A Conversation with Bryan Olesen of Vota

 

Vota
(Photo : Vota )

 

Vota Love Found Me Cover
(Photo : Vota Love Found Me Cover )

1)   Love Found Me is VOTA's first recording in five years.  How is the project different from the band's earlier efforts and how does it reflect where the band is today?  

I've been leading worship full time at my church in Lincoln, Nebraska, for almost two years. Songs like "God Of The Universe," "Love Found Me," and "Keep Me Where You Are" come from the desire to write songs that just worship God for who He is and what He has done in my life. "Love Found Me" is one of my favorites; it's really my testimony. I didn't grow up in a Christian home. I never heard the Gospel growing up. It's a beautiful miracle that God chose to reveal His love for me.

2)   Tell us about "God Of The Universe," the project's first single  

This song is based on Psalm 19.  The Glory and wonder of God are completely revealed to the world without us speaking a word.  And all the Glory we see is just a glimpse of Who God is.  And as amazing as the universe is, His love for us is even more amazing.  This is a straight-up "party" worship song celebrating Who God is.

3)   You recently filmed a creative video of "God Of The Universe." Tell us about your experience shooting the piece.  

Chris Fenner directed this video and did an amazing job. It was so much fun. I loved his vision for the storyline of the video where a kid is amazed at space and the wonder of it all. My son is just like that! We filmed most of it outside in January which was crazy cold! But fun. We also set off a bunch of fireworks which was literally a blast! We were in a small town of 500 people so I think we stirred everyone up a bit! Cars were driving by wondering what was going on! There were also a bunch of cows that kept coming close to us. I think they wanted to be in the video.

4)   Love Found Me features "Show Me What I've Got," which is really a prayer for parents.  Where did this song come from?  

This song is just about my struggle of being a full-time traveling musician and a father. To do my job I have to leave and go on the road. I realized that time is going by so fast and my little girl is not so little anymore. I just want to be a good husband and father and not sacrifice that for a career or ministry in music. It's a delicate balance, and this song is my constant prayer to God to just be thankful and content with everything I have and where He's placed me.

5)   Tell us about The "Love Found Me" campaign.  

We wanted to do something great and meaningful with this new album. We really wanted to rethink the way things in the music industry are done and dare to do something crazy. So we dreamed up this idea to give our album away to raise awareness for a unique strategic plan to save 3000 girls from human trafficking in Nepal. Basically we want every fan wanting a free album to hear us out for 4 minutes. We tell them what we are trying to accomplish with this campaign. They have the choice to donate whatever amount they wish to support our cause. Or they don't have to donate anything at all. Any funds that come in go directly to support five border monitoring stations for five years on the border of Nepal and India. Simple as that. People are responding! We've met over 10% of our goal in the first month. The campaign has been featured on FoxNews.com http://FoxNews.com>  and the word is getting out. It's exciting to see God bless this idea.

6)   How did you and the other members of VOTA become personally interested in the fight for human trafficking victims?  

It's hard not to do something when you see that there are some simple strategies that we can do to prevent a terrible tragedy from happening to these young girls. We aren't the biggest band in the world, but we can do something about this. Just saving one girl will have made all of this worth it.  

7)   How can others join in your efforts to help save the lives of potentially 3000 children?

Simply visit www.lovefoundme.org http://www.lovefoundme.org>  and watch the 4 minute video. It all starts there!

8)   What lies ahead for VOTA?  

We will be touring to support this album and cause. We will be focusing on this campaign for at least the next year. We will also be traveling to Nepal in 2014 to show our fans what they have supported!

For more information on VOTA and Love Found Me, visit www.lovefoundme.org or www.votaband.com.