The Pioneer Drum and Bugle Corps, based in Milwaukee, Wis., made an appearance at McDonald County High School on Monday.
It is made up of a group of musicians, ages 16 to 21, but mostly college students. They go on the road across the United States competing against other drum corps. They were hosted at McDonald County High School by the band and band boosters. Carla Hottinger, president of the band boosters, said she met the group at the school about 3 a.m. Monday. The drum corps spent Monday practicing on the football field and then had a competition in Bentonville, Ark., on Monday night. They had been in St. Louis on Sunday and were on their way to Oklahoma on Tuesday, Hottinger said.
The group got a few hours of sleep on the gym floors (girls in one gym, boys in another) before starting a day of practice in the hot sun. They took a 30-minute break at noon to get a snack from their food truck and cool off in the band room or the Performing Arts Center. At this time, the McDonald County Press got to talk to a few of the young people.
Kodi Mink, 21, of Indianapolis, Ind., is in his first year with the drum corps.
He said, "The best thing about drum corps is I'm in color guard. I get to wear a flashy outfit, and I'm an attention-seeking person, so I love entertaining. I love to take people to a place they're not familiar with, getting to spin colorful flags and be something that I'm not, and especially getting to do it with the rest of the drum corps. I love everything about it. I love the hot weather, the athleticism, doing reps over and over ... to some people it may seem tedious, but when you have a passion for something ... drum corps is the place you need to be."
Sienna Joyce, 18, of Waterloo, Ontario, is in her second year with the corps. She plays tenor drums.
Asked what she likes about it, she said, "The family atmosphere. We all come here for 80 days together and pour our blood, sweat and tears into this, and the bonds that we find are something we can't find anywhere else."
Julie Perez, 21, of Illinois, is in her fourth year with the corps.
She said, "I like working really hard with a bunch of other people who have the same goals as me and creating a family through that."
Riley Frymire, 16, of Evansville, Ind., is in her first year with the group. She is a color guard soloist.
She said, "I just like getting better every day and getting to push myself 24/7 ... experiencing new things all the time."
Jackie Hirn, 21, of Yorkville, Ill., is in her fourth and final year with the drum corps. She is the drum major and vocalist.
She said, "I think it's really neat to see how people all across the country and world can come together and create such a deep, intimate bond both on and off the field. It's not only the 11- or 12-minute show. Some of the friends you make quickly become your family, and 20 years later you'll find yourself standing at their wedding. I am a groomsman for my friend's wedding this upcoming fall.
"There's nothing quite like the feeling of walking off a really good show where everything clicks. After the show, you jump on the bus, drive to another city, another state, and do it all again."
General News on 07/19/2018