Furious Hooves

Ryan’s obituary is published now - the link is saved in his bio. These are images from treatment and the travels required for his surgery at the brain stem, cervical spine fusion, total of 18 weeks of radiation spread over the five years, 17 months of immunotherapy, 11 months of a stage I clinical trial, 3 infusions of a third chemo, and his two scans that took place just last month with the expectation of resuming chemo - we’d worked hard to achieve this. That chemo appointment would have been yesterday. Ryan also suffered the paralysis of his left vocal cord and left side of the tongue, had a feeding tube for 20 months which included 9 months straight without food or water by mouth, loss of use of his upper arms for several months, a small brain hemorrhage, a chest tube I drained daily since June as heart failure progressed, and endured intermittent pain that signified tumor growth as well as changes to his hair, skin, and nails on treatment that at times were severe. I will always wish, as I’m sure many reading this do, that I had done more for him in our nonstop pursuit of treating a cancer that can’t be cured. November 30th would have been the five year anniversary of his diagnosis. I’d still like to plan something for that day to acknowledge it. We will also be planning a celebration of Ryan’s life in Virginia and I’ll need the help of his local friends there. There’s plans of compiling his recordings, there are wonderful write ups about him with more coming, a potential show in his memory, and I’ve saved all your stories shared to his account. Please keep sharing about Ryan. A handful of friends wanted to create a gofundme, and family and I were resistant to this. However, I am learning that I’ll have a number of legal fees involved moving forward and this is a lot to take on myself as a young widow. What you have all raised has also covered the costs of Ryan’s cremation and a beautiful urn, and he is now home at the farm. Now I’ll begin fulfilling outstanding furhoof orders. After that I’d like to send ‘care packages’ (as he called them) of his vast collections to those wanting an artifact of Ryan. Please reach out if that’s you! RYAN FOREVER

(1/2) What would have been our three week wedding anniversary today marks three days since Ryan died of heart failure, about two weeks short of five years since his diagnosis. He had been doing well since his hospitalization in August and September, even scheduled to resume chemo next week which we’d worked so hard to achieve. On Monday morning he felt unwell but had perked up by that evening. On Tuesday he felt unwell again, and felt exhausted by evening. I helped him into bed and our cat Turtle eagerly curled up against his left arm - the two best friends. I pulled the blankets over them both. I left a kitchen light on so I’d be able to see his face throughout the night. I woke him a few times when his breathing sounded shallow and asked him to cough and readjust his position to better open his airway. It worked, his oxygen saturation would improve. I told him we’d call the cardiologist in the morning and he could go back to sleep now. In a quiet, muddled voice he said he was “sorry for everything” and that he just wanted to live his life and laid his arm on top of mine. I took this apology to mean he was sorry I was up every hour checking on him. Now I wonder if this meant something greater, that he could feel a change in his body. I would have told him to never be sorry for anything in his life, ever. We peacefully fell back asleep together. At 4:22 I woke up again to see foam flowing out of his mouth - the fluid building up in his body, as heart failure causes, had finally become unsurvivable. I yelled his name and shook him and opened his hazel eyes while wiping the foam away, but more kept coming. Soon paramedics pulled him to the floor and began CPR, but it was clear to me then he wouldn’t be revived. Hours later at the hospital we shepherded his body as far as we could, and yesterday his cremation was complete. (Second half in comments)

Hello all, this is Ryan’s partner writing on his behalf. On Saturday he was taken by ambulance in very serious condition to our local hospital with a heart issue related to his advanced cancer. The pending record orders are weighing heavily on his mind - Furious Hooves has been an important part of his life. He wants to emphasize how sorry he is for the shipping delays. We wanted to let you know what’s going on right now. Thanks for understanding, Jenny.

Ryan in Furhoof @ treatment over the years to bring him into 2025 and beyond 🏀🏀🏀 Ryan’s death was relatively unexpected at the time and a fight to the very end, as it often is for young people with cancer, and we hadn’t had a discussion about his wishes for Furious Hooves. I hope to continue his vision of tying community to affordable/tangible/collectible music & art in some capacity, and I’m open to hearing from artists and listeners alike on paths forward. We’ll start off with ‘cassette dunk’ totes 👍🏻 - Jenny (or bballfan123 to get a laugh out of Ryan)

‘Haunts’ turned 10 earlier this month. I started working on it when I was 21 and finally finished it in the fall of 2014 at 24. It came out on my 25th birthday. Big influences from The Microphones and from the mostly home recorded music I had become obsessed with in the early 2010s, the stuff that had led me to center my life around learning to make and record music in my late teens and early 20s. It is strange to have this younger version of myself crystalized in a way that many people identify as “me” more than a decade later - I have felt many different ways about it over the years. I love that this album seems to resonate most strongly with people who are around the ages that I was when I made it. I can’t think about this record without thinking about Ryan. We lost Ryan on November 13th, 2024 almost five years after he was diagnosed with chordoma cancer. Ryan was constantly building community and connecting people around the things that he was most passionate about - limited and handmade physical media, art, music, 90s basketball. There are so many in the communities he built and fostered that are dealing with this loss. The label that Ryan co-founded and later ran independently, Furious Hooves, put this album out in 2014 after we first connected via email the year before. Ryan did all of the design for the physical versions of the album, hand lettering the text and lyrics and home dubbing the first run of tapes. I realized years after we initially started talking that Ryan had been supporting my music long before we connected, playing songs from ‘After The Warmth’ (which Furious Hooves also released on cassette in 2022) on his college radio show at SCAD. Over the decade that we knew one another, our conversations slowly drifted from the details of releasing music to just talking about life. He became a close friend, though we never met in person. He was always incredibly strong and open about what he was going through with his cancer diagnosis and treatments. I feel very lucky to have had his support and his friendship for as long as I did. I do not think this record would have been heard in the way that it has been without him. (1/2)

This 10 Year Anniversary pressing of ‘Haunts’ by @grmnerrrmessage on marbled orange/black “Rotting Pumpkin” 12” vinyl is limited to 200 hand-numbered copies. Comes in a beautiful full-color matte jacket, black poly-lined audiophile inner sleeve, and *BRAND NEW* 9” x 12” double-sided poster featuring lyrics & a photo by Paul Kintzing. All hand numbered, comes with download and special surprises. “ROTTING PUMPKIN” Marbled Orange/Black (ltd to 200) - THIS is the Furhoof US vinyl variant. ***Please note: Due to ongoing cancer treatments within Furhoof, shipping for orders can take up to 30+ days to complete. Please be patient with us, thank you!*** - - - - - For other variants and CHEAPER WORLDWIDE SHIPPING: “PUMPKIN GUTS” Marbled White/Orange (ltd to 200) - These are split among @dyingdutchmanrecords & @gizzmoix in the EU. Dying Dutchman (NL): PLUS a random 35mm photo print by Paul Kintzing. (100) dyingdutchmanrecords.com Gizzmoix (DE): PLUS an OBI strip. (100) gizzmoix.limitedrun.com - - - - - SECOND PRESSING (total run of all variants 400)

We may be halfway to Halloween… but you won’t be waiting any longer for Haunts! 2024 marks the 10-year anniversary of German Error Message’s Fall fan favorite ‘Haunts’ and to celebrate we’re repressing not one but two beautiful #vinyl variants! We heard you all loud and clear so we’re making it easier to get this record worldwide. And we’re telling you all about it now so that there’s equal opportunity to plan ahead and get your copy on April 26th. In America, Furious Hooves will have an eerie orange & black marble “rotting pumpkin” vinyl (ltd /200). In Europe, Dying Dutchman & Gizzmoix Records will have a spooky cream & orange marble “pumpkin guts” vinyl (ltd /200) each with their own bonus goodies. Available next Friday, April 26, at Noon EST / 6pm CET. Swipe through for the variants and all labels’ order info. @furioushooves (US) @dyingdutchmanrecords (NL) @gizzmoix (DE) @grmnerrrmessage

Halfway to Halloween…

We are incredibly stoked to announce Furhoof’s first release of 2024: Lamniformes’ newest album ‘The Lonely Atom.’ Available March 29 digitally & on 2 variants of limited edition #cassette in a joint release between @furioushooves (mock seen here) & @peopleplacesrecords out of Canada. ‘The Lonely Atom’ is the 2nd studio album from the Brooklyn-based heavy alternative rock project @_lamniformes_ . It is a concept album about the isolation of modern life, the fractured projections of the self that exist outside of us in digitally mediated spaces, and the struggle for real connection in an increasingly atomized world. All music & lyrics by Ian Cory. Design: @_unprdctv Photo: @richardginorg The full lineup of “The Lonely Atom Family Band” can be found on Bandcamp, but IC states that the “starting lineup,” so to speak, includes producer @sharplessmusic (Sharpless, Bellows, Gabby’s World), guitarist Siddhu Anadalingham (Semaphore), guitarist @ajlovestacos (Massa Nera), bassist/keyboardist @frank__meadows (Bellows), and drummer @sethengel.musicguy (Options, Nnamdi, Water From Your Eyes)… as well as @toldslant_felix , @bellows4l , @emilyreo , @adampholmes , @annamcclellan , Montana Elliot, and so so many more. This album is dedicated to Montana Elliot.

Hello Furhoof Friends & Family! We know we’ve been distant for a long time now and we’re so sorry about that. To be transparent, I (Ryan) have been having trouble keeping up with the label amongst my numerous #chordoma cancer treatments, day jobs, and whatnots. In fact, it was 4 years ago last month when I was initially released after an extended stay at the hospital post-diagnosis. But trust me, every time I see someone’s name pop up as a new follower, or a new order, or a new like… it brightens my day! So in order to get you all excited again about #Furhoof and some of the fun things we’ve got coming up, we’re doing a 40% (for those 4 years) off sale on what could maybe be the last #BandcampFriday ever?? (Nothing good ever lasts) So please head on over to furioushooves.bandcamp.com and fill your cart with goodies and use code FORTYHOOF for 40% off everything, if we still have it… Thank you all so so much for sticking with us and enjoying the variety of music we’ve put out in the almost 14 years of doing so! It means so much. We’re small, and unknown, but we like it that way. Kindly Stay Rad, Ryan // Furhoof.

Happy Friday the 13th! 2023 marks our 12th year and 13th release in our annual Furhoof Halloween Split Series, and what better day than Friday the 13th to release No.13? This year we have two #ambient instrumentals from longtime collaborators Noah Kittinger (Bedroom / @kittinger.noah ) and Paul Kintzing (German Error Message / @grmnerrrmessage ), started and completed 6 years, 11 months, and 1 day apart from one another. You’ll have to listen for yourself to find out where you are when... it’s night and you’re alone. Download :: furioushooves.bandcamp.com - - - - - #FurhoofHalloween #HalloweenMusic #FridayThe13th #FuriousHooves #GermanErrorMessage #NoahKittinger #Halloween #October #OctoberMusic

Happy October! Maybe get yourself an early treat with the Furhoof Halloween 2xTape & Zine bundle! Just an easy stroll through the graveyard to our Bandcamp. Also available at select shops. (Get in touch if you want them at your store). - - - - - #Halloween #FurhoofHalloween #Furhoof #October #HappyHalloween #HalloweenMusic #Cassette #Zine