⚡️Watch: The Story of a 30-Year-Old Song & My New Band in Korea 🎤
It's been way too long. It's exciting to reconnect. Please take a moment to watch the mini-documentary on a new band project called Pretty City Lights—You may enjoy it. If not, we understand.
Hello Friends.
Hey, it’s Ryno! You might remember me from the Amateur Blonde days—that was part of my earlier work. I now live in Seoul, South Korea, and I’m making new and exciting music under the name, Pretty City Lights. The band is so fresh that we haven’t even dropped any music yet—crazy, right?
But here’s the thing: In recent years, my perspective on where I find new music has changed, and I’m adapting by building something truly special—an all-in-one place for my new music that offers much more opportunity to engage. Perhaps you've seen it before?
YOUR EMAIL INBOX
And guess what? If you are reading this you’ve already got a backstage pass for this free adventure.
So, before you hit unsubscribe, this doesn’t mean a pile of meaningless ‘coming soon’ band emails in your inbox–I don’t understand those either.
We deliver great content, worthy of your time. Let me prove it?
Why not take a moment to watch this chill video below?
What I’m building might just surprise you!
The Band:
The Newsletter:
Unveiling the Journey: A Mini Documentary on the History of My Oldest Song, “Please”
This video “Demotron” kicks off a farewell series dedicated to my oldest song, "Please." Hope you got a laugh from the 6-minute mini-documentary—it’s fun, right?
Things will (hopefully) get less embarrassing for me as the series rolls on. I’ll be sharing each installment with subscribers via email over the next 6-8 weeks (Friday Mornings EST). So, don’t leave me now, after this embarrassing Part 1.
CLICK the link button below to visit “Demotron: Please (Part 1)”
*Parts 2, 3, 4, and 5 will be emailed to you later. ~Ryno✌🏼
Visit the ‘about’ page to learn a lot more about Behind the Lights, here.
For those who wish to keep reading, please continue…
Making songs is profound
Let’s be real-so many artists today feel disconnected and disheartened by the experience of releasing music. We can all understand why. I feel disconnected as a listener much of the time.
For 10 years, I kept asking myself,
“Why do I share music to begin with?” And if I feel compelled to share, the question becomes, “How do I want to do it?”
In the eyes of many musicians, releasing music today feels like a meaningless dystopian act, or an act of anonymous vandalism no one even cares about. Like tossing a brick through the last unbroken window of an abandoned building. So many songwriters I admire have shared this sense of futility. Many have quit. There are many, like me, that cannot stop making up new songs.
“Watch Me Make Music”
So, I’m releasing music via email first–through the newsletter app, Substack. Not only that, but I’m sharing the creation process in the months leading up to the release–mostly video. By the time my album drops, my subscribers can say, “they enjoyed watching me make it.”
My hope? A deeper connection that bridges the gap between the time I spend hiding in my cave and those chaotic moments of nearly dropping an amplifier on my foot while lugging it down to B1 of a venue.
You can help me.
This song has been a part of my life for so long. It’s only fitting to make it the first release by Pretty City Lights. I could be blasting out all over social media, but I really want Behind the Lights (on Substack) to be authentic, spread by the good word of subscribers who like it. So, if you like it…
Maybe you know someone else who is interested in what I’m doing? If you do, simply refer them to BehindTheLights.org or use the link below.
That’s it. Tell them it’s free. Subscribers of Behind the Lights get to hear all my music first, and much more.
Get your Pretty City Lights T-Shirt & Embroidered Hoodie!
About the author
Ryan OToole (aka, RYNO) is a skateboarder from Arizona with too many film degrees, who writes songs for Pretty City Lights—a new music project based in Seoul, South Korea. His songs have been described as, "alternative rock for people dying of middle age". Formerly associated with the band, Amateur Blonde, his songs have been featured in television and film - notably, The Walking Dead (S10 Ep21). RYNO is the author of Behind The Lights a freemium substack publication, documenting the Pretty City Lights song & album creation process with the slogan, “watch me make music”.