About
The Knights Legacy Drumline is an exciting all-ages marching arts percussion ensemble that is active in and around the northwest Illinois communities of Geneseo, Kewanee, Rock Falls, and the Quad Cities metro area of Illinois and Iowa.
The historic Knights stick tape pattern from the 1970s and 1980s is alive and well in 2024, during a Tenor rehearsal for one of the line’s Percussion Palooza performances.
Donette Phillips photo
A Rich Heritage
The Knightline traces its roots to the junior drum and bugle corps drumlines of the various iterations of the Knights Drum and Bugle Corps:
Kewanee Black Knights (1966-1972)
Geneseo Knights (1973-1989)
Quad Cities Knights (1989-1995)
In turn, those groups can trace their shared lineage back to the post-World War II American Legion senior corps also called the Kewanee Black Knights, and further back to a boy’s fife and drum corps first formed in the 1930′s that was also sponsored by the American Legion Post in Kewanee, Illinois. A detailed history of the Knights can be found on the History page of the Knights Drum and Bugle Corps website.
Kewanee Black Knights Senior Corps 1950
Stacy Whitman collection
Kewanee Black Knights Junior Corps 1952
Source unknown
Kewanee Black Knights 1971
Lonnie Saeger collection
Kewanee Knights 1972
Rhonda Gainey collection
Geneseo Knights 1974
Rick Keegan collection
Geneseo Knights 1979
Mike Ochs collection
Geneseo Knights 1982
Elise Jenkins collection
Geneseo Knights 1983
William McCollum collection
Geneseo Knights 1984
William McCollum collection
Geneseo Knights 1985
Ed Ferguson photo
Geneseo Knights 1986
Teresa Whitman photo
Quad City Knights 1989
Mathew Haughey collection
Quad City Knights 1991
A 1-year experimental merger of the Quad City Knights, and the Emerald Knights of Cedar Rapids, IA
Daryl McCain collection
1982
Our trusty steeds "Knight Moves", "Fly By Knight" and "Knight Express" served us well until age, miles, and mishap, picked them off one by one.
Stan Maddox photo
Paying it forward
The last incarnation of the Knights Drum and Bugle Corps organization ceased to exist in 1995. But the spirit of the corps lived on, kept alive by the members who grew to be students, musicians, educators, parents, volunteers in other organizations, and adult fans of the marching arts.
Lessons learned from our time with the Knights were paid forward to new generations. We remembered the selfless sacrifices of the adults who generously volunteered countless hours to be our instructors, arrangers, and support staff. They demonstrated a spirit of giving that spanned decades and generations. When our turn came, we paid it forward and emulated their example.
We continued to follow and support the activity. It was our turn to attend the shows, and buy the tickets and souvenirs. We volunteered. We became instructors, educators, arrangers, staff, judges, support crews, and fans. And during a few precious occasions, we returned to the roundtable and held Knights reunions, renewing our family bonds with hugs, tears, laughter, photos, stories, momentos, and all the best feelings of a tight-knit family.
Keepers Of The Flame
After the last Knights organization disbanded in 1995, there was an 18-year gap where the drums fell silent. As the now-adult members grew up, they spread across the country and lived their lives and, in many instances, continued their musical activities. The alumni of the Knights stayed in touch with each other. It was old school analog grassroots networking at its best. And tucked away in garages and practice rooms, some of these lifelong friends still gathered and made music together, keeping the spark and spirit and music of the Knights alive.
Social Media Kicks In
As social media emerged, it was a natural step for us to reconnect online. On May 27, 2008, the Geneseo Knights Drum and Bugle Corps Facebook Group was created. Gradually at first, but then picking up momentum as the word spread, the Knights family found the page and came home. We reconnected on a daily basis. We started retelling the stories, and shared the photos and recordings squirreled away in our photo albums and hard drives. We kept the memories alive, and made new ones. And all during this time, many of us continued to be active musicians and performers.
Ramiro Martinez, arranger, instructor, and the driving force behind Percussion Palooza.
Teresa Whitman photo
Teresa Whitman photo
One person who continued to teach and write music and hone his art was Ramiro Martinez, a former percussion instructor and arranger for the Knights. After his time with the Knights, he stayed active in music education, enjoying a rewarding career as a respected and in-demand arranger, instructor, and all-around institution in regional marching arts and percussion education circles.
Ramiro organized an annual event, Percussion Palooza, a popular high school indoor individual percussion and drum line competition, exhibition, and celebration of all things related to percussion and music education. It became a popular highlight of the region’s indoor percussion scene.
And, it led to an idea…
The Birth of the Knights Alumni
During the last few days of the 2013, a “what if” question from Ramiro was posed to the Knights Facebook group: What if we got some of the former Knights drummers back together, dusted off some of the old corps music, and performed in exhibition?
The elapsed time from the question being posed to the project coming to life, was only a few days. It was amazing how quickly enthusiasm spooled up and the pieces came together. We found the people. We found the instruments. We dug up our old music. We figured out a basic uniform. We found a place to rehearse. We pitched in and made it happen.
By Christmas night, many of us could say with immense pride (and more than a little amazement) that after many decades, we were once again members of a Knights drumline.
Best. Christmas. Present. EVER.
So, in the early days of 2014, friends and former members of the drumline came home. We gathered together in the band room at Geneseo High School thanks to our generous host and key leader Steve Scherer, a Knights alum and the band director at the school. We reconnected, knocked off the rust, and started practicing in earnest.
In February 2014, we proudly performed in exhibition as the Knights Alumni Drumline at the annual Percussion Palooza solo and ensemble competition, representing the Knights Drum & Bugle Corps Alumni. We have been performing there annually ever since, and continue to do so today. For many of us, it has become a tradition.
One of the shirts designed by Stan Maddox commemorating the rebirth of the line. It is a play on the famous “They’re here!” scene from the 1982 movie Poltergeist. The child is wearing the iconic Knights caped uniform from the late 1970s through 1980, And yes, that is the 1982 Knights snare line on the television screen.
Teresa Whitman photo
The July 2, 2016 Knights Alumni 50th Anniversary Reunion Concert in City Park, Geneseo, IL. The enthusiastic crowd was packed all the way around the pavillion and back across the street to the next parking lot, and they were parked in cars on the streets all around us.
Richard Schweninger photo
The 50th Anniversary Reunion
In 2016, the drumline’s activities served as an inspiration and catalyst for bringing back the horn line and guard sections to join together with the drums as a complete alumni group, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the corps.
On July 2, 2016, we performed a concert in City Park in Geneseo, IL. The next night, we held a banquet and indoor concert for the alumni, family, and friends, at Jumer’s Casino in Rock Island, IL.
A practice run-through before the July 2, 2016 Knights Alumni 50th Anniversary Reunion Concert in City Park, Geneseo, IL. The crowd was already arriving early to claim the best seats.
Becky Anderson photo
Setting up and spreading the sunscreen. The horns and drums combine during the June 4, 2016 camp, an afternoon that saw more than a few sunburns, just like back in the day.
Stan Maddox photo
As the drumline had done two years earlier, the horn players and guard members reconnected. Music from some of our most iconic shows once again saw the light of day, and was skillfully transposed from the key of G (the key of our bugles back in the day) to Bb (the key of modern brass instruments) by the amazing music educators in our ranks.
The horn line and guard started getting together for sectionals. Members came from as far away as California, Texas, Oregon, Washington state, and Colorado. For the early rehearsals, some utilized online meetings and technology; now so common post-Covid, this was still a new thing for applications like this, but we found a way to make it work.
April 9, 2016 – At one of the spring camps, the first 30 players in what would eventually be a 50+ person horn line, rehearses under the skilled direction of former Knights lead soprano soloist and regional music educator Dan Moore. In a moment filled with goosebumps, the guard practices as the horn line brings music back to life that had not been heard live in many decades.
Stan Maddox photo
During one special moment at the first camp, the horn line formed a large concert arc in the gym, and for a magical moment, time rewound. The drums and guard took a break and gathered with fans and well-wishers as, for the first time in over thirty years, the horn line played our old on-field warm-up, “Krypton”, from the movie Superman. As the soft mournful tones slowly built into that familiar wall of sound, we were experiencing tears, goosebumps, and grins, so hyped up that we could have chewed through steel! We knew we were living a very special moment.
On July 2, 2016, we performed our memorable standstill concert before a huge enthusiastic packed crowd at the City Park Pavillion in Geneseo, IL. The concert brought representatives from the guard, horn line, and drumline from all three eras back together, and the town responded with amazing support. It was truly a homecoming and a family affair. As a special bonus, a number of the alumni performed alongside their spouses, children, nieces and nephews, who themselves ranged from school age to adult.
The guard brought their A-game, performing impressive moves of their own at the July 2, 2016 Knights Alumni 50th Anniversary Reunion Concert in City Park, Geneseo, IL.
Lynn Warren photo
The Fire Flags were originally double-ended on black fiberglass poles back in the day, and were one of the most dynamic and iconic visual elements of the era. The reunion performance would not have been complete without them.
Lynn Warren photo
The World’s Most Dangerous Bass Drum Line brings the thunder at the July 2, 2016 Knights Alumni 50th Anniversary Reunion Concert in City Park, Geneseo, IL.
Teresa Whitman photo
The snare line shows they’ve still got it and then some, at the July 2, 2016 Knights Alumni 50th Anniversary Reunion Concert in City Park, Geneseo, IL.
Teresa Whitman photo
The horn line gets their turn to shine and show off those horn angles, as the drumline takes a break during the afternoon rehearsal prior to the evening’s banquet.
Sharon Hartz photo
In addition to the public concert in the park, we gathered the next night for a private banquet of our own, where we enjoyed good food and fellowship, and performed our show one more time… this time, just for us and our families.
Teresa Whitman photo
The next night, we gathered again. This time, just for us. Our July 3, 2016 banquet at Jumers Casino in Rock Island brought the Knights family together for a special night of food, drink, laughter, tears, photos, memories, and music powerful enough to blow the walls down. It was a weekend filled with all the best emotions and memories.
We were having so much fun with the alumni activities and performing at Percussion Palooza, and there was so much enthusiasm, we just kept the mojo going!
The 2024 “Tenor Reef”, which grew to 10 players by the time of our February Percussion Palooza performance.
Stan Maddox photo
2024: Back In Black
In early 2024, we celebrated the 10th year of our line by rebranding our drumline from the Knights Alumni Drumline, to the Knights Legacy Drumline, or Knightline for short. Since the drumline is presently the only active Knights-linked performance group, this adjustment better reflects our continued evolution and growth. Legacy recognizes the broad multi-generational blended makeup of today’s roster, which is a more even balance of alumni, student members, and veterans from other corps.
FULL CORPS
PRIMARILY KNIGHTS FROM ANY ERA AND SECTION, PLUS SOME FAMILY AND FRIENDS
OUR DRUMLINE 2024+
A BALANCE OF ALUMNI, STUDENTS, AND VETERANS FROM OTHER CORPS
Still learning, still improving ourselves, and still playing music with some of our most favorite people on the planet.
Stan Maddox photo
Our multi-talented members bring a wide range of abilities to the ensemble, enabling us to utilize instruments not traditionally associated with marching percussion.
Tammy DeWolfe photo
The Knights were frequent and notable innovators, bringing many firsts to the drum corps activity, including costume themed uniforms, their famous double-ended “fire flags”, and the use of a drum set on the field.
Tammy DeWolfe photo
The Knightline often features instruments in solo roles that are not traditionally associated with marching percussion. These have included guitar, electric bass, horns, flute, and even vocalists. Their contributions greatly enhance the musicality of our performances.
Tammy DeWolfe photo
Playing our “greatest hits” also provides an opportunity for our talented alumni to recreate solo and ensemble features from back in the day, enriching both the musicality and the historical context of our compositions.
Tammy DeWolfe photo
Today the Knightline is stronger than ever, and 2024 is turning out to be a banner year!
For example, the February Percussion Palooza performance saw the line field 10 Tenors for the first time. Dubbed the “Tenor Reef”, it was a record for the group, and the largest Tenor section most had ever played in.
But Palooza was just a hint of things to come. As this article is being posted in mid-July, the line is putting the finishing touches on their first-ever SoundSport performance, slated for August 10th during the DCI Championship week in Indianapolis. We are also using this event to unveil a fresh new look for the line.
The new Knightline chain mail undershirt and tunic. Worn with black pants, black shoes and socks, and a thick black belt.
the Future
We revere our past, but we don’t live there. The Knightline is continuously evolving, keeping our minds open and constantly trying fresh new things. Our shows are a blend of new pieces and traditional crowd favorites from our past, with most of our compositions coming from the creative genius of Ramiro Martinez. And we have key leaders that keep things humming with a light but steady hand on the wheel.
Knightline members keep coming back because the experience is so positive and fun! Our students enjoy being challenged while being accepted by adults that truly respect and appreciate them. Parents and educators recognize the positive influence of the Knightline experience. Knights always enjoy their time together. And the veterans from other corps really like blending in with their former competitors, who all share a unique bond. It was true back in the day, and it is still true now: Some of your biggest fans can be found in the ranks of your competition.
Grand Finale of the Decorah, Iowa show on June 7, 1981. A number of present-day Knightline members can be found in the ranks of these many corps.
David Huntley collection
YOU can be a part of the Knightline experience!
Come cheer us on at our performances, listed on the Events page. Or better yet, grab your sticks and mallets, and come join us! Contact Steve Scherer for more information.
What time is it?… KNIGHTTIME!
