The Need is an American

queercore Queercore (or homocore) is a cultural/social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of the punk subculture and a music genre that comes from punk rock. It is distinguished by its discontent with society in general, and specifical ...

band formed by singer/drummer

Rachel Carns Rachel Carns (born August 13, 1969) is an American musician, composer, artist and performer living in Olympia, Washington, U.S. Raised in small-town Wisconsin, she went on to study painting and drawing at Cooper Union for the Advancement of S ...

and guitarist

Radio Sloan Radio Sloan is a musician from Olympia, Washington. She is best known as a guitarist for The Need, the band she formed with Rachel Carns; her other bands include Ce Be Barns Band, The Circuit Side, Fact or Fiction, Grandpa's Ghost Stories; and ...

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

in the mid-1990s. After issuing a series of seven-inches on labels including

Kill Rock Stars Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in 1991 by Slim Moon and Tinuviel Sampson, and based in both Olympia, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, but was originally known ...

and

Outpunk Outpunk enjoys the distinction of being the first record label entirely devoted to queer punk bands. The label was run out of San Francisco and began as an extension of Matt Wobensmith's fanzine, ''Outpunk''. ''Outpunk'' ran for seven issues, from ...

, The Need relocated to

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region. European ...

and released two albums for

Chainsaw Records Chainsaw Records is an independent record label run by Donna Dresch that is devoted to Queercore bands. The label is in Portland, Oregon. History ''Chainsaw'' began life as a zine published by Donna Dresch in the late 1980s. Musicians and write ...

. The duo's unsettling brand of

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an art ...

(combined with Carns' distinctive artwork) would set them apart and ensure their versatility. During the band's initial run, they played shows with such diverse acts as

Tribe 8 Tribe 8 was a LGBTQ punk rock band from San Francisco, considered one of the first queercore groups. The band took their name from the practice of tribadism, with "tribe eight" being a play on the word ''tribade'', a sexual practice sometimes ...

Fugazi Fugazi (; ) is an American post-hardcore band that formed in Washington, D.C., in 1986. The band consists of guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally, and drummer Brendan Canty. They are noted for their style-tr ...

, The Ex and Bright Eyes, and toured with

Le Tigre Le Tigre (, ; French for "The Tiger") is an American electronic rock band formed by Kathleen Hanna (of Bikini Kill), Johanna Fateman and Sadie Benning in 1998 in New York City. Benning left in 2000 and was replaced by JD Samson for the rest ...

BS 2000 BS 2000 (also known as Beat Science 2000) was an American rock music, rock and hip hop music, hip hop group formed by Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (member of Beastie Boys) and Amery Smith, Amery "AWOL" Smith (drummer for Suicidal Tendencies a ...

and

Blonde Redhead Blonde Redhead is an American alternative rock band composed of Kazu Makino (vocals, keys/rhythm guitar) and twin brothers Simone and Amedeo Pace (drums/keys and lead guitar/bass/keys/vocals, respectively) that formed in New York City in 1993. ...

. Their third album, ''The Transfused'', acted as a soundtrack to the

rock opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...

of the same name. The Need dissolved in 2001, with Carns and Sloan shifting their focus to other projects. After briefly reuniting for benefit shows in 2010, The Need reformed for a second time in 2013 and released the album ''Resurrection''.

Background

Rachel Carns formed

Kicking Giant Rachel Carns (born August 13, 1969) is an American musician, composer, artist and performer living in Olympia, Washington, U.S. Raised in small-town Wisconsin, she went on to study painting and drawing at Cooper Union for the Advancement of Sci ...

with fellow

Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique in ...

student Tae Won Yu in 1990. Based in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, the pair recorded songs on Yu's 4-track and released a number of homemade cassettes. Through the network of underground

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by fan (person), enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) ...

s and

tape trading Tape trading is an unofficial method of distribution of musical or video content through the postal system, which was prominent in the 1980s and 1990s. Although most commonly used to distribute and publicize limited-release musical demo tapes in ...

circles, Kicking Giant were introduced to the

riot grrrl Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington and the greater Pacific Northwest and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. Riot grrrl is a subcultur ...

movement, which merged

DIY "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and sem ...

culture and

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

. After performing at the

International Pop Underground Convention The International Pop Underground Convention (or IPU) was a 1991 punk and alternative rock music festival in Olympia, Washington. The six-day convention centered on a series of performances at the Capitol Theater. Throughout August 20–25, ...

, the energy of the burgeoning Pacific Northwest punk scene proved infectious and both members were ready to leave New York. The duo parted ways temporarily in 1992 when Yu moved to Olympia and Carns to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

(where she briefly joined

Slant 6 Slant 6 was an American punk rock trio based in Washington, D.C. affiliated with early riot grrrl. Slant 6 consisted of Christina Billotte (electric guitar and vocals), Myra Power (electric bass guitar and vocals), and Marge Marshall (drum s ...

as drummer) before moving to Olympia to rejoin Yu and Kicking Giant. During the next three years Carns also performed and recorded with The Fakes, Sue P. Fox, The Pet Stains and Witchypoo. Kicking Giant issued their final album on

K Records K Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington founded in 1982. Artists on the label included early releases by Beck, Modest Mouse and Built to Spill. The record label has been called "key to the development of independent mu ...

in 1994 before breaking up the following year.

History

Formation and early years (1995–1997)

In 1995, Carns moved to

to play keyboards with The CeBe Barnes Band, which included singer and future filmmaker

Miranda July Miranda July (born Miranda Jennifer Grossinger; February 15, 1974) is an American film director, screenwriter, singer, actress and author. Her body of work includes film, fiction, monologue, digital presentations and live performance art. She w ...

, guitarist Shannon Tragedy (later known as

) and

Sleater-Kinney Sleater-Kinney ( ) is an American rock band that formed in Olympia, Washington, in 1994. The band's current lineup features Corin Tucker (vocals and guitar) and Carrie Brownstein (guitar and vocals), following the departure of longtime member J ...

drummer Toni Gogin. Pioneers in the next wave of

, they toured the West Coast with Sleater-Kinney, playing the Santa Barbara Girls Convention. After the band's demise in 1996, Carns and Sloan continued to collaborate with July and named the new line-up The Need, releasing their debut EP, ''Margie Ruskie Stops Time'', on

. They toured down the coast to play the Dirtybird Queercore Festival in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, but July soon left to pursue solo endeavors. The Need continued as a duo and issued a second EP for Kill Rock Stars in 1997, which was followed up with an additional release on

. That year, Carns and Sloan relocated to Olympia where they signed with

Donna Dresch Donna Dresch is an American punk rock musician, perhaps best known as founder, guitarist and bass guitarist of Team Dresch. Dresch has been actively involved in the queercore scene since the 1980s, as the creator of the fanzine ''Chainsaw'' an ...

's queercore label

, who released The Need's self-titled debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

Collaborations and ''The Need is Dead'' (1998–1999)

Before their next album, The Need began branching out into other projects. With singer

Nomy Lamm Naomi Elizabeth "Nomy" Lamm (born September 1, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter and political activist. Lamm has described herself as a "bad ass, fat ass, Jew, dyke amputee." Her left foot was amputated at age three, to be fitted with a l ...

, the duo formed a highly theatrical surf punk

drag king Drag kings are mostly female performance artists who dress in masculine drag and personify male gender stereotypes as part of an individual or group routine. A typical drag show may incorporate dancing, acting, stand-up comedy and singing, eit ...

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 Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music is ...

band for guest singers; including Lamm, Tamala Poljak ( Longstocking),

Audrey Marrs Audrey Marie Marrs (born June 25, 1970) is an American film producer, the Chief Operating Officer of Representational Pictures, Inc. She is a former punk rock musician and co-founder of Ladyfest. Biography Marrs is also half-Japanese. Her mothe ...

, Tracy Sawyer (

Heavens to Betsy Heavens to Betsy was an American punk band formed in Olympia, Washington in 1991 with vocalist and guitarist Corin Tucker and drummer Tracy Sawyer. The duo were part of the DIY riot grrrl, punk rock underground, and were Tucker's first band be ...

) and

Slim Moon Matthew "Slim" Moon (born October 15, 1967) is an American musician and the founder of the American independent music label Kill Rock Stars (KRS). He also started its sister label, 5 Rue Christine. Slim ran KRS from 1991 to 2006, during which ...

. 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 Up Records was a Seattle based independent record label founded in 1994 by Chris Takino and Rich Jensen. Some of the label's best known artists were 764-Hero, Built to Spill, Modest Mouse, Quasi and Tad. Chris Takino died of leukemia in 2000 ...

. 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 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultur ...

. 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.

''The Transfused'' and breakup (2000–2001)

Following multiple collaborations, the sense of community involvement, DIY spirit, and willingness to experiment led to The Need's creation of ''The Transfused'', a full-length

, co-written with Lamm. Twelve months in the making, with an original score by Carns and Sloan, a cast of twenty-five, a full backing band, $40,000 in

grassroots fundraising Grassroots fundraising is a common fundraising method used by political candidates which has grown in popularity with the emergence of the Internet. It has been utilized by US presidential candidates like Howard Dean, Barack Obama, Ron Paul, and mo ...

, months of rehearsals, and hundreds of volunteers, ''The Transfused'' sold out its two-week run at Olympia's Capitol Theater in summer 2000. An album featuring music from the production was released on Yoyo Recordings. The first-ever

Ladyfest Ladyfest is a community-based, not-for-profit global music and arts festival for feminist and women artists. Individual Ladyfests differ, but usually feature a combination of bands, musical groups, performance artists, authors, spoken word an ...

took place in Olympia later that year; Carns organized and emceed the punk

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

-style Dude-Looks-Like-A-Lady

drag show A drag show is a form of entertainment performed by drag artists impersonating men or women. Typically, a drag show involves performers singing or lip-synching to songs while performing a pre-planned pantomime or dancing. There might also be so ...

. Soon after, Sloan relocated to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

; The Need added a new bass player, Dvin Kirakosian, and for a while Carns spent alternate months in Olympia and LA. However, this only lasted for a short period as the band broke up in 2001, with Carns and Sloan moving on to other projects. Actors in the production included Nomy Lamm, Andras Jones, Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn, Anna "Oxygen" Huff, Zack Carlson and many other Olympians of note.

Reformation (2010–present)

In 2010, The Need briefly reunited for a handful of benefit shows for their friend (and former Kill Rock Stars employee) Natalie Cox, in order to help with her medical expenses. These shows were held in Seattle and Portland with bills that also featured

The Bangles The Bangles are an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1981. The band recorded several singles that reached the U.S. top 10 during the 1980s, including "Manic Monday" (1986), "Walk Like an Egyptian" (1986), " Hazy Shade ...

, C Average and Joe Preston's solo project,

Thrones A throne is a seat of state for a potentate or dignitary. Throne or Thrones may also mean: People * Throne (surname) Arts and entertainment *The Throne (group), collaboration pseudonym for rappers Jay Z and Kanye West (as on Drake's "Pop Style") * ...

. Several years later, The Need reformed for a second time and embarked on a West Coast tour in 2013. Additionally, the band released ''Resurrection'', a

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

that included previously released songs from all three studio albums, early demo material and compilation tracks. Both the album title and artwork suggest the possibly of continued output, with its cover stating "in which 13 years later the dead doth rise again" and the more blatant "we're baaaaaaack 'sic'' exclaimed in the albums' liner notes.

Additional projects

After the initial break up of The Need in 2001, both members remained active in music; recording, touring and performing with a number of different artists. Radio Sloan formed Circuit Side (named after the opening track from ''The Need is Dead'') who released a self-titled EP, collaborated with

Nicole Georges Nicole J. Georges (born 10 December 1981 in Kansas) is an American illustrator, writer, zinester, podcaster, and educator. She is well known for authoring the autobiographical comic zine ''Invincible Summer'', whose individual issues have been co ...

for the band Fact or Fiction and temporarily joined

Scarling Scarling. was an American noise pop band formed in Los Angeles in 2001. The band consisted of lead vocalist Jessicka Addams and guitarist Christian Hejnal. Name The band's name comes from a fictional word created by singer/fine artist Jessicka ...

, filling in on bass for the band's live performances. Rachel Carns formed The King Cobra who played one of their earliest shows at the first ever Homo A Go Go Festival in Olympia in 2002. Following several releases and tours supporting

Tracy + the Plastics Tracy + the Plastics is an American electropop and video project group from Olympia, Washington, United States. The members include Nikki Romanos on keyboard, Cola on drums, and Tracy as the lead vocals. Although the name implied the group was ma ...

Erase Errata Erase Errata was a band from San Francisco, California. The group favored improvisation as a compositional tool and each of their performances were a unique manifestation of established songs. History Erase Errata formed in Oakland, California ...

and

Shoplifting Shoplifting is the theft of goods from an open retail establishment, typically by concealing a store item on one's person, in pockets, under clothes or in a bag, and leaving the store without paying. With clothing, shoplifters may put on items ...

, The King Cobra changed their name to TWIN in 2006. Sloan and Carns also made

sample Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of s ...

contributions to '' This Island'' by

and Tracy + the Plastics' ''

Culture for Pigeon ''Culture for Pigeon'' is the third official release from Tracy + the Plastics and the band's second full-length album. It was released in 2004 on Troubleman Unlimited. ''Culture for Pigeon'' includes a DVD with two of Wynne Greenwood Wyn ...

'', respectively. Sloan and drummer

Samantha Maloney Samantha Maloney (born December 11, 1975) is an American musician best known for playing in the bands Hole and Mötley Crüe. She has also performed live with Eagles of Death Metal and Peaches. Early career Maloney received her first drum-kit a ...

collaborated in two touring groups; The Chelsea, who acted as the backing band for

Courtney Love Courtney Michelle Love (née Harrison; born July 9, 1964) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actress. A figure in the alternative and grunge scenes of the 1990s, her career has spanned four decades. She rose to prominence as t ...

after the release of her solo debut '' America's Sweetheart'', as well as The Herms, a band created to support

Peaches The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-fuz ...

, following release of her album ''

Impeach My Bush ''Impeach My Bush'' is the fourth studio album by Canadian singer Peaches, released on July 7, 2006 by XL Recordings. The album includes guest appearances by Joan Jett, Beth Ditto, Josh Homme, Samantha Maloney, Mocky and her one-time roommate F ...

''. In 2009, ''Transfused'' alumni

Anna Oxygen Anna Jordan Huff is an American multi-media artist, composer, producer and actress best known by her stage name Anna Oxygen. After starting her music career as a member of the Space Ballerinas, a synthpop group then based in Olympia, she reco ...

commissioned Carns and Sloan to compose music for Under Polaris, a multimedia performance art piece by experimental theater group Cloud Eye Control.

Discography

Studio albums

*''The Need'' (1997)

*''The Need is Dead'' (1999) Chainsaw Records *''The Transfused'' (2000) Yoyo Recordings

Compilation albums

* ''Resurrection'' (2013) self released

Extended plays and singles

*''Margie Ruskie Stops Time'' (1996)

*''The Need'' (1997) Kill Rock Stars *''Jacky O'Lantern'' (1997)

*''Karaneedoke'' (1998) Kill Rock Stars *''The Need with Joe Preston & DJ Zena'' (1998)

Compilation and soundtrack appearances

*IReleased by The Need with

. *IIReleased by

with The Need. *IIIPart of Kill Rock Stars' Mailorder Freak Singles Club.

References

External links

The Need Webpage
circa August 3, 2001, by way of th
Internet Archive Wayback MachineReview of ''The Need Is Dead''Kill Rock StarsPlazm magazine interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Need, The All-female punk bands American musical duos American post-punk music groups Art rock musical groups American experimental rock groups Garage rock groups from Washington (state) Kill Rock Stars LGBT-themed musical groups Musical groups disestablished in 2001 Musical groups established in 1996 Musical groups reestablished in 2013 Musical groups from Olympia, Washington Queercore groups Riot grrrl bands Up Records