Written by Jess Howell

For many musicians, songwriting is an instinctive reaction to significant chapters being turned in their lives. Lyrics often germinate from near misses that alter a personal trajectory. Ryan O'Tool, better known as Ryno, has spent the last several decades introspecting, meticulously sculpting away at his own experience to craft proprietary melodies that speak to us universally. His rhythmic prose captivates the ears and tills away at the heart. To Ryno, this is simply a byproduct of living life and seeking wisdom commensurate with age.

In the midst of continuing to reach his own musical milestones, Ryno hasn't lost touch with the high-minded optimism that encourages many to step onto the stage. Crucially, though, he doesn't ignore the harsh reality that necessitates it. "I have a lot of empathy," he declares, "and these days when I write, I have a lot to say—I didn't when I was younger. I had a lot of music, but not a lot to say."

Music is a universal language. Everyone understands it, and everyone responds to it. While lyrics are almost always part of a track's package, Ryno approaches writing as a way of masonically unifying words and sound, two otherwise solitary systems of communication. When he's not playing solo, he's playing with his band, Pretty City Lights. In the past, the rest of the band's makeup was half his age. He took it upon himself to be the sole songwriter.

"Young people who are starting off in the music world have a hard time with words because they don't have any miles in life. They haven't crashed that car or been divorced or lost that parent yet. They haven't gone down the road yet, so they don't have as much to write about."

Thus far, Ryno's journey has led him from the suburbs of Arizona to New York City, where he met his wife, with whom he now lives in Seoul. Over the years, every hi, hello, and how are you has been deposited in his memory bank, where they continue to compound until he's ready to withdraw a complete expression.

What sets Ryno apart from many artists is that his music, taken straight from his own life, morphs and evolves parallel to his changing perspective of the past. To Ryno, chords, measures, and lyrics are all completely malleable and at the mercy of his headspace.

"I tinker with words all the way up to the microphone. Life is really fucking long, so I try to write about the present."

During our interview, Ryno pulls out his phone. The screen shows an online drive full of hundreds of unfinished projects. A folder from 2011 contains several demos of a track about Craigslist Missed Connections. Each demo built on the last, and anybody listening would agree that it was more than ready to move along the conveyor belt and be released. But he disagrees. Until he's able to capture that raw, original feeling and marry it to the present, it stays in the workshop. There is, however, one special track that is finally sprouting and seeing the light of the sun.

Please is the first song Ryno ever wrote. It's all about starting over in dating and romance. Ryno emphatically describes it as the idea of knowing what you need or want.

"The first line is 'Take me and leave me alone'—that comfort of being deeply in love, where you can both sit at dinner and give each other that kind of space. The second verse is 'Kiss me and put me to bed, tell me I can do it.'"

As is the case with the rest of his music, this was a lesson learned through trial and error. "I found when I finally tried to stop meeting someone who met my idea of what I wanted, the person I needed appeared in front of me. It was like the thunderbolt from the Godfather. It was just correct."

The most difficult song Ryno's written, Please has been under perpetual calibration longer than many people have been alive. Ryno distinguishes what each part looks like under the hood. "It's Drop-D, three chords, and the word 'please' could be used in any manner. It could be an insult, it could be a request, it could be anything. The song is like a punching bag. It can do anything."

Ryno laughs, "I guess you can say Please is the ultimate online dating song."

At first, he was worried it would fall into the same trap many of its contemporaries do. "After you've heard verse 1 and 2 and the chorus, and you go back to verse 3, all of a sudden it's boring. Because you've heard verse 1 and 2, you've heard the chorus, you know what's coming. It has to be made new."

For the latest release, he re-wrote all the words, even changing the ending and chords from the live version that's already out.

Every word, beat, and instrumental layer mixed in the studio is entirely the combined effort of Ryno's hands and mind. Despite all the changes, however, the song retains the first guitar riff he ever wrote.

From "Please" to all other projects in posterity, Ryno gives listeners one single directive:

"I care for my song recordings deeply. I happily spend hours, days, months, and years with them—tinkering with their eccentricities—respecting their every need. They become like children. They like to go outside and play. They need my help early on, but eventually leave home. I want to see them go to college and go on to lead a full and rich life without me. For, once I release them, they are no longer mine alone. They are yours—the curious listener, who is going to attach new memories and images to it."

Catch Ryno play the studio version of "Please" on December 19th at Uplift, Seoul

For information on upcoming shows and releases, follow Ryno and Pretty City Lights here:

Website: PRETTY CITY LIGHTS

Instagram: Pretty City Lights 🎵 (@prettycitylightsmusic) • Instagram photos and videos

Bandcamp: Please (Studio) | Pretty City Lights

Soundcloud: Stream Pretty City Lights music | Listen to songs, albums, playlists for free on SoundCloud