The Cedarville-based band, Oddfellow, did not win a national Battle of the Bands competition, but its members are exhilarated by the experience.

“It was an awesome show, and we had a great turnout of fans and friends,” said bassist Phil Kasper. “We made a lot of friends and a lot of connections.”

The band and a bus load of 55 people traveled to Detroit for the final performance of the band in Bodog Entertainment’s Battle of the Bands Sunday, November 19.

Oddfellow was one of 12 finalists that competed in Detroit contest at the State Theater. One band, Silverspork of Saginaw, was selected to compete for a $1 million promotional contract and moved on to the final competition in Los Angeles.

Mr. Kasper said he and the other members of Oddfellow were thrilled to have the opportunity to perform at the State, where an audience of more than 2,000 people came to watch the show. Oddfellow had more than 200 fans from Clark Township, Sault Ste. Marie, Mount Pleasant, Lansing, Grand Rapids, and Kentucky at the show.

Seth Haske, singer and guitarist for the group, thought the number of people who came to support them and the unexpected donations from the community were “an even greater achievement” than winning the contest.

The band is in the process of writing music for its next CD recording and has been invited to perform in Florida at the Extremity Games, at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, and other venues. The band will play locally Sunday, December 31, New Year’s Eve, at the Islander in Hessel.

The band includes guitarist and singer Jason Haske and drummer Odin Osogwin.

Copies of their CD, “Go,” are available at Cedar Pantry in Cedarville.