VOTA is the second self-titled album (though the first by this name) by the Christian rock

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 VOTA

VOTA

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...

, formerly known as Casting Pearls. The album was released as a digital download

Music download

A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...

 on November 11, 2008, and released as a physical CD on February 10, 2009. The band is able to give $40.00 USD to Food for the Hungry

Food for the Hungry

Food for the Hungry is an international relief and development organization working in more than 26 countries around the world. Food for the Hungry was founded in 1971 by Dr. Larry Ward...

 through a matching grant with US AID for every album sold from their online store and merchandise table on tour. Since the digital release of the album in November, the band has helped raise over $200,000 for the Food for the Hungry project in Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

 (as of July 2009).

Track listing

All songs written by Bryan Olesen/Case Maranville/Scott Rutz unless noted otherwise

1. "Hard to Believe" - 2:56
2. "Be Mine" - 2:56
3. "Love's Taken Over" - 3:13
4. "Honestly" Jason Ingram/Doug McKelvey/Bryan Olesen - 3:10
5. "Not Finished" - 3:06
6. "I'll Go" - 3:28
7. "Give It to Me" - 3:00
8. "Free to Fail" - 4:04
9. "Save Ourselves" Nathan Dantzler/Brad Irby - 3:51
10. "Bye Bye" - 3:35
11. "In My Heart" - 4:33
12. "Everyday Is the First Day" (Bonus Track) - 4:02
13. "Our Time Now" (Bonus Track) - 3:56
14. "Alright" (Bonus Track) from the 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...
    
     release
15. "Weighted" (Bonus Track) from the 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...
    
     release
16. "You Alone" (Bonus Track) from the 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...
    
     release

Personnel

• Bryan Olesen
  Bryan Olesen
  Bryan Olesen is a Christian guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter.Bryan David Olesen was born on November 1, 1973 in Hartford, Connecticut to parents John and Norine Olesen...
  
   – lead vocals, guitar
• Case Maranville – bass guitar, background vocals
• Scott Rutz - drums, percussion, background vocals

Additional personnel

• Phil Joel
  Phil Joel
  Philip Joel Urry is a musician known as a solo artist in addition to being the former bassist for the Christian rock group Newsboys. He uses the name Phil Joel professionally due to pronunciation issues with his surname....
  
  - background vocals
• Anthony Porcheddu - keyboards
• Chris Carmichael - string arrangements and performances (violin, viola and cello)
• Jim Cooper - piano, background vocals
• Nathan Dantzler - digital editing, programming, piano, percussion, keyboards, background vocals, additional guitars
• Gang Vocals: Riley Friesen, Brandon Spinazzola, Nathan Dantzler, Brad Irby and Paige Dantzler