Joe Preston briefly joined the Need

Before their next album, the Need began branching out into other projects. With singer Nomy Lamm , the duo formed a highly theatrical surf punk drag king band called The Teenage Ho-Dads. They also created a collaborative project where Carns and Sloan, with a rotating cast of players, acted as a karaoke band for guest singers; including Lamm, Tamala Poljak ( Longstocking ), Audrey Marrs , Tracy Sawyer ( Heavens to Betsy ) and Slim Moon . The Need released these recordings as Karaneedoke , which would be part of Kill Rock Stars’ Mailorder Freak Singles Club. In 1998, Joe Preston briefly joined the Need, playing bass and sampler . The songs “Vaselina” and “Talk Potty” were released as The Need with Joe Preston & DJ Zena on Up Records . During this period Carns played drums with the Sub Debs and later with The Spells . Carns and Sloan both joined Mocket for a short time and appeared on their album Pro Forma . This was followed by the pair collaborating with Two Ton Boa . The Need returned to the studio with producer Mike Lastra in summer 1999 and completed their second album, The Need is Dead , for Chainsaw Records.