At Ames High and at just about every other high school in the country, there is no shortage of aspiring rock stars. Face it, we’ve all held a hairbrush and lip-synced in front of a mirror or, even more promising, actually been a member of a garage band. But the fact is, odds are stacked up against those wxho dream of stardom. One local indie rock band has beaten the odds. The Envy Corps, made of Ames natives Brandon Darner, David Yoshimura, and Scott Yoshimura, as well as Ames High alumnus Luke Pettipoole, has proven itself as a group capable of garnering nationwide attention. The band’s first album, Soviet Reunion, was released in 2004, much to the joy of listeners of local radio station 105.1 KCCQ, who made the single “Rhinemaidens” the 15th most requested song of 2005. In February, The Envy Corps also went on to be the second band to sell out Des Moines music venue Vaudeville Mews. The band created a name for itself with Soviet Reunion and found itself swamped with questions about when the next album would be released. Now, after the much-anticipated April release of the second album I Will Write You Love Letters if You Tell Me To, The Envy Corps is continuing its history of gathering up new followers with every single. The current single, the aptly named “It’s Here” is well on its way to mimicking the band’s past success with a steady climb to the top of 105.1 KCCQ’s playlist. The Envy Corps continues to enjoy attention on the national level, and there have been talks of touring with a band that has already become extremely popular nationally, The Killers. The Envy Corps still has albums and accomplishments ahead of it, but it has already ventured down the path to success. The band has shown it is possible for the next big thing in music to come out of the cornfields of Iowa. There’s still hope for all the Ames High dreamers out there, and maybe even for the bands who played their hearts out during last Saturday’s Battle of the Bands. If The Envy Corps can do it, maybe they can, too.