Bnny is Bound For Brighter Days
We caught up with Chicago singer-songwriter Jessica Viscius about her sister Alexa's enduring influence, shipwrecks, Miller High Life and her latest LP, One Million Love Songs.
Photo by Alexa Viscius
There’s an openness to Jessica Viscius that is rare to come by. Best known as the frontman of Bnny, the Chicago musician is never one to mince words. Her sentences are punctuated with laughter as she describes her latest interests and informs me of her longtime love/hate relationship with Miller High Life. “Honestly Miller High Life is my go-to beer, but I think that that’s because I was drinking a lot of Miller High Life when I wrote [Everything], so now it’s just like this lore around it where [it’s] like ‘Okay, but Miller High Life makes me a better songwriter,’ which is so fucked up because it absolutely doesn’t!” she exclaims. “That’s what I used to get because I used to live in Logan Square and there was this shitty supermarket that I would go to and the Miller High Lifes were insanely cheap for like a 30-case. Anyways, I’m talking way too much about Miller High Life.”
She asks me, “Can we actually get Miller High Life to sponsor the Paste article?” I promise her I’ll try my best to make it happen. Over the phone, we stroll through a myriad of topics. Viscius speaks with warm, brazen humor and tangible passion for the things she creates and loves. She immediately lights up when I ask her what she’s been enjoying lately, jumping into a tangent about shipwrecks and whaling. “I just read this book called The Wager by David Grann,” she says. “He’s the guy who wrote Killers of the Flower Moon if you’ve seen that movie,” Viscius explains. “I’m planning a trip to go somewhere in Rhode Island where there’s like the last wooden whale ship that exists and I want to go take a tour of it. Their books are so great because it’s like a miniature world where it’s just like all of the dynamics that happen in the workplace, but it happens on this ship and then there’s all this piracy and mutiny and drama, and it’s just really great.”
A natural curiosity fosters Viscius’s desire to learn and grow, uniform to the inner-calling that brought her to performing and music-making. She grew up on the south side of Chicago and moved to the suburbs of the city later in her childhood. Viscius’s earliest days were saturated by musical influence as her parents and twin sister Alexa were all passionate music lovers each of their own distinct varieties. “My parents were big music fans,” Viscius says. “They were Deadheads, so I grew up listening to a lot of good music, I’d say, which at the time I probably didn’t realize how much of an influence that would have on me. I’m lucky to have a twin sister who’s also into really good music. I think if it wasn’t for her I’d be listening to really bad music, probably.”
The influence of her sister Alexa is vital to Viscius’s artistic journey, as they remain lifelong collaborators and confidants. Alexa plays bass in Bnny while working as a professional photographer and designer. You’ve probably seen her photo byline underneath many Paste music headlines. “I truly don’t think I’d be an artist today without her,” Viscius explains. “She was always into cool stuff way before I was. She’s so hard-working and determined, she inspires me and keeps me on track. We have this wholly trusting, supportive relationship that I think is so invaluable in fostering creativity. I can often be my own worst enemy, but she always encourages me and truly sees me. I feel lucky!”