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I've mostly avoided this thread for a variety of reasons, but I have to respond to this... To say that the 1996 corps "went through the motions" on finals night is completely false. If you had said that we went through the motions earlier that day at prelims, it may have been more believable. Nobody in their right minds thought that Les Etoiles was going to make up 6+ points in 5 days to catch us at prelims. I still don't believe it was possible because we've never seen the feat accomplished again. Thus all of the conspiracy talk that creeps up anytime you discuss the 1996 season with someone who marched with Pioneer that year. Throughout the whole season it was implied that we didn't belong in Division 2 by many people in various positions. How does it look when a 6 point spread closes in a matter of a couple days? What would you think if you were a member of that corps? If anything, our eyes the last weeks of the season were on the corps that were directly ahead of us in Division 1. We left the last regional of the season in Allentown seeded in 14th place in Division 1, but lost that seeding at Quarterfinals because we were still in Division 2. Nevertheless, we had our eyes on 13th place and on possibly even being top 12 and were rehearsing our rear ends off trying to get there. We wanted to be the first corps to march all four nights. But I digress... At Division 2 finals night, all eyes were on the mission. There wasn't a single person in that corps that "went through the motions" that night. There wasn't a single person on that field at Grand Finale that wasn't devastated when the scores were announced. And there wasn't a single person that didn't go out and march their rear ends off at quarterfinals because we thought we still had a legitimate shot at least at making semifinals and sure the heck wanted to get revenge against the corps that had beaten us. In the end, we ended up 20th. It is what it is.... You pick yourself up and move on. 1997 - Not really watered down, but definitely could have been pulled off better. In hindsight, design definitely was an issue. But watered down? Our brass book that year had more notes than some corps play in a couple seasons combined. Things just didn't work out the way that we would have liked. It is what it is.... You pick yourself up and move on. 1998 - Irish in Your Face was a unique show. On the entertaining side of things, there definitely was some value there. We were the loudest corps at most shows, which back then actually meant people liked you. But in all seriousness, that year was all about entertaining the masses, which we definitely accomplished. Could we have been better? You bet, but we still thought we had a chance at semifinals that year. Ironically, this "feisty little corps" from the north passed us by again at Quarterfinals and we ended up 18th! It is what it is.... You pick yourself up and move on. The point is, the corps has always picked itself up and moved on regardless of the final outcome of the season... and I expect the same as we transition from 2010 to 2011. If anything, it has the potential to be an exciting season with the corps celebrating its 50th anniversary. Hopefully some of the attention that this thread has generated can be put to good use was we move forward with the season!

Keith, This should explain all that really needs to be said:

I appreciate everyone's input and am happy to see so many people on DCP who want Pioneer to succeed. On the subject of alumni, we are taking great strides to strengthen our alumni base. In preparation for our 50th anniversary season, we are actively working to locate & build a current list of alumni who have marched with the corps over the past 49 seasons. There have been several alumni meetings in which we've sat down and discussed some of the ways that the over 1,000 alumni can be of service to the corps. There are a lot of ideas being tossed around, including some that Tom already mentioned. If you marched with Pioneer, Thunderbolts, Imperials of St. Patricks, or The Thing... we'd like you to stop by out Pioneer Alumni Website and provide us with your current information so we can keep you up to date with our 50th Anniversary plans as well as ideas on how you can support the corps!

Indianapolis, Indiana Shortridge High School Contact: Kathy Spangler 3401 Meridian Street 317-226-2810 W Indianapolis, IN 46208 317-226-2815

In all seriousness, Pioneer has it's place in the activity. Most people respect the corps for that position. The few that do not are completely entitled to their own opinion. Too much emphasis is being placed on the word "winning". That's just a small part of the corps philosophy and the Corps Prayer. The larger issue is that the corps plays an invaluable role in the activity, giving members a spot to march when other corps won't even consider them. And to say that the activity is all about winning is completely inaccurate as well. I don't for one minute believe that every corps that competes at Quarterfinals believed at the beginning of the season that they could win DCI World Class. So are they supposed to walk around all summer calling their members losers? That's going to be great for morale!

Oh wow...

Pioneer: Saint Clair High School 227 South Mill Street 570-429-2716 St. Clair, PA 17970

Pioneer's history traces back to its origin as the Imperials of St. Patrick, with St. Patrick being a Catholic church on Milwaukee's south side. The corps prayer traces back to that point as well, and has stuck with the corps through mergers and name changes. This year's show pays tribute to that origin and more specifically the corps prayer. The religious piece you heard recited was the Pioneer corps prayer. The corps recites this prayer before every show. It is what it is. It's not intended to offend anyone, or include/exclude certain religions or viewpoints. Instead, it's meant to pay tribute to all of the young men and women who have put on the uniform for Pioneer/Imperials of St. Patrick over the past 49 seasons.

Cuts often times happen in the percussion area simply based on the number of positions available. Those people are offered the opportunity to march other sections, but someone who is dead set on playing snare probably isn't going to want to march 3rd baritone for the summer!

I personally feel like the hats finally make sense with the new uniform tops. The corps looks taller in the white jackets, so the lack of height on the hats isn't quite as noticeable.

I think the problem is that a lot of people don't realize that it is the Corps Prayer. If you watch this recruiting video from a couple years ago, it will put the corps prayer into better context: Old Pioneer Recruiting Video

Pioneer still runs bingo three to four times a week. Even with the introduction of casinos here in Wisconsin several years back, bingo still remains a valuable fund raising tool for the corps.

I'll defend law enforcement on this one... Their job is to investigate the supposed crime and make an arrest once they've established "probable cause". Once they've established "probable cause" that a crime has been committed, they really don't have any choice but to arrest the accused individual or refer the case to the DA's office for consideration of charges. In this case, "probable cause" is going to be established more than likely through the victim's statements, witness statements, and correlating circumstantial evidence. This late in the game, it's very unlikely that there is going to be any concrete evidence that a crime took place, unless photos, emails, or something of that nature somehow surface. It really is a "he said... she said" type of situation, which are the hardest to prove or disprove. Either way, once the police have enough evidence pointing to the fact that a crime did occur, they really have no choice but to push forward. Often times, it's the district attorney's office where cases get leaked to the media and turned into a far bigger ordeal than needed. In many places the DA is an elected official and has many reasons to generate positive publicity for his office. Nothing makes people happier than to hear that child predators are being taken off the street. But often times this comes at the expense of those who are still innocent until proven guilty. And as a side note, most of these sex offenders do not have any criminal record that would prohibit them from working with kids prior to them actually engaging in the illegal act with a child. Background checks can't turn up something if there's nothing to turn up. If they don't have a serious criminal record, they can easily pass a background and be able to work at the local school, corps, etc...

Just spent the entire night watching the corps rehearse at Pioneerland and things are definitely progressing. I think everyone recognizes that the visual aspect of things is definitely the one area where they need improvement. Very basic things such as marching style, horn facings, feet in time, etc... My biggest fear is that there isn't enough time to properly develop the marching technique of those younger members and the people who joined the corps late in the going. There's only so much time in a day and they need to use that time cleaning, not doing marching basics. That said, I look at how far the corps has come in the past month and have to believe that anything is possible if they keep rehearsing like they did tonight!

If anybody wants to check out the new uniforms in dry conditions, head on over to the Pioneer Website to check out the debut of the uniforms at yesterday's alumni picnic!

Hopefully they don't get too wet the first time out! Edit: Nevermind... They're wet!

If you check out the Pioneer website, you might get a little surprise!

I just wanted to point out that several people referred to the mid-90's as the more successful years for the corps, and by all means those years were successful. But what most people don't realize that in the mid 90's the corps used to practice in a Boys and Girls club on the south side of Milwaukee and would literally take just about anyone who came in there and wanted make something better of themselves and find a place for them in the corps. We won three championships following that philosophy. It wasn't until after those championships that we started to attract members from outside the Milwaukee area on a large scale level. The corps has continued to attract most of its members from outside Milwaukee ever since. Yes, we still recruit locally from time to time, but the focus is definitely on recruiting at a national level. Hence the holding of audition camps in several locations this past year. But one thing is still the same... Pioneer will take almost anyone in and find them a place in the corps if they want to better themselves. It's not necessarily about winning, but as 1991, 1994, and 1995 prove... sometimes you string things together right and the chips fall on your side!

Sneak peak of things to come! http://twitpic.com/22j9r2 http://twitpic.com/22jxey

It really is about the money. You're usually looking at several thousand dollars per parade. A lot of times the appearance fee is negotiable and corps have been known to haggle for the highest price possible. I have a friend who has volunteered on the 4th of July committee in a suburb of Milwaukee for years, and they honestly have not been able to afford a drum corps in their parade for a couple years because the price tag has gone up so significantly. And it's not that there haven't been corps in the area... The Cedarburg, WI show is usually right before the 4th and corps are passing through the area or staying in the area over the holiday. They just can't afford to get much more than a pipe band and maybe a local community band. But never fear, Pioneer is doing 6 parades over the weekend!

Nice 4.6 point jump by Pioneer!

I have to admit that the first time I saw the corps down at Pioneerland, I was not expecting that entrance to be what it is... That has the potential to be a good moment as the season progresses!

Check it out! We just added another video to the Pioneer website from Monday night. This video is from one of the many runs they did of the show that night. Pioneer Website Also, be sure to follow the corps on Twitter this summer @pioneerdbc!

I'm sorry... I guess all those years when people were standing up and clapping at the end of Pioneer shows I thought they actually liked us... I guess the people clapping in time to Gary Owen as we left the field were just helping to make sure we got off the field in time for the next corps... Oh well... I completely understand now!

Actually, "Irish in Your Face" was 1998, and you're pretty spot on with the numbers for that year. Our biggest horn line was technically 1997, which was "Riverdance". That year at times we had up to the mid 60's as far as brass players go, but several injuries bumped the numbers down a bit.