Benny Bianco: ‘Another Day of Life’
Punk Head: A lot of contemporary music chases spectacle or escape. What draws you instead to writing songs rooted in routine, repetition, and everyday movement?
Benny Bianco: As far as I can tell, everyday life for people all over the world is rooted in repetition. Whether it’s work, travel, socialising at the pub, the media we consume, our routines define us. Within this structure, there is always the possibility of finding little things that interest us.
A discussion with a bus driver, for example, can add a level of humanity and shared presence to an otherwise mundane journey. So often in life, people just shuffle along with their heads down, not noticing much beyond their own immediate radius. Nothing wrong with this of course – self-preservation is key to survival. However, I believe we all have the capability to step beyond this and keep finding common ground with others, no matter how daunting that may seem.
This inspired the song on this EP titled “Smile At Anger” – based on a fellow bus passenger who always seemed to grumble under his breath. To begin with, I allowed myself to be annoyed by this but I looked at the bigger picture and reasoned he must be hurting himself, so it led to a song whereby I suggest smiling at anger. Violence leads to more violence and it’s up to us to break the chain and stop the repeated cycles.
Punk Head: Blues music often gets framed as sadness, but your work carries warmth, humor, and forward motion. How do you personally define the blues?
Benny Bianco: Blues music for me represents many things – as well as influencing many genres that came after, it is such a vital and heartfelt musical form in its own right. The feeling evident in music from such musical legends like Leroy Carr, Muddy Waters, Little Walter and Otis Spann gripped me from a very young age and I still recall the clarity which exploded across my brain when I first heard Robert Johnson. From then, it was clear I had to listen to more old-school blues music like Barbecue Bob, Blind Lemon Jefferson and many more – while many blues fans get into the music through the 1960s rock musicians, I was privileged to fall straight into the right stuff.
Regarding the music I create myself, I aim to have on foot in both camps – it’s important to be able to recreate older musical styles respectfully, while also moving forward and adding a few different things into the mix (like with this EP) to help the music remain vital and fresh.
Punk Head: Artists like Big Bill Broonzy and Muddy Waters wrote about work, travel, and displacement long before it was fashionable to call it “storytelling.” How consciously do you feel connected to that lineage when you write?
Benny Bianco: I mentioned privilege before and when you look at the history of blues music, the history is inexorably tied to racial inequality and imbalanced societies. Personally, when I read further into the background of the music, I was struck by the resilience of Black Americans creating such beautiful and timeless art within a society which was built on their suffering and remains stacked against them to this day.
As a White British man who grew up in a completely different time and context, what also bowled me over was the fact that I was able to relate to songs lamenting women. As a younger lad who couldn’t talk to women it was a great comfort that these gents from a hundred years ago went through some of the same experiences! The great thing about this music is that it speaks to so many people from different paths – a testament to its longevity.
Specifically on Big Bill Broonzy, one of his very well-known songs is his version of “Key to the Highway.” Due to its message of movement and travel, I took it and reworked it into “Monday Morning Blues,” the opener of this EP. It is my homage to Bill, as well as a wry imagining of what happens if you miss your bus in the morning (which has definitely not happened to me). Spoiler alert – it isn’t good news!
As Bill and Muddy have influenced my music choices for more than a decade, it’s natural that their approach will rub off on me. I can’t sing or play close to they did, but I can take what worked for them and transplant it into my experiences and my voice. I just want to tell my stories within the blues framework respectfully and not play it cheap by doing lazy rhymes or poor accented singing. That’s why I sing in my own accent too.
Punk Head: The phrase “going to that land” carries historical weight in blues and gospel traditions. What does “that land” mean to you personally?
Benny Bianco: For me, people and places are interlinked. Therefore, whatever joy you can get out of getting to the ‘promised land’ can be applied to people we meet along the way. We save and help each other through life every single day. So, while the phrase definitely has religious meanings, isn’t it also true that we are reflections of the divine? Isn’t it up to us to help build each other up and get to our destination together? If we believe in good things, then surely that idea of salvation and reward (in whatever form it takes) should be shared amongst all.
I put out an album in 2025 with another gospel tune on it called “Waiting for Glory.” This one had some similar ideas, and it links to my own spiritual choices. Without being wedded to a single faith, I think all religions have core truths within them, and it boils down to how we treat each other and the world around us. The karmic idea of giving out good and receiving good (and the same for bad choices) isn’t down to some reward-based system of faith. Rather, it’s about recognising we are all part of one community. One global entity disguised as many different individuals. We’re all here for one go, and during our lifetime we can make many choices.
‘That Land’ can be Heaven, but it also can be the world we’re already in. There’s only one world we’re in so we must always be mindful of how we treat it!
Punk Head: As you move forward into 2026, do you see this “journey-based” writing approach continuing or was this EP more of a snapshot of a specific season in your life?
Benny Bianco: Whilst the EP was most definitely a snapshot of a specific part of my life, the singles I plan to release monthly in 2026 will shift to specific stories for each song. These 4 songs were born out of a period of time where my partner and I had moved to a new town, so I had to get the bus to work every morning rather than walking. It was this change in routine that let to a period of great creativity.
Many of these songs will be scheduled throughout the year, in an effort to get momentum through regular releases, as well as showcasing the different styles of blues I enjoy recreating. These will all fit together into a sonic patchwork throughout 2026. Journeys will always be a big part of what I create, to ensure that each narrative is told succinctly and in a way that makes sense. This will be the year I tell specific tales within the blues framework along with different pieces to distinguish my own individual touches. I’ve already started and look forward to continuing!
