Release Biography

‘Furious Hoops Vol.01’ is a compilation collecting music and art to pay homage to the greatest era of basketball in human history — the 1990s. Musicians and artists from all around the globe gathered together to create something as memorable, unique, and furious as the players who inspired it. Furious Hooves is proud to present to you Volume One of this collection known as Furious Hoops. Drop the needle, lace up those kicks, and head to the court.

The compilation features exclusive music from side projects & members of Wild Nothing, Mac DeMarco / Homeshake, Triathalon, Sauna Heat, and more!

We got our first song for the compilation in 2012 — Sauna Heat’s “The Palace” — and three years later, Furious Hoops had its first volume complete. 500 orange vinyl records with 11 basketball-themed songs were all meticulously hand-stamped, numbered, and packaged with 44-pages of ’90s hoops artwork, a sticker based off of a Bigfoot basketball player, and a mint NBA Trading Card from — you guessed it — the ’90s. This bizarre idea was something that I particularly held near to me, but to have so many talented human beings contribute, collaborate, and connect with one another on said bizarre idea was just mind-boggling. It was a slam dunk of great proportions. The alley-oop to Steve McQueen on a motorcycle in ‘The Great Escape’ from Larry “Grandmama” Johnson. (Hint: someone please draw this for Vol. 02.)

The compilation features a slew of current (and former) Savannah musicians, including Blackrune (entrance music — a la dynasty Bulls — with a Southern Gothic charm), Sauna Heat (a song about losing a girlfriend at a Detroit Pistons game), Heavy Boots (Rachael Perisho’s love letter to Charles Barkley), Hawaiin Boi (Adam of Triathalon–dreams about how badass he would’ve been if he had played Varsity ball), Hallucinex (Taylor Noll on a botched half-court shot causing an existential crisis), and Gnaw Rains (a song about Jason “White Chocolate” Williams’ coming into his rookie year as a badass baller).

As for the non-Savannah folks, well, they killed it too. St Louis one-man band 1,000 Pieces (a song about Scottie Pippen refusing to get off the bench during a game in 1994). Old Season features Jeff Haley (Wild Nothing, Hoop Dreams) and John Walsh singing about all the greats and their greatness. Nevin Kight (formerly of Wild Nothing) sings about the mock-games he and his brother would play as the Hornets or the Bulls in their backyard growing up. Roswell, GA rapper Michael Myerz gives a play-by-play for ‘Space Jam.’ Homeshake (formerly of Mac DeMarco’s band) sings the greatest R&B ballad ever written about [the video game] ‘NBA Jam.’

— Ryan McCardle, breaks down each track in an interview with Pop Matters.

The zine, which was designed & curated by Ryan McCardle (art director & graphic designer for Captured Tracks / Omnian Music Group, Graveface, and others), collects hoops-inspired artwork from world-reknown artists including Tim Cohen (The Fresh & Onlys, Magic Trick), Michael Skattum (toy designer, former drummer of Wild Nothing), Joey Goodwin & John Gagliano (Unruly Heir), Liz Pavlovic (Crash Symbols label & Secret Decoder magazine), Jose Ray, Rachael Perisho, and many many more.

It was released on limited edition orange vinyl (limited to 500) with a companion art zine and other items for Record Store Day 2015.

On Cassette Store Day 2015, a limited edition orange cassette (limited to 200) was released with companion art zine (PDF) and bonus items.

Credits

Curated by Ryan McCardle for Furious Hooves.
Art direction & album design by Ryan McCardle.
Mastered by Peter Mavrogeorgis of Dollhouse Productions in Savannah, GA, USA.

Tracklisting

Total Run Time: 31:05
Side Split: A 1-6, B 7-11

Press & Accolades

• Featured in Rolling Stone Magazine’s “Ultimate Guide to Record Store Day 2015: Oddities.”

• Interview and compilation/track breakdown for Pop Matters.

• Indie Current’s premiere of Hawaiin Boi’s "Varsity Cool" music video.

“You might have heard it mentioned in Rolling Stone‘s recent “Ultimate Guide” to the 2015 installment of Record Store Day. If not, there’s no better time than now to dive into the music of Furious Hoops Vol.01, a uniquely curated Record Store day release that brings together the worlds of independent music and ’90s basketball. The LP was put together by the Savannah, Georgia label Furious Hooves, who had a creative vision for this project, a nice break from the often default nature of many Record Store Day releases.”
— PopMatters, interview and track-breakdown with Ryan McCardle.

“Hawaiin Boi is Adam Intrator of the band Triathalon. His cut “Varsity Cool” is simple but it packs a lot of punch. The video was filmed and edited by Chad Chilton (drummer of Triathalon) and features peeps from the Furious Hooves family. The three-minute video is silly and fun and evokes the playful nature small labels are known for.”
— Indie Current, video premiere for Hawaiin Boi’s “Varsity Cool.”

Product Shots

Audio/Video