Kill Creek originated in 1986, when high-school classmates Scott Born on vocals and guitar and Ron Hayes on guitar first assembled the band. Early inspiration came from the post-punk approach of Rites of Spring, Embrace, and Mission of Burma, while the group simultaneously cultivated its own strain of straightforward power pop reminiscent of Hüsker Dü and the Doughboys. Between 1986 and 1993 the members recorded numerous tracks they later labeled “embarrassing basement demos,” all while appearing on various compilations and cycling through drummers at a pace rivaling Spinal Tap. Mammoth Records signed the band in 1994, leading to the EP Stretch and the debut full-length St. Valentine’s Garage; the following year brought extensive touring throughout the United States in support of both releases. The lineup finally stabilized with the addition of bassist Patrick Grassy and drummer Matt Gilhousen, after which the album Proving Winter Cruel appeared in 1996. Work on a projected fourth album began in fall 1999 under the working title Whimsy, yet the project was ultimately abandoned; a handful of its songs surfaced instead on the 2000 release Colors of Home. The double-disc set Will to Strike arrived in 2004.
