VOTA
Encyclopedia
VOTA is a Christian rock
band from Lincoln, Nebraska
, featuring Bryan Olesen, a former guitarist with Christian rock band Newsboys
. Several of the band's songs have been featured on rotation with national radio networks such as K-Love
, and are part of the international
180 Tour. Their song "Hard to Believe" was listed at No. 17 on R&R
magazine's May 2, 2009, weekly chart for the United States.
of Newsboys which lead to Olesen's tenure as lead guitarist for Newsboys from 2003 to early 2006 and the self-titled release on Furler's Inpop Records
of Casting Pearls in 2005.
In 2008, the band changed its name to VOTA due to confusion with similarly named Christian artist Casting Crowns
. Originally, the name VOTA was a typo in an email from VOTA's then-current management team, Chaffee Management, as the band, management and label were brainstorming new names. The name VOTA was ultimately chosen by the band as being without a specific meaning and having a bit of mystery to it, allowing their fans to individually interpret the meaning. In summer 2008, while performing at an Oklahoma summer camp, the band discovered the name does have a spiritual meaning. Vota is a Latin root word that stands for a collection of vows before God.
2009 saw the departure of band members Riley Friesen, who left to start a recording studio, Coda Record House, and original Casting Pearls member Scott Rutz, who left the band to pursue an advertising and marketing career. Jeff Goff and Cody Bender joined VOTA shortly before the 2009 LifeLight Festival in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Near the end of VOTA's 2010 tour with BarlowGirl
guitarist Cody Bender left the band to focus on his personal life.
On September 27, 2010, the band's official website and facebook page announced that VOTA once again was getting a new line-up. Case Maranville and Jeff Goff left and were replaced by John Wooten (drums), Justin Wantz (guitar and keyboard) and Stefan Carlson (bass guitar). With Case leaving, Olesen is the only remaining original Casting Pearls member.
were released under the name Casting Pearls. All of these recordings, except the Really Great Sinners EP can now be found under the band's new name, VOTA.
Albums
EPs
Singles
Guitar
Bass guitar
Christian rock
Christian rock is a form of rock music played by individuals and bands whose members are Christians and who often focus the lyrics on matters concerned with the Christian faith. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Christian varies between bands...
band from Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
, featuring Bryan Olesen, a former guitarist with Christian rock band Newsboys
Newsboys
Newsboys are a Christian pop rock band founded in 1985 in Mooloolaba, Australia. They have released 15 studio albums, six of which have been certified gold...
. Several of the band's songs have been featured on rotation with national radio networks such as K-Love
K-LOVE
K-LOVE is a Contemporary Christian music radio programming service in the United States operated by the Educational Media Foundation. As of January 2011, K-LOVE's programming is carried on over 440 FM stations and translators in 45 states. K-LOVE claims an audience of 250,000 people each week via...
, and are part of the international
International
----International mostly means something that involves more than one country. The term international as a word means involvement of, interaction between or encompassing more than one nation, or generally beyond national boundaries...
180 Tour. Their song "Hard to Believe" was listed at No. 17 on R&R
R&R (magazine)
R&R was a weekly music trade publication that followed the radio industry and tracked the monitoring of current songs by format, station and audience cumes...
magazine's May 2, 2009, weekly chart for the United States.
History
Casting Pearls was formed by Bryan Olesen and bass guitarist Case Maranville in 1997 when they joined drummer Shane Coop. After a few line-up changes, the band solidified in 2003 to include Olesen, Maranville and drummer Scott Rutz. In July, 2003, the band met Peter FurlerPeter Furler
Peter Andrew Furler is an Australian musician, songwriter, producer, and record executive but is best known as the former lead singer for the Christian rock band Newsboys.-Biography:...
of Newsboys which lead to Olesen's tenure as lead guitarist for Newsboys from 2003 to early 2006 and the self-titled release on Furler's Inpop Records
Inpop Records
Inpop Records is an independent contemporary Christian music record label based in Franklin, Tennessee, USA. It was launched in July 1999 by Australians Peter Furler, Dale Bray, and Wes Campbell...
of Casting Pearls in 2005.
In 2008, the band changed its name to VOTA due to confusion with similarly named Christian artist Casting Crowns
Casting Crowns
Casting Crowns is a Grammy Award and Dove Award winning Contemporary Christian/Christian Rock band. Casting Crowns was started in 1999 by youth pastor Mark Hall at First Baptist Church in Downtown Daytona Beach, Florida as part of a youth group. He now serves as a lead vocalist...
. Originally, the name VOTA was a typo in an email from VOTA's then-current management team, Chaffee Management, as the band, management and label were brainstorming new names. The name VOTA was ultimately chosen by the band as being without a specific meaning and having a bit of mystery to it, allowing their fans to individually interpret the meaning. In summer 2008, while performing at an Oklahoma summer camp, the band discovered the name does have a spiritual meaning. Vota is a Latin root word that stands for a collection of vows before God.
2009 saw the departure of band members Riley Friesen, who left to start a recording studio, Coda Record House, and original Casting Pearls member Scott Rutz, who left the band to pursue an advertising and marketing career. Jeff Goff and Cody Bender joined VOTA shortly before the 2009 LifeLight Festival in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Near the end of VOTA's 2010 tour with BarlowGirl
BarlowGirl
BarlowGirl is an American Christian rock–CCM all-female band from Chicago, Illinois. The band is composed of sisters Alyssa , Rebecca , and Lauren Barlow . The band has won several awards in their genre; their song "Never Alone" was the longest running No...
guitarist Cody Bender left the band to focus on his personal life.
On September 27, 2010, the band's official website and facebook page announced that VOTA once again was getting a new line-up. Case Maranville and Jeff Goff left and were replaced by John Wooten (drums), Justin Wantz (guitar and keyboard) and Stefan Carlson (bass guitar). With Case leaving, Olesen is the only remaining original Casting Pearls member.
Discography
All releases up until 2008's VOTAVOTA (album)
VOTA is the second self-titled album by the Christian rock band VOTA, formerly known as Casting Pearls. The album was released as a digital download on November 11, 2008, and released as a physical CD on February 10, 2009...
were released under the name Casting Pearls. All of these recordings, except the Really Great Sinners EP can now be found under the band's new name, VOTA.
Albums
| Year | Title | Label | Chart peaks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US Heat Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical... |
US Christ | |||
| 2004 | Casting Pearls Casting Pearls (album) Casting Pearls is the self-titled and label-debut album by the Christian rock band Casting Pearls now known as VOTA. The album was initially released independently in December 2004 by Big Box Records. It was later re-released nationally as a CD-DVD combo from Inpop Records on August 16, 2005, with... |
Inpop Records Inpop Records Inpop Records is an independent contemporary Christian music record label based in Franklin, Tennessee, USA. It was launched in July 1999 by Australians Peter Furler, Dale Bray, and Wes Campbell... |
— | — | — |
| 2007 | Live in Wichita Live in Wichita Live in Wichita is a live album by Casting Pearls, now known as VOTA. It contains three live songs from the band's self-titled album Casting Pearls and two songs from the fall 2008 self-titled album VOTA.... |
Inpop Records | — | — | — |
| 2008 | VOTA VOTA (album) VOTA is the second self-titled album by the Christian rock band VOTA, formerly known as Casting Pearls. The album was released as a digital download on November 11, 2008, and released as a physical CD on February 10, 2009... |
INO Records INO Records INO Records, also known as Fair Trade Services, is an American record label based in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, specializing in Contemporary Christian music . It is distributed through Sony Music Entertainment, and was owned by Integrity Media until June 2011. When Integrity Media sold its assets... |
— | 33 | 25 |
| 2009 | VOTA: Special Digital Edition VOTA Special Edition Digital Download Special Edition Digital Download is the name of VOTA's second album. It is a compilation of three songs from VOTA and some songs from when the band was called Casting Pearls: from Casting Pearls, Live in Wichita and the Rock EP. It was initially available only as a download... |
INO Records | — | — | — |
EPs
| Year | Title | Label | Chart peaks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US Christ | |||
| 1997 | Really Great Sinners | Self-released | — | — |
| 2002 | Rock Rock (Casting Pearls EP) Rock is the second recorded work by the band Casting Pearls.Track 3, "Wastin' Time" was re-used on their next release, Casting Pearls.- Track listing :#Stuck#Love But Dread#Wastin' Time#Off The Hook#Close Your Eyes#Need You Here... |
Big Box Records | — | — |
Singles
| Year | Title | Album | Chart peaks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hot 100 | Hot Christ. Hot Christian Songs Christian Songs is a Billboard chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.... |
|||
| 2008 | Hard To Believe | VOTA VOTA (album) VOTA is the second self-titled album by the Christian rock band VOTA, formerly known as Casting Pearls. The album was released as a digital download on November 11, 2008, and released as a physical CD on February 10, 2009... |
— | 27 |
| 2009 | I'll Go | VOTA | — | — |
| 2009 | Honestly | VOTA | — | — |
Members
- Bryan Olesen - lead vocals, guitar (1997–present)
- Stefan Carlson - bass guitar (2010–present)
- John Wooten - drums (2010–present)
- Justin Wantz - guitar, keyboard (2010–present)
Former members
Drums- Scott Rutz (2003–2009) - left to pursue an advertising/marketing career
- Jeff Goff (2009–2010)
Guitar
- Riley Friesen (2008–2009) - left to start a recording studio in Nebraska
- Cody Bender (2009–2010) - left to focus on personal life
Bass guitar
- Case Maranville (1997–2010)