“The band is alternative rock, but my own personal music is more psychedelic folk,” Cronk said. “I’m trying to make things that don’t sound like anything I’ve heard.”

After playing a few shows sporadically throughout 2012, Cronk was expecting to remain a small, independent band within East Lansing. When the band was approached to open up for Hawthorne Heights last November at The Loft, 414 E. Michigan Ave., in Lansing, he said he couldn’t believe it.

“It was probably the most fun show I’ve ever played,” he said. “It’s cool to see a band like that live. I didn’t think I’d get to see them play, let alone play with them.”

Cronk’s friend, marketing senior Ross Simons, said it’s never been about fame for the musician.

“For some people, their goal is to make themselves interesting and popular,” Simons said. “With him, it doesn’t really matter, as long as he’s making music. He’s willing to do anything to make music, regardless of the circumstance.”

Despite booking their shows independently, Basement Shark Attack will perform as the opening act for grunge-rock band Red Jumpsuit Apparatus in April at Uli’s Haus of Rock, 4519 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., in Lansing.

But Kenny Kerner, the director of the music business program at Musicians Institute, in Hollywood, said acquiring a band manager would be monumental in boosting the band’s relevance. After notably discovering rock band Kiss, Kerner said he has seen nothing but benefits from the partnership.

“The pros of having the professional manager are endless,” Kerner said. “That manager can put together a serious career plan for how to develop the band’s career. They can expose them to people they’d never be able to reach.”

With graduation quickly approaching, members are unsure of where the band will head. But all that matters Hoffer, said, is the pure enjoyment.

“It’s just a fun thing to do,” Hoffer said. “We’re a band that’s more about just having fun.”