PioneerWebmaster

Looks like a pretty standard graphic for an event of this nature... I see similarities if I over think it, but nothing to lose any sleep over!

We experienced a flood of traffic (DOS Attack) late this afternoon that in short overloaded the server. Repetitive hits over a short period of time on our home page caused an excessive number of php processes to be run, which in turn resulted in an excessive number of MySQL queries. Those factors combined resulted in a server load spike that was enough to bring the server to a virtual stop. As a result, access to the site was temporarily suspended while the situation is addressed. Hopefully things will be resolved shortly. I apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause our fans, friends, and members. Timothy Osterbeck Pioneer Webmaster

January Camp 01/28/2011 - 01/30/2011 Camp Location Cudahy High School 4950 S. Lake Drive Cudahy, WI 53110 Camp Details & RSVP: January Camp

Just to recap... We still have positions open in most sections and have a very important camp this weekend! If you are interested in marching this summer and still haven't found a home, please visit our website and fill out an Online Application! January Camp 01/28/2011 - 01/30/2011 Camp Location Cudahy High School 4950 S. Lake Drive Cudahy, WI 53110 Camp Details & RSVP: January Camp 2011 Program: Celebrate As time goes by, we all reflect upon the past. The 2011 Pioneer Corps’ season will be no different. As we begin to “CELEBRATE” the corps’ 50th anniversary, we are designing our musical program around some of the more audience-appealing productions of the past. The glittering shamrocks on the trademark U.S. Marine Corps-styled white caps need no introduction for the “Irish Corps,” the Pioneer Corps from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. For all of our fans of other past music, listen carefully throughout the show. You will hear carefully selected and placed musical strains of other old favorites. Wherever possible the Pioneer Corps will troop the stands, “Passing in Review,” playing its theme song, “The Garry Owen March”, following an age-old tradition of when the corps was militarily oriented. Fans from all over the United States will put their hands together, synchronized to the Irish beats, as some of the finest young people from all over the United States, as well as from five other countries parade in front of them. FOUR SCOTTISH DANCES SECOND SUITE in F for MILITARY BAND SYMPHONY #9 (From the NEW WORLD) AS TIME GOES BY 2011 Pioneer Staff Brass Musical Arranger - Nick Golding Caption Head - Kris Hammond Technician - Edward Fitzgerald Technician - Brent Marquart Technician - Steve West Percussion Caption Head & Arranger - Adam Hill Front Ensemble Arranger - Kirk Gay Front Ensemble Director - Adam Hall Snare Technician - Sean Carver Bass Technician - Andrew Strauss Master Cymbal Educator - Jennifer Tarka Visual Visual Designer - Rick Morey Visual Caption Head - Charlie Groh Visual Technician - Mark Wrobel More staff to be announced in coming weeks!

Just to keep things on topic, and somewhat related since much of what transpired over the past couple days focused on our visual program.... Charlie Groh to Head Pioneer's Visual Caption

At the risk of forgetting the concept of class that Roman taught me, all I will say is... January Camp 01/28/2011 - 01/30/2011 Camp Location Cudahy High School 4950 S. Lake Drive Cudahy, WI 53110 Camp Details & RSVP: http://www.pioneer-corps.org/january-camp.html

I have remained quiet in this thread for a while because there really hasn’t been anything of substance to add to the conversation. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I respect that. I personally feel that some of the opinions may have been formed off of inaccurate information or preconceived perceptions that are biased, but again everyone is entitled to their own opinions and I respect that. So we’ll move on past that for the time being... I sat down and had lunch with Roman a short while back to discuss the website among other subjects. Without divulging the full contents of our conversation, I will say that it was a bit of an eye opener for me. We discussed at length some of the very things that have brought up in this thread. And while I understand that there are two sides to every story, the answers he provided were completely logical and with sound reasoning. Much of it ties into Pioneer operating within its means. We also discussed the issue of competitiveness. Again, without going into too many details, it was clear that he was not satisfied with the results from the past couple seasons. In short, he pretty much told me that he wanted to get back to the days where we were kicking butts and taking names, and was willing to do whatever it took to get there. The staff that has been assembled for the 2011 season has the potential to lead the corps back to that point. They may not be big names that people are familiar with, but they all bring a ton of experience and the talent level they have was shown at our December camp. The production for the 2011 season also is very exciting. We’re getting a lot of positive feedback about the selections for the show and for the most part people can’t wait to see the corps on the field this summer. With renewed support from our alumni due to the 50th Anniversary, this season still has the potential be some something special and exciting! Our next camp is January 28-30, 2011 in Milwaukee. I’d strongly encourage anyone who is considering marching next summer that hasn’t found a home yet, or maybe hasn’t made the cut at their favorite corps, to come to our camp and check us out! Don’t let perceptions stop you from experiencing the reality of a summer on the road to DCI with Pioneer!

Pioneer took a group photo in the middle of Times Square after the 2000 St. Patrick's Day parade. Not exactly a performance, but still pretty cool!

Ok... let's run with this concept for a minute. If you want us to be a different type of cheese, what type do you suggest? If you recall, the corps did dip into a completely different type of "cheese" back in 2003 with David Holsinger's Song of Moses. What did everybody during and after the season say? Stick to your roots and go back to what you're good at. By most accounts, it was the least popular Pioneer season in the last 17 or 18 years. How about that cheese?

Probably not a lot... But one of the key things in marketing any business is brand recognition. I remember sitting in a class once where they showed a slide show of different company's logos. Most logos were instantly recognized by my classmates, but others were less widely known because they weren't unique or they were unclear. It's all about creating a logo/image that people will remember. Based off of that, there's not a lot of people that are going to get our logo confused with any other corps or group. Whether that's good or bad, well I guess you could say that's still up for debate!

I definitely see where you're coming from, but to a certain extent the use of the headgear as the corps logo is here to stay for at least the immediate future. As I sit here tonight there's a paper cube with the Pioneer hat logo on it sitting right in front of me. The last mail that I got from the office came in an envelope that prominently featured the hat logo as part of the return address. The most recent additions to the corps' fleet of vehicles have had the hat logo put on them instead of the old two shamrock design. Even the DCI website and DCP now use the hat logo as the official corps logo. A significant amount of capital has been to establish the headgear as the corps' official logo. As such, I think it's safe to say that it's hear to stay for a while. And in that role and with respect, it ultimately deserves a spot on the corps recruitment materials, souvenirs, and other promotional materials.

I think it's a toss up what effect it may or may not have on potential members. I doubt that it harms recruitment and I think that it conveys a much clearer brand image than some of the abstract shapes that other corps and groups use. The Celebrate! logo was designed by a corps alumnus and the version that is posted on the website literally is a very quick touch up on the rough sketch that crossed my desk. The rough sketch has since been sent on to our graphic & print designer who will put the final touches on it before it for upcoming materials and usage.

And yet another piece of the puzzle falls into place: Kris Hammond to Head Pioneer's 2011 Brass Caption Again, I feel that this is a step outside of the box! It's getting close to time to Celebrate! Who's all on board with us? Visit our website to fill out an online application to be a part of this exciting season!

The staff is starting to come together pretty nicely... In case you haven't seen it, Adam Hill is returning as Percussion Caption Head & Arranger: Full Story. Look for more announcements in the coming weeks. There are still several show concepts on the table to fulfill the selected "Celebrate" theme, so keep your eyes out for that to be announced soon! There's a lot of excitement surrounding the upcoming season!

Exactly! Everybody has been waiting for us to step out of the box, and this is definitely a step in that direction. His resume speaks loudly of his abilities, and hopefully the results show on the field next summer!

I guess you didn't take the time to read past the first part of the article, so here it is in its entirety. Please be sure to note the extensive experience Nick brings to the corps! The Pioneer are pleased to announce Nick Golding as the musical arranger for their 2011 show entitled "Celerate". Nick has been an active member in the band and drum corps activity since 1994, acting as a performer, adjudicator, designer, and educator. As a performer, Nick was a member of the Tarheel Sun Drum and Bugle Corps from 1997-1999, marching both mellophone and soprano bugles. After one year as a member of the Western Carolina University marching band, Nick joined the US Navy as a French horn instrumentalist and staff arranger, serving in both capacities for seven years. Upon his departure from the Navy, Nick performed for three more years as a member of the Appalachian Brass Orchestra and the Atlanta Pops Orchestra. Nick has been an adjudicator for the last seven years, judging across the entire southeastern portion of the United States. His adjudicator training and affiliations include or have included the West Tennessee School Band and Orchestra Association, the United States Scholastic Band Association, the Florida Marching Band Coalition, and the Central States Judges Association. As a designer, Nick has composed and arranged for many bands and drum corps across the United States. He received his training at the Armed Forces School of Music’s arranging course, and provided arrangements for some of the US Navy’s finest rock, jazz, and concert bands. In 2006, he composed an original work, Pieces of a Dream, for the Teal Sound Drum and Bugle Corps, and composed Antithesis for the Spokane Thunder Drum and Bugle Corps in 2008. Nick holds a master’s degree in music education from Piedmont College, and is the Director of Bands at Madison County High School in Danielsville, GA. He has served as a technician and consultant for nearly thirty bands across the southeastern US, and spent the fall of 2006 as an instructor for the University of Tennessee’s “Pride of the Southland” marching band. Nick served as the brass caption head for Teal Sound in 2006, and as program coordinator/brass caption head for Spokane Thunder in 2008.

That is kind of what I was thinking. The drum corps environment is too fluid to ever expect to have 100% compliance with a no "one-on-one staff vs. minor" rule. In fact, some of the most defining moments of my drum corps experience were when a staff members pulled me to the side after a show or rehearsal to give me guidance on being a better player, leader, or team member. Heck, I remember getting up to go to the bathroom at 3am and running into a staff member in the bathroom. What are you supposed to do then? Run out of the bathroom yelling "I need an adult!!!"? In principle, such policies as the ones suggested are great. In practice, especially in the drum corps environment, I cannot see them being effective.

I just wanted to focus in on this little piece of this great post. So much emphasis is placed on marching members who leave Pioneer and go on to march with other corps. But what a lot of people don't realize is that there are many people out there who cut their teeth teaching with Pioneer before moving on to greater roles with other corps. I can name many individuals who taught the corps over the past two decades that have gone on to hold positions with other corps including corps director. Pioneer plays a definitive role within the activity, and as long as the activity continues to persist, there will always be a place for Pioneer!

Why look behind? Wasn't the point of this whole thread about looking forward?

Announcements are coming in the near future. I had lunch with Roman last week and a lot of good things are going on. Just trying to put all of the pieces together in the most logical way.

I complete agree that this thread has become very irrelevant in a hurry to a certain extent, but I can see how it happens very easily. Any time you talk with somebody about how to improve Pioneer, the "glory years" from the mid 90's always come up. Everyone wants to know how we can revive that magic, and where the magic was lost along the way. Thus, the off topic direction...

While I agree that DCI did not punish the corps, the way that the season ended still leaves many who marched that season with an odd sense of the unreal. I still to this day find Les Etoiles' come back to be nothing short of amazing. If Nite Express had beaten us, it would have been a little easier pill to swallow because they were only a couple points behind us most of the season and we had a hard fought battle with them all season. Les Etoiles was never even close to us right up to the last time we saw them the week before finals. To close and surpass 6+ point spread in less than a week is pretty much unheard of in the era of modern drum corps judging. It would have been the equivalent of Santa Clara, Blue Stars, or even Boston Crusaders coming from approximately 6 points back with only a week left this season to pass the Blue Devils for the title. It's not going to happen... This isn't football where any given team can win on any given Sunday.

We are working to get alums involved. The first step in all honesty is tracking them down... all couple thousand of them. We're active on Facebook with an alumni group, have created an alumni website, and are conducting a survey on our website that's geared toward the 50th anniversary as well as the possibility of creating an alumni association in the future to be of service to the corps. There are a lot of people out there that marched with Pioneer, St. Pats, and the Thunderbolts that want to see Pioneer do well. Many just don't know how they can be of help. We're working on ways to engage those alumni and allow them to help through either time committments or financial assistance.

First Camp: December 10-12 Cudahy High School Milwaukee, Wisconsin If anything, this thread has generated a lot of interest in the corps and people are checking us out. Web stats that I'm seeing are a clear indication of that. And in the coming weeks there will be a series of announcements that will hope to clear up a lot of the questions that folks have had through this thread and hopefully generate even more interest!

Keith- Here is a snapshot of our early years: In the spring of 1961, Fr. McGarry, the Pastor of St. Patrick's Parish, told Sisters Cristoval and Benno that St. Patrick's School needed a drum and bugle corps. Since then approximately 5,200 students have performed, traveled, and socialized in a manner that most people only wish for. From these roots came the Irish tradition as well as the multiple shades and ways of wearing the color green. The first name given the corps was "The Imperials of St. Patrick". The first instructors who all lived in Milwaukee's South Side were all members of the nationally ranked Norwood Park Imperials. 1961-1970- The corps purchased equipment The uniforms were donated by Walter Kendon and the Westmont V.F.W. Post. There were a lot of beginning 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students being taught the basics of marching and instrument playing. Competing in the Class C and B areas was abundant. The purchase of our own buses to travel to the out of state contests made for the solid development of the corps. All rehearsals took place either at the school or the nearby St. John's Gymnasium. At this time there were 12 corps in the Milwaukee area. 1971-1979- The seventies decade was an era where the operational costs of the Corps surpassed our fundraising abilities. A nearby suburban Corps, the Tunderbolts, was also in need. A merger took place between the two Corps which created a 150 member Corps, financial stability, and a temporary name, "The Thing". An offer of sponsorship from Mr. Jack Dryer of the Pioneer Box and Container Corporation inspired the Corps to take on the Pioneer name. A very strong brass line was the feature, supported two cadet Corps that rehearsed in the Cedarburg, WI Community Center. New green suede and vinyl uniform jackets fit the name but proved to be impractical, so another change to a bright yellow coat took place as well as the Corps' theme, "The Great Entertainer". This carried out to the end of the decade, "The Pioneer" from Cedarburg, WI.