Jeff Pollard was born on July 1, 1951. Because his father was in the oil business, his parents moved throughout the South until they finally landed in Lafayette, LA, where Jeff grew up.

Music captivated Jeff from his childhood. Being a TV kid, he wouldn't sit and play in his living room unless he had music playing in the background as a soundtrack (usually something like Sibelius's Finlandia). His dad was a successful athlete during his early years, so Jeff tried to follow in his footsteps. This didn't work. Bombing out in practically every sport known to man, he turned to a career in music following two defining moments. The first was singing a hymn with two girls from the youth choir of Emmanuel Baptist Church. This first public performance gave birth to his affinity for singing harmony, as well as an unfortunate desire for the praise of men. The second defining moment came one night as he watched an early '60s Rock program on television. Deeply impressed by an English Rock band's performance, a thought slowly emerged in his frustrated teen-age mind: "I can do THAT."

 

From that point on, music and the desire to perform dominated his thinking. So he bought a Silvertone electric guitar (the one with the amp built into the guitar case) and immersed himself in every kind of music he could. He was influenced by blues, English music, early heavy metal, rhythm and blues, jazz, gospel, country, reggae ... whatever he liked, he consumed it and played it. In addition, he grew up steeped in Cajun culture and music. Jeff employed all these broad, eclectic influences in his work with an array of entirely forgettable garage bands, then as a studio musician, a side man, and finally with the Jeff Pollard Band (which eventually transmogrified intoLouisiana's LeRoux).

 

Though religious from his youth, he was truly converted to faith in Jesus Christ sometime in 1981-82. Convinced by Scripture that continuing his life in Rock music was inconsistent with his new life in Christ, he left his career with LeRoux to establish New Covenant Ministries. NCM exists for the purpose of teaching the Bible and proclaiming the sovereign grace of God. Jeff has taught home and campus Bible studies for years and has a jail ministry on Thursday evenings at the Feliciana Parish Prison. He is currently a pastor/elder of Providence Baptist Church in Ball, LA, and lives with his family in a small town north of Baton Rouge, LA.