In August of 2002, the group upped the rock quotient on its second album (and first for In the Red), Time Bomb High School, and the group landed a high-profile gig opening for Swedish garage wunderkinds the Hives on their North American tour. Alex Greene dropped out as a full-time group member by the time 2004's Too Much Guitar was released, though he did appear on the disc as a guest musician, and the band followed its release with more touring, both as a headliner and once again as opener for the Hives. The band also gained another well-known champion in Little Steven Van Zandt, who gave the band frequent airplay on his syndicated radio show. In September 2005 Reigning Sound released Home for Orphans through Sympathy for the Record Industry. It featured reworked versions of Too Much Guitar material along with some unreleased tracks. They also recorded and released two live albums in 2005, Live at Maxwell's and Live at Goner Records. After a long break from recording under their own name (though Cartwright and the new lineup of bassist David Wayne Gay, drummer Lance Wille, and keyboardist Dave Amels backed ex-Shangri-La Mary Weiss on her 2007 album Dangerous Game), the band resurfaced in 2009 with a new studio record for In the Red, Love and Curses.