Ryan OToole—aka, Ryno—is an Arizona boy who has lived all over the world.  He is now making songs in Seoul, South Korea. Ryno has been "doing and making stuff up" for as long as he can remember. It was only when he got older that someone said those things were 'art'. 

Skateboarding & music have been there since the start of all this 'stuff' making—around age 14—but it was Ryno's interest in photography and drama that led him to pursue a career in film—mostly as a film editor.

After receiving a Masters degree in film editing (AFI, 2004), Ryno spent 4 years working in London for the BBC as an editor and editor's assistant. In 2006, he moved to NYC where he returned to playing songs during his free time. Since then, his music and collaborations have been featured in television and film - notably, The Walking Dead (S10 Ep21). 

Ryno's songwriting is personal. It's informed by his circuitous life-journey, which hasn't gone 'as planned'. Songwriting is now his singular focus—his life's work.

Most people know Ryno from his songs released under the name, Amateur Blonde—2012-2021. You can still buy his a full length debut album on vinyl, as well as all his EPs an singles. You can also listen to Ryno in collaboration with other artists and bands (as a drummer and producer), notably—Central Plains. 

He has never stopped writing his own songs—a great many have never been recorded—which have become the focus of his current music project—Pretty City Lights.  

Ryno makes music in a DIY fashion, writing, performing, recording, and mixing all the instruments in his home studio. While chipping away at a series of albums, he's performing live in Seoul regularly. You can follow his gigs from Bandsintown, Songkick, Instagram, Facebook, or visit the Shows page on this site. 

Pretty City Lights has a VIP Fan-Zone called... Behind The Lights

This backstage multi-media vlog is connected to this site (but hosted by substack). It's elaborate. Think of it as a separate room that's connected to the band website. Ryno email newsletter links to it. Subscribing to the band newsletter is all you need to do. If you use Substack, you can signup on that platform if you like---even become a Paid subscriber.

PRESS & BOOKING REQUESTS: email 👉 music@prettycitylights.com

📸 photo credit 박정석