~PERSONAL BIO AND INTRO~

I was born 9/3/68 in Tulsa and currently live in South County, Oklahoma. I attended Junior College in the early 90s for computer science, then changed my major to Music upon moving to Dallas. So I attended Brookhaven College in Dallas, TX for study of Music Theory, Bass guitar and Simandl Method, Piano, live Jazz ensemble. I'm a multi-instrumentalist, session player, and an award-winning songwriter. I graduated in 2008 summa cum laude from Southwest Bible College & Seminary and received my Master of Arts in Theology (Th.M). I'm open to returning to complete my research doctorate (Th.D) in the future.

I work private contract security with a well-known local banking company. Though I'm divorced and celibate, my life is never boring, as I'm always seeking ways to redeem the time and be productive towards Kingdom business. For me to live is Christ. My hobbies are grilling, birdwatching, and bicycling. I volunteer and donate often at the local Mission and love the fellowship of serving others as God enables. I enjoy serving in my local church every week in capacity as session bass player in the worship team band. We're pretty good together!

I am openly and unashamedly conservative Christian holding active membership in my local Southern Baptist church. (My faith and worldview are aptly summarized in the BF&M 2000.)

My musical art is self-therapeutic and reflects my personal experiences with and interest in the melancholy, spiritual realities between heaven and hell, and dynamic Christian faith to be exemplified through the brutal learning experiences—and divine teaching lessons—of earthly life in a fallen world.

I've been through a veritable smorgasbord of life's experiences, both without God and with God, or living under God's curse and under God's blessing. This world has nothing enticing to offer. I have a life-changing testimony to offer. I am a walking miracle, in more ways than one. I was once delivered to the hand of Satan for destruction; and I've seen the face of God on my deathbed.

I knew then, and acutely know now, that I have a long road to haul to achieve healing and recovery through the self-imposed consequences of my own sinful behaviors, but each day represents progress; and each day's sunrise is a blessing to behold. Every morning I wake up, I know I still have divine purpose for breathing, and so I praise the Lord above. My life has been a daily cascade of blessings and miracles ever since God miraculously healed my disease! At the same time, Christian experience and life is one of continual sacrifice, self-denial, service, and suffering. Life with Jesus is an indescribable adventure like no other, to be sure.  

Truth is, I should be dead and in hell, for so many sins, not least because I am a former heretic, apostate, and blasphemer who had denied the Lord and defected from true Christian faith for a period of years. Everyone's got their story, so do I. I deconstructed my faith and reality for a time, just to return to the truth. But my journey through this "veil of tears" is exhibiting a blessed outcome, one day at a time, and I'm alive today because He lives! Romans 8:28 always applies.

I tell my ongoing and spiritually dynamic adventure through my music. Music for me is a God-given talent for testimonial, highly personal and emotive. I write a hard-edged ("rock") style because I'm able to capture the comparable boldness and intensity in that form as what I try to live out in my daily life of faith: intensely Christian, bold as lions.

As an artist, I juxtapose elements of reality between good and evil. My compositions convey a spectrum of feelings, thoughts, and experiences of faith, with elements of light and shade, surprise and unpredictability. I often employ experimental and orchestral elements to complement my pieces. So is real life: rocky, raw, light, dark, good, evil, sometimes dramatic, sometimes surreal, and daily spiritual warfare between God and Satan.

My style of musical art authentically relates the rocky lessons of life not being lost, and living out "shoe-leather faith" without compromise to social trends or capitulation to contrary expectations. The music I'm inspired to create represents visceral honesty pertaining to my past and present daily struggles in this body of sin while I strive to retain Christ as my immutable tempo amid this world's roaring tempest.

Thus my art imitates the inherent ebb and flow of spiritual life which is lived with intensity and boldness—and maintains a focus on glorifying God and testifying of His grace, mercy, and salvation towards a wretch like me. Amen.

To His glory,

Erick Duran Manard

("Shamrocker")

September 4, 2022