VOTA

VOTA (formerly known as Casting Pearls) 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.^[1]

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 Furler of Newsboys which led 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 was a typo in an email from their management team as the band, management and label were brainstorming new names. The name 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.^[2]

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.^[3] Jeff Goff and Cody Bender joined the band shortly before the 2009 LifeLight Festival in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.^[4] Near the end of their 2010 tour with BarlowGirl^[5] guitarist Cody Bender left the band to focus on his personal life.

A new line-up was announced on September 27, 2010, with Case Maranville and Jeff Goff left replaced by John Wooten (drums), Justin Wantz (guitar and keyboard) and Stefan Carlson (bass guitar), leaving Olesen as the only remaining original Casting Pearls member.

El tercer álbum de estudio, Love Found Me , fue anunciado a finales de 2012 y lanzado el 8 de enero de 2013. "Love Found Me" fue una campaña en colaboración con la organización sin fines de lucro Tiny Hands International para combatir la trata de personas en India y Nepal. De una manera poco convencional, la banda decidió regalar este álbum invitando a sus fans a visitar lovefoundme.org. Antes de obtener el álbum, los fans debían ver un video sobre la trata de personas y esta campaña, y luego tenían la opción de obtener un segundo álbum extra donando cualquier cantidad de dinero a Tiny Hands International.

En 2016, lanzaron Fearless para apoyar a 300 niños en Panali, Nicaragua con Food for the Hungry . ^{[ 6 ]}

En 2018, se convirtieron en un dúo: Olesen tocaba la guitarra y el bajo con una guitarra que él mismo modificó, y Wooten tocaba la batería y los teclados.

Todos los lanzamientos hasta VOTA de 2008 se publicaron bajo el nombre de Casting Pearls. Todas estas grabaciones, excepto Really Great Sinners , ahora se pueden encontrar bajo el nuevo nombre de la banda, VOTA.

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