In 1998, after a five-year hiatus from recording, the band switched labels to release "Ears to the Wall" on Mammoth Records. They followed it up in 1999 with "Buck Jump" which was produced by John Medeski of Medeski Martin & Wood. (Medeski also played Hammond B3 on the album.) Their next album, 2002's "Medicated Magic", appeared on Ropeadope Records, as did their subsequent studio release, "Funeral for a Friend," which appeared in 2004. "Funeral for a Friend" represents something of a return to the band's roots: it is a documentation of a New Orleans "funeral with music", the original environment of the brass band form. They appear on the 2005 benefit album "A Celebration of New Orleans Music to Benefit MusiCares Hurricane Relief 2005", with the song "Mardi Gras In New Orleans". They were also featured on two tracks on Modest Mouse's album "Good News for People Who Love Bad News": "Horn Intro" and "This Devil's Workday." On August 29, 2006, the Dozen released "What's Going On", their version of the entire 1971 Marvin Gaye landmark disc "What's Going On" as a response to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina that struck New Orleans exactly one year earlier.