Pioneer

[Tom Brace]

Gonna draw some heat with that last post maybe, but the truth is hard to listen to sometimes .

Yeah, you guys read through my more tame addressing of the question but 69 year olds don't generally have a high life expectancy.

That was my point.

But, perhaps Roman has thought of this already. We shall see.

But, clearly, what worked in Div. II some 15 years ago is either:

A. No longer being employed.

B. No longer a valid approach.

[BozzlyB]

First of all, I'm pretty sure I can count on one hand the number of times we went to church in one season. Going to church has nothing to do with my Pioneer has been unsuccessful competitively.

I saw someone mention the food a few pages back...which is definitely something that could be worked on. I think I got food poisoning three times before I just starting buying power bars and such at walmart runs.

I think one of the problems is transportation. During tour, we didn't get nearly enough floor time and one time, had to get straight off the bus ready for competition. This was either due to bus problems, getting lost, or just taking strange routes (I swear we took the backroads across states at a time).

I think the biggest problem though was the inefficiency of rehearsal time. From talking to friends in top corps we rehearsed more than they did, but the things that we got accomplished during rehearsal were far from acceptable. I went from marching in one of the top marching bands in the country to Pio and the lackadaisical attitude from the staff (that transmitted to us) blew my mind and their willingness to accept and praise a mediocre product.

I loved marching Pioneer and am very grateful for the opportunity. I had (and am still dealing with) some severe health problems and while talented, no other corps would give me the time of day.

Seems like plenty to address right there.

[warsawstory]

I'm not familiar with RBJ, at least by initials, and I've been around for awhile. Little help? And can someone please tell me what happened to Mr. Allen? I'm not trying to bring it into the mix, but would just like to know, even if it's just a PM. Thank you.

Mr. Allen is no longer with Pioneer. Just accept that for what it is. People move on.

[Rifuarian]

First of all, I'm pretty sure I can count on one hand the number of times we went to church in one season. Going to church has nothing to do with why Pioneer has been unsuccessful competitively.

I saw someone mention the food a few pages back...which is definitely something that could be worked on. I think I got food poisoning three times before I just starting buying power bars and such at walmart runs.

I think one of the problems is transportation. During tour, we didn't get nearly enough floor time and one time, had to get straight off the bus ready for competition. This was either due to bus problems, getting lost, or just taking strange routes (I swear we took the backroads across states at a time).

I think the biggest problem though was the inefficiency of rehearsal time. From talking to friends in top corps we rehearsed more than they did, but the things that we got accomplished during rehearsal were far from acceptable. I went from marching in one of the top marching bands in the country to Pio and the lackadaisical attitude from the staff (that transmitted to us) blew my mind and their willingness to accept and praise a mediocre product.

I loved marching Pioneer and am very grateful for the opportunity. I had (and am still dealing with) some severe health problems and while talented, no other corps would give me the time of day.

When people criticize Pioneer, they tend to focus on cosmetic issues like uniforms, music selection, the G horns, all the little things that make Pioneer unique. In reality there are much deeper problems, mentioned here by you, that are the true issue. Should these problems be solved (somehow) then there is no reason why Pioneer would not be able to place higher, even without changing its persona on the field.

[BozzlyB]

When people criticize Pioneer, they tend to focus on cosmetic issues like uniforms, music selection, the G horns, all the little things that make Pioneer unique. In reality there are much deeper problems, mentioned here by you, that are the true issue. Should these problems be solved (somehow) then there is no reason why Pioneer would not be able to place higher, even without changing its persona on the field.

I think that is pretty accurate. One has to wonder if a positive influence like DA was just too much influence for RB to handle.

[Tom Brace]

Mr. Allen is no longer with Pioneer. Just accept that for what it is. People move on.

and now...let's get down to it. Shall we?

Although I have been a fan of Adam Hill's writing and teaching of the battery.

But, that said, a good battery by itself does not a corps make.

I know this about Mr. Allen...he was never afraid of a frank discussion about his or other corps.

Good drum corps instructors are a rare commodity.

[Donny Drum Corps]

For those that need to know... it just wasnt going to work out, and anymore than that will open up a can of worms that I am not interested in. I invested too much of my personal life almost to the point of obsession and being hurtful to myself. I know that I cannot fix what is wrong there, but no longer will I take the blame for what is wrong there either. I prefer to take the high road and do not want to get into any mudslinging at the Pioneer organization at all.

I wish Pioneer the very best of luck in the future with all of my heart!

Donny Allen

[SFZFAN]

For those that need to know... it just wasnt going to work out, and anymore than that will open up a can of worms that I am not interested in. I invested too much of my personal life almost to the point of obsession and being hurtful to myself. I know that I cannot fix what is wrong there, but no longer will I take the blame for what is wrong there either. I prefer to take the high road and do not want to get into any mudslinging at the Pioneer organization at all.

I wish Pioneer the very best of luck in the future with all of my heart!

Donny Allen

Always classy - this one is! Mr. Allen will not have any trouble finding work with another corps - if that is his desire.

[Joe Salvatore]

Every member may not be required to participate in church, but if even 10% of the membership goes on a regular basis it makes for pretty inefective rehearsal time for everyone else.

I think the church thing could be handled differently. Bible groups or what have you could get together on the bus after shows, there just seems to be a lot of ways support their interest in worship that wouldn't require taking half a day off once a week. Most corps have 1 (maybe 2 at most) free days built into their summer. Pio effectivley has 5 just for church, plus any more free time built in. If you're trying to get out of last place rehearsing less than everyone else is not the answer. If Pio takes a good number of the membership to church every sunday that effectively erases a meaningful 4 hour rehearsal block. Thats roughly 40 hours of rehearsal time out the window over the season.

I don't agree with the premise that taking time off during the summer season = lower competitive results.

We have all been on tours (even with some of the best corps in DCI) and had downtime due to scheduled and unscheduled events.

We have also all had rehearsal blocks that were so badly mismanaged that most if not all of the corps achieved absolutely no benefit.

I would posit that it is not the quantity of (hours of) rehearsal blocks that are important but rather the quality of those rehearsal blocks.

Additionally, some forms of faith also require church attendance not simply bible studies.

[Pioneersop98]

First of all, I'm pretty sure I can count on one hand the number of times we went to church in one season. Going to church has nothing to do with why Pioneer has been unsuccessful competitively.

I saw someone mention the food a few pages back...which is definitely something that could be worked on. I think I got food poisoning three times before I just starting buying power bars and such at walmart runs.

I think one of the problems is transportation. During tour, we didn't get nearly enough floor time and one time, had to get straight off the bus ready for competition. This was either due to bus problems, getting lost, or just taking strange routes (I swear we took the backroads across states at a time).

I think the biggest problem though was the inefficiency of rehearsal time. From talking to friends in top corps we rehearsed more than they did, but the things that we got accomplished during rehearsal were far from acceptable. I went from marching in one of the top marching bands in the country to Pio and the lackadaisical attitude from the staff (that transmitted to us) blew my mind and their willingness to accept and praise a mediocre product.

I loved marching Pioneer and am very grateful for the opportunity. I had (and am still dealing with) some severe health problems and while talented, no other corps would give me the time of day.

Things must have changed a lot since when I marched and taught there....We were always fed well back in 1998 and when I was on staff in 2000-2001. We didn't have many bus problems besides the AC breaking sometimes. We got a fair amount of floor time. We had very efficient rehearsals and got lots done. In fact, if we accomplished our goals for the day ahead of time, we would end early. The staff when I marched and taught were not lackadaisical at all. They(we) pushed every minute of every rehearsal to get the most out of the show and if something sucked we certainly were not praised for it. I guess things change....