Pretty much everyone has, at some point in his or her life, dreamed of being a rock star. Most of those people have let go of these fantasies, but to some, rocking out is serious business.

Joe Mach, Dave Trichter, Scott Robinson, Coop Cooper and Evan Anderson, also known as Hotspur, are a local talent poised on the brink of national recognition. The rock band’s popularity is steadily increasing with the recent release of their second full-length album, You Should Know Better By Now.

“If I could attribute our success to anything, it is definitely the enthusiasm and loyalty of our fans,” Robinson said.

Four of the five Hotspur members grew up in Montgomery County and attended local high schools including Paint Branch, Good Counsel and Blake. Mach, Trichter and Robinson all met in college and formed their first band. They performed together for a while, but once they graduated, they decided to take it to the next level, and Hotspur was born. The name “Hotspur” comes from a character in the Shakespeare play, Henry IV.

“We thought long and hard about band names,” Robinson said.  “It was not easy, but eventually we stumbled upon it.”

Hotspur writes all their own songs, which gives their music an original and personal vibe. The band felt inspired by the music they grew up with, which in turn motivated them to become musicians.

“For some people, [music] just creates a spark in you, and we want to create that spark in other people,” Robinson said.

One of the greatest highlights of Hotspur’s journey so far was seeing the video for their song, “Chandelier” played on MTVu.  According to the bands website, after a nationwide fan vote, Hotspur won MTV’s program, “The Freshmen,” for their “Chandelier” video in October 2009. Among their other achievements, Hotspur was nominated “Best New Artist” and “Best Songwriter” by the Washington Area Music Association, and have won Taco Bell’s “Feed the Beat” program.

“I don’t think we’ve really had any one thing that has gotten us to where we are,” Robinson said.  “It has just been a lot of hard work, strategic decisions and we’ve had a lot of help along the way from a lot of different people.”

Hotspur’s music is never far away. Their songs and albums can be found on iTunes or fans can go to hotspurmusic.com to listen to songs from their latest album. Their albums are also sold in Hot Topic stores, where Hotspur has recently performed.

“I first heard them at their concert in Hot Topic,” freshman Lauren Price said, who saw Hotspur perform in Montgomery Mall. “Their music puts me in a good mood.”

Hotspur headlined at the 9:30 Club Feb. 19, and performed on Feb. 20 at the Vibe Lounge. The band is writing new music and plans to tour in the spring.

“We plan to make a lot of new friends, new music, see new parts of the world and spread the Hotspur love,” Robinson said.