound. Sebasstian's main musical influences were from late 1970's and early 1980's bands like [[Killing Joke]], [[Public Image Ltd.]], [[Cabaret Voltaire]] and [[SPK]]. Sebasstian had produced a demo tape that actually receive airplay in cassette form on Seattle's newly re-formatted [[KNDD]] 107.7 FM. "The End" as KNDD was now called, embraced local artists almost like a college radio station. The End as well as [[KCMU]] would later play key roles in Kill Switch...Klick becoming one of the Northwest's best known electronica acts. |
Kill Switch...Klick's sound was very different at that time from a [[Seattle]] music scene steeped in the then current [[Grunge]] Sound. Sebasstian's main musical influences were from late 1970's and early 1980's bands like [[Killing Joke]], [[Public Image Ltd.]], [[Cabaret Voltaire]] and [[SPK]]. Sebasstian had produced a demo tape that actually receive airplay in cassette form on Seattle's newly re-formatted [[KNDD]] 107.7 FM. "The End" as KNDD was now called, embraced local artists almost like a college radio station. The End as well as [[KCMU]] would later play key roles in Kill Switch...Klick becoming one of the Northwest's best known electronica acts. |
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Encouraged by the airplay of the KsK demo, Sebasstian began putting together a live band to bring these recordings to the stages of Seattle. He found drummer Mike Ditmore from an add in The Rocket, a musicians resource and classified Seattle monthly newspaper. They were joined by Avette Avery on keyboards and backing vocals. Their first show was an art gallery opening at the Art/Not Terminal. As luck would have it the [[Seattle Times]] was at the event doing a feature article on the gallery and thus the bands very first gig garnished them |
Encouraged by the airplay of the KsK demo, Sebasstian began putting together a live band to bring these recordings to the stages of Seattle. He found drummer Mike Ditmore from an add in The Rocket, a musicians resource and classified Seattle monthly newspaper. They were joined by Avette Avery on keyboards and backing vocals. Their first show was an art gallery opening at the Art/Not Terminal. As luck would have it the [[Seattle Times]] was at the event doing a feature article on the gallery and thus the bands very first gig garnished them a bit of local publicity. The band decided rather than re-recording their demo they would concentrate on a music video. Enlisting the help of Ditmore's friend, director Sylvia Szabo, KsK filmed their first music video for the song Follow Me. Shot entirely on location in 16mm Black & White film, this highly controversial and artistic video made the rounds on the international gothic-industrial club circuits and was even banned for commercial airplay in Canda due to it's "adult graphic content." Soon after the videos release, Avery left the band. The core of Kill Switch...Klick remained Sebasstian and Ditmore for nearly seven years after. |
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The next year Sebasstian got a phone call from Chris Massey and Robert Riscassi of the [[Seattle]] grindcore band [[And Christ Wept]]. They were looking for other like minded bands to play area shows with. Riscassi mentioned another Seattle band who might be interested in giging called [[Noise Box]]. Sebasstian immediately called 'Dre of said band and after a few minutes on the phone they all decided to have a meeting at the Puss Puss Cafe on Capital Hill, Seattle. This meeting became the foundation of the N.E.C. or Northwestern Elektro-Industrial Coalition, with over 30 musicians showing up in 10 different projects. These included [[Kill Switch...Klick]], [[Noise Box]], [[And Christ Wept]], [[SMP]], [[Terminal]], [[The Same]], [[Sex WIth Sarah]] and many others. The purpose of the N.E.C. and it's monthly meetings was to help promote electronic music in the Northwest by giving similar influenced artists a network of bands to play shows with. Remember this was right in the middle of the [[Grunge]] explosion and electronic music was still not very popular in the Seattle area. The N.E.C. was a huge success with national articles written in [[Keyboard Magazine]], [[Industrial Nation]] and Axcess Magazines as well as regular club showcases of N.E.C. bands at The Weathered Wall and Coulorbox Club. The N.E.C. also release compilation tapes and put out a monthly newsletter. By sharing mailing lists the N.E.C. bands quickly made a network of area electronic music enthusiasts. |
The next year Sebasstian got a phone call from Chris Massey and Robert Riscassi of the [[Seattle]] grindcore band [[And Christ Wept]]. They were looking for other like minded bands to play area shows with. Riscassi mentioned another Seattle band who might be interested in giging called [[Noise Box]]. Sebasstian immediately called 'Dre of said band and after a few minutes on the phone they all decided to have a meeting at the Puss Puss Cafe on Capital Hill, Seattle. This meeting became the foundation of the N.E.C. or Northwestern Elektro-Industrial Coalition, with over 30 musicians showing up in 10 different projects. These included [[Kill Switch...Klick]], [[Noise Box]], [[And Christ Wept]], [[SMP]], [[Terminal]], [[The Same]], [[Sex WIth Sarah]] and many others. The purpose of the N.E.C. and it's monthly meetings was to help promote electronic music in the Northwest by giving similar influenced artists a network of bands to play shows with. Remember this was right in the middle of the [[Grunge]] explosion and electronic music was still not very popular in the Seattle area. The N.E.C. was a huge success with national articles written in [[Keyboard Magazine]], [[Industrial Nation]] and Axcess Magazines as well as regular club showcases of N.E.C. bands at The Weathered Wall and Coulorbox Club. The N.E.C. also release compilation tapes and put out a monthly newsletter. By sharing mailing lists the N.E.C. bands quickly made a network of area electronic music enthusiasts. |
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=== Formation and ''deGenerate'' (1993 - 1998) === |
=== Formation and ''deGenerate'' (1993 - 1998) === |
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KsK originally signed with [[Urge Ltd]] in [[1993]]. This relationship did not produce anything more than demo tapes and a rumoured track "Big Dub" in the movie Headless Body Topless Bar. The duo signed to [[Cleopatra Records]] in [[1994]]. The following year the band released the albums "''Beat it to Fit, Paint it to Match''" and "''Oddities & Versions''", 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]]. In [[1997]] Kill Switch...Klick added former [[Transilvia]] bassist Jeremy Moss, |
KsK originally signed with [[Urge Ltd]] in [[1993]]. This relationship did not produce anything more than demo tapes and a rumoured track "Big Dub" in the movie Headless Body Topless Bar. The duo signed to [[Cleopatra Records]] in [[1994]]. The following year the band released the albums "''Beat it to Fit, Paint it to Match''" and "''Oddities & Versions''", 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]]. in [[1996]] the band began work on it's second music video for the single "Produkt (Mass Market Mix)." They hired director Brent Watanabe to animate and direct this lo-fi animation homage to Consumerist Corporate America. Sebasstian had worked with Watanabe on several short film project previously. In [[1997]] Kill Switch...Klick added former [[Transilvia]] bassist Jeremy Moss, releasing the highly acclaimed album ''deGenerate'', with a Alternate Version & B-sides follow up album entitled "ALT.", both on Cleopatra. Later that year, and right before their second US tour, Ditmore quit the band to pursue a career with American aviation giant [[Boeing]]. |
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=== ''Organica'' (1998 - 2001) === |
=== ''Organica'' (1998 - 2001) === |
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In 1998 Sebasstian formed Irregular Records ( later [[Go-Kustom Rekords]] ) and in 1999 released Kill Switch...Klick's most controversial album "Organica." This album featured new songs and re-recorded versions of KsK classics using only acoustic sound sources. Said [[CMJ Magazine]] in Issue 67 "D.A. Sebasstian, has taken to using only acoustic instruments, recorded in his studio and sampler- processed appropriately, to write new songs and recreate older KsK material. The convention-busting instrumentation makes Organica a surprisingly flirtatious, personality-driven album. Just listen to "5 Hotwheels In My Box," which rhythmically alters a sample of a child blurting "five" and juxtaposes the soundbite with the bleating of bagpipes. Organica is a testament to the ingenuity of Sebasstian as well as to the viability of acoustic instruments in making great dance records." Organica was later licensed and reissued by [[Invisible Records]]. |
In 1998 Sebasstian formed Irregular Records ( later [[Go-Kustom Rekords]] ) and in 1999 released Kill Switch...Klick's most controversial album "Organica." This album featured new songs and re-recorded versions of KsK classics using only acoustic sound sources. Said [[CMJ Magazine]] in Issue 67 "D.A. Sebasstian, has taken to using only acoustic instruments, recorded in his studio and sampler- processed appropriately, to write new songs and recreate older KsK material. The convention-busting instrumentation makes Organica a surprisingly flirtatious, personality-driven album. Just listen to "5 Hotwheels In My Box," which rhythmically alters a sample of a child blurting "five" and juxtaposes the soundbite with the bleating of bagpipes. Organica is a testament to the ingenuity of Sebasstian as well as to the viability of acoustic instruments in making great dance records." Organica was later licensed and reissued by [[Invisible Records]]. |
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=== ''Milkin' It For All It's Worth'' (2001 - |
=== ''Milkin' It For All It's Worth'' (2001 - 2006) === |
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In 2001 Kill Switch...Klick came out with a "Best Of" collection called "Milkin' It For All It's Worth" on Cleopatra Records, which included remixes by [[Spahn Ranch]] and [[Sigue Sigue Sputnik]]. The next year Invisible Records released Almost Ambient Collection Volume One. Said [[Keybodard Magazine]]- "The accent in the title is on "almost." Though much of the music is warm and gauzy, there's generally a beat prowling around. The sound effects, while subdued, are sometimes disturbing- love the squidgy filter stuff. The cluster-chord piano solo in "Feeding the Machine (Day to Day)" is downright rude, and "A/B Continuity (Resurgence)" is a full-on industrial/techno song. For my money, mastermind D.A. Sebasstian finds a good balance between energetic and mellow. Eleven of the tracks are previously unreleased, eight are reissues." |
In 2001 Kill Switch...Klick came out with a "Best Of" collection called "Milkin' It For All It's Worth" on Cleopatra Records, which included remixes by [[Spahn Ranch]] and [[Sigue Sigue Sputnik]]. The next year Invisible Records released Almost Ambient Collection Volume One. Said [[Keybodard Magazine]]- "The accent in the title is on "almost." Though much of the music is warm and gauzy, there's generally a beat prowling around. The sound effects, while subdued, are sometimes disturbing- love the squidgy filter stuff. The cluster-chord piano solo in "Feeding the Machine (Day to Day)" is downright rude, and "A/B Continuity (Resurgence)" is a full-on industrial/techno song. For my money, mastermind D.A. Sebasstian finds a good balance between energetic and mellow. Eleven of the tracks are previously unreleased, eight are reissues." |
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Sebasstian started writing feature articles for the national kustom kulture publications- [[CK Deluxe]] and [[Ol' Skool Rodz]] Magazine in 2004. |
Sebasstian started writing feature articles for the national kustom kulture publications- [[CK Deluxe]] and [[Ol' Skool Rodz]] Magazine in 2004. |
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=== ''Mechanoid Collections'' (2006 - Present) === |
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In 2006 [[Go-Kustom Rekords]] began re-issuing the Kill Switch...Klick back catalog including ALT., deGenerate and Almost Ambient Collection Volume One as well as the edgy collection Mechanoid Collection. Says Sebasstian about Mechanoid Collection, "Most of the disc is older material repackaged yet again- but released more for strategic reasons than anything else. I wanted to get some of my favorite songs on a single collection on my own label and quickly up on iTunes. Mechanoid was the vehicle to do this." |
In 2006 [[Go-Kustom Rekords]] began re-issuing the Kill Switch...Klick back catalog including ALT., deGenerate and Almost Ambient Collection Volume One as well as the edgy collection Mechanoid Collection. Says Sebasstian about Mechanoid Collection, "Most of the disc is older material repackaged yet again- but released more for strategic reasons than anything else. I wanted to get some of my favorite songs on a single collection on my own label and quickly up on iTunes. Mechanoid was the vehicle to do this." |
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Revision as of 19:51, 12 November 2007
Kill Switch...Klick, also known as KsK and Kill Switch (the original) is the name of an American industrial rock band. The band is best known for its releases on Cleopatra Records and Go-Kustom Rekords.
History
Conceptualisation and Inspiration (1991 - 1993)
Kill Switch...Klick was formed in 1991 by D.A. Sebasstian (born Devin Edward Chastain in February, 1964), a writer, musician and artist who had relocated from San Bernardino, California, to Seattle, Washington late in 1989.
Sebasstian came up with the band name while working at Microsoft as a landscape grunt. 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:
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 Dhamer 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 elipses.
The band name subsequently inspired novelist William Gibson to entitle his first X-files episode Kill Switch after a chance meeting with Sebasstian during a book tour. Later when Kill Switch aired it inspired the naming of the metalcore band Killswitch Engage.
Kill Switch...Klick's sound was very different at that time from a Seattle music scene steeped in the then current Grunge Sound. Sebasstian's main musical influences were from late 1970's and early 1980's bands like Killing Joke, Public Image Ltd., Cabaret Voltaire and SPK. Sebasstian had produced a demo tape that actually receive airplay in cassette form on Seattle's newly re-formatted KNDD 107.7 FM. "The End" as KNDD was now called, embraced local artists almost like a college radio station. The End as well as KCMU would later play key roles in Kill Switch...Klick becoming one of the Northwest's best known electronica acts.
Encouraged by the airplay of the KsK demo, Sebasstian began putting together a live band to bring these recordings to the stages of Seattle. He found drummer Mike Ditmore from an add in The Rocket, a musicians resource and classified Seattle monthly newspaper. They were joined by Avette Avery on keyboards and backing vocals. Their first show was an art gallery opening at the Art/Not Terminal. As luck would have it the Seattle Times was at the event doing a feature article on the gallery and thus the bands very first gig garnished them a bit of local publicity. The band decided rather than re-recording their demo they would concentrate on a music video. Enlisting the help of Ditmore's friend, director Sylvia Szabo, KsK filmed their first music video for the song Follow Me. Shot entirely on location in 16mm Black & White film, this highly controversial and artistic video made the rounds on the international gothic-industrial club circuits and was even banned for commercial airplay in Canda due to it's "adult graphic content." Soon after the videos release, Avery left the band. The core of Kill Switch...Klick remained Sebasstian and Ditmore for nearly seven years after.
The next year Sebasstian got a phone call from Chris Massey and Robert Riscassi of the Seattle grindcore band And Christ Wept. They were looking for other like minded bands to play area shows with. Riscassi mentioned another Seattle band who might be interested in giging called Noise Box. Sebasstian immediately called 'Dre of said band and after a few minutes on the phone they all decided to have a meeting at the Puss Puss Cafe on Capital Hill, Seattle. This meeting became the foundation of the N.E.C. or Northwestern Elektro-Industrial Coalition, with over 30 musicians showing up in 10 different projects. These included Kill Switch...Klick, Noise Box, And Christ Wept, SMP, Terminal, The Same, Sex WIth Sarah and many others. The purpose of the N.E.C. and it's monthly meetings was to help promote electronic music in the Northwest by giving similar influenced artists a network of bands to play shows with. Remember this was right in the middle of the Grunge explosion and electronic music was still not very popular in the Seattle area. The N.E.C. was a huge success with national articles written in Keyboard Magazine, Industrial Nation and Axcess Magazines as well as regular club showcases of N.E.C. bands at The Weathered Wall and Coulorbox Club. The N.E.C. also release compilation tapes and put out a monthly newsletter. By sharing mailing lists the N.E.C. bands quickly made a network of area electronic music enthusiasts.
Formation and deGenerate (1993 - 1998)
KsK originally signed with Urge Ltd in 1993. This relationship did not produce anything more than demo tapes and a rumoured track "Big Dub" in the movie Headless Body Topless Bar. The duo signed to Cleopatra Records in 1994. The following year the band released the albums "Beat it to Fit, Paint it to Match" and "Oddities & Versions", 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. in 1996 the band began work on it's second music video for the single "Produkt (Mass Market Mix)." They hired director Brent Watanabe to animate and direct this lo-fi animation homage to Consumerist Corporate America. Sebasstian had worked with Watanabe on several short film project previously. In 1997 Kill Switch...Klick added former Transilvia bassist Jeremy Moss, releasing the highly acclaimed album deGenerate, with a Alternate Version & B-sides follow up album entitled "ALT.", both on Cleopatra. Later that year, and right before their second US tour, Ditmore quit the band to pursue a career with American aviation giant Boeing.
Organica (1998 - 2001)
In 1998 Sebasstian formed Irregular Records ( later Go-Kustom Rekords ) and in 1999 released Kill Switch...Klick's most controversial album "Organica." This album featured new songs and re-recorded versions of KsK classics using only acoustic sound sources. Said CMJ Magazine in Issue 67 "D.A. Sebasstian, has taken to using only acoustic instruments, recorded in his studio and sampler- processed appropriately, to write new songs and recreate older KsK material. The convention-busting instrumentation makes Organica a surprisingly flirtatious, personality-driven album. Just listen to "5 Hotwheels In My Box," which rhythmically alters a sample of a child blurting "five" and juxtaposes the soundbite with the bleating of bagpipes. Organica is a testament to the ingenuity of Sebasstian as well as to the viability of acoustic instruments in making great dance records." Organica was later licensed and reissued by Invisible Records.
Milkin' It For All It's Worth (2001 - 2006)
In 2001 Kill Switch...Klick came out with a "Best Of" collection called "Milkin' It For All It's Worth" on Cleopatra Records, which included remixes by Spahn Ranch and Sigue Sigue Sputnik. The next year Invisible Records released Almost Ambient Collection Volume One. Said Keybodard Magazine- "The accent in the title is on "almost." Though much of the music is warm and gauzy, there's generally a beat prowling around. The sound effects, while subdued, are sometimes disturbing- love the squidgy filter stuff. The cluster-chord piano solo in "Feeding the Machine (Day to Day)" is downright rude, and "A/B Continuity (Resurgence)" is a full-on industrial/techno song. For my money, mastermind D.A. Sebasstian finds a good balance between energetic and mellow. Eleven of the tracks are previously unreleased, eight are reissues."
Sebasstian also began releasing and producing music and remixes for other bands, including Drag Strip Riot, The Wages of Sin, Faith & Disease, The Bad Things, Melene Marie Brown, OmBili Troupe, The Flathand 5, Billy Dwayne & The Creepers, Gary Numan, Gene Loves Jezebel, and his own solo project D.A. Sebasstian & The Inner Demons. He also expanded his Go-Kustom Records into the realm of public access television with a weekly Seattle-based show called Go-Kustom TV with Hostess Lindsay Calkins.
In 2003 Sebasstian began filming Hot Rod Girls Save the World, a Black & White B-movie style independent film, which includes original soundtrack music by Kill Switch...Klick, as well as many other Seattle area musicians. Filming was completed in 2006. The film went into post-production that same year, and is set for tentative a 2008 release.
Sebasstian started writing feature articles for the national kustom kulture publications- CK Deluxe and Ol' Skool Rodz Magazine in 2004.
Mechanoid Collections (2006 - Present)
In 2006 Go-Kustom Rekords began re-issuing the Kill Switch...Klick back catalog including ALT., deGenerate and Almost Ambient Collection Volume One as well as the edgy collection Mechanoid Collection. Says Sebasstian about Mechanoid Collection, "Most of the disc is older material repackaged yet again- but released more for strategic reasons than anything else. I wanted to get some of my favorite songs on a single collection on my own label and quickly up on iTunes. Mechanoid was the vehicle to do this."
Sebasstian teamed up with You Tube starlet Super Amanda in late 2007 to record "KIlling Machine," a song featured prominently in Hot Rod Girls Save The World. Killing Machine is to be released as an E.P. in 2008 and includes five different versions of said song, in styles ranging from straight ahead rock, electro-industrial and even acoustic. Sebasstian also published the Hot Rod Girls Save The World Screenplay with the announced intention of making it into a full blown three part novel series called The Anywhere Triology (with Hot Rod Girls Save The World being Book Number Two). Part One is entitled The Legend Of D.B. Petty.
Discography
- Kill Switch...Klick, 1991, Tape
- Beat it to Fit, Paint it to Match, 1993, Tape
- Beat it to Fit, Paint it to Match, 1995, CD
- Oddities and Versions, 1995, CD
- deGenerate, 1997, CD (reissued in 2006)
- Alt., 1997, CD (reissued in 2006)
- Organica, 1999, CD
- Milkin' it For All it's Worth, 2001, CD
- Almost Ambient Collection Vol. One, 2002, CD (reissued in 2006)
- Mechanoid Collection, 2006, CD
- Killing Machine E.P., 2008, CD
- Hot Rod Girls Save The World (Movie Soundtrack), 2008, CD
Related Projects
Artists Worked With Or Remixed
- Faith & Disease
- Gary Numan
- Gene Loves Jezebel
- Vanessa Lowe
- How's A Bayou
- Super Amanda
- Diamond Fist Werny
- And Christ Wept
- Sounds Of Mass Production
- DragStrip Riot
- Wages Of SIn
- The Bad Things
- The Amateurs
- Courtney Hudak
- Juke
- Section One
- The Boxcar Tramps
- The Penningtones
- Sciflyer
- OmBilli Troupe
- Billy Dwayne & The Creepers