Originally called Ester Of Wood Rosin and was formed during a low point in Cave In, around August of 1996 by Aaron Stuart of Piebald, Matt Redmond, Adam McGrath and Stephen Brodsky. When Aaron left the band and Kurt Ballou of Converge took his place on guitar, the band name changed to Kid Kilowatt, lifted from a Guided By Voices song on one of their earlier albums. The band played only a handful of shows under Kid Kilowatt before dissolving due to everyone in the band's other musical commitments taking up too much time.