Vode, a student-made rock band, creates a variety of music for listeners’ enjoyment, from live performances to popular music platforms.
Christian Pothast, a sophomore business administration major, said Vode, the four-member band, was created in April 2020 when he reached out to McHugh and Manners after seeing they were musicians on the Seton Hall Class of 2024 Facebook group.
“We started the band because all of us love to play music and it’s so much fun to play together,” Pothast said. “We want to express ourselves through our music and see where this road takes us as a band.”
The genre of Vode’s music is rock with grunge, indie, and psychedelic influences. The band currently uses Apple Music and Spotify to stream their music.
“I like the feeling of producing music and knowing we created something together from scratch,” Michael Manners, a sophomore diplomacy major, said. “It’s like the music was always there, we just didn’t know it yet.”
Manners is the lead singer, Pothast is the guitarist, Brendan McHugh, a sophomore music education major, is the drummer, and Fletcher Rodgers, a sophomore undecided major, plays bass.
Vode has also played their music for a live audience in South Orange back in October. Students from the University came to show support for the band.
“It’s an awesome experience,” McHugh said. “We love showing everyone what we’ve been up to.”
Cameron Ballard, a sophomore English major, said he found out about Vode because he befriended McHugh during their freshman year.
“My personal favorite song is ‘Lovely Dry your Tears’ because Manner’s vocals are so emotional,” Ballard said.
Aislyn Warden, a sophomore social and behavioral science major, said she knew Vode before they had a name and were just a group of friends having fun.
“It’s been really cool to see them go through all the motions of finding members and figuring everything out,” Warden said.
Warden added that she has big hopes for the band.
“They have great chemistry and I hope they continue to release music and start to play more live shows,” Warden said.
The band said they plan on performing more concerts in the future and plan on announcing show dates soon.
“There’s really nothing like playing music with the Vode guys,” McHugh said. “My favorite part of being a part of the band is the magical moment that we share every time we jam.”
Serena Davis can be reached at serena.davis@student.shu.edu
