Working 9-5 or is it 5-9?

Interview with Lisa, Allianz Musical Insurance Claims Assessor and Professional Musician

Trying to keep your music career going with another day to day job can be difficult. Being a professional musician means touring, gigging and making music at all times of the day, it can be tough finding a job to fit!

It’s not easy to put your all into your music while still having a job to support your lifestyle. Many people ask, can you still be a professional musician with your 9-5? How do you strike a balance between doing what you love and working another job?

Luckily, one of our fantastic Allianz Musical Insurance team members has given us an insight into being a professional musician but still balancing another job.

I am a singer mainly, but also play piano, clarinet and guitar. I currently front a function band, a punk band and sing in a gospel and soul choir, as well as working as a claims assessor for Allianz Musical Insurance. I am very lucky to be allowed to work part time hours with Allianz so that I can fit in gigging as well.

My busiest band is The Ramonas. We are an all-female punk band and have been together for 10 years. We started off as a Ramones tribute band but we also now play our own songs and have a second album coming out soon! We gig all over the UK and Europe & Scandinavia.

What drew you to the music industry?

Live performance is where my passion is, so I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. I have been singing and writing my own songs since I was 9 years old so I think it was inevitable.

Who are you inspired by?

I’m inspired by strong female musicians such as Patti Smith, Etta James, Skin and Joan Jett to mention a few.

What is your favourite part about this line of work? Your least favourite?

My favourite part is being creative and being able to inspire younger female musicians. I also love being able to travel to new places and meet new people. My least favourite part is definitely all the driving.

What advice would you have for someone wanting to follow in your footsteps?

You have to love what you do. It’s a lot more work than people think, so you need to be dedicated to your craft. The biggest piece of advice I can give is to make sure you get as much sleep as you can and eat properly. It’s a physically demanding job as a musician so you need to stay healthy.

What’s an average day like for you?

On an Allianz working day I’ll work 8.30am-5pm and then go out to choir rehearsals/yoga in the evenings and usually doing some kind of band admin work. However, on gigging days it consists of a lot of driving, lugging equipment about, sound checks, eating, doing the show, speaking to the audience after a show and then more driving. It’s usually a pretty late night.

What challenges do you face being a musician and working another job?

My body clock is all over the place, normal working hours for 3 days then nocturnal mode kicks in the rest of the week.

Is it tough fitting in a job around your musician lifestyle?

The main challenge is finding a day off to relax when you work and gig all the time. Holidays are never really possible as my annual leave is usually used up for going on tour. Luckily Allianz allow me to work Monday-Wednesday so have minimal impact on gigging unless I’m abroad on tour.

Find out more about the Ramonas.

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