GARY LICHTI 1942-2009

Our great friend and drumming buddy Gary Lichti passed away on June 25, 2009 after a long and courageous battle with C.O.P.D. Gary’s wife Ruth and the immediate family were with him at the time. To Ruth and all of the Lichti family, our thoughts and our prayers continue during this most difficult period.

The rudimental drumming world has lost an incredible drummer who was an ardent student of the rudimental art form. We thought it most appropriate to set out for all CADRE members and others his background and drumming history.

Gary was born in Woodstock, Ontario. He started his music career in a school band and with the Woodstock Imperials Drum & Bugle Corps as a snare drummer. In 1960, Gary joined The Flying Dutchmen Drum Corps in Kitchener, Ontario where he began his teaching and writing career. In 1962 he moved to Toronto to join Canada’s Marching Ambassadors. In1965, he was voted as the Ambassadors’ Corpsman of The Year. In 1972 Gary became an instructor with the Commanders Drum Corps.

Gary instructed several Drum Corps: The St. John’s Girls Corps from Brantford, The Chessman from St, Catharines, Midlanders from London, Port Hope Drum Corps, The Sarnia Lions, Simcoe Blues and then on to the Burlington Teen Tour Band as their first drum instructor.

As a member of The Canadian (CJA) and Drum Corps Associates (DCA) judges association, Gary judged major contests in both Canada and the USA. He was an original member of the CADRE drumming organization and was instrumental in the formation of the Toronto Heritage Hands Drum Club.

I first met Gary in 1960 when I was asked to join the instructional team at the Flying Dutchmen Drum Corps in Kitchener. It was obvious that Gary had great hands and was eager to learn. He was one of those drummers who never missed practice, showed up early to warm up, went home and practiced and came to the next rehearsal fully-memorized. In short, Gary was an ‘instructor’s dream’. He was one of those guys who come along only once in a while.

In 1962 Gary moved to Toronto and joined the Ambassadors Drum Corps to play snare drum with Dave Cook and myself. He ended up in a small apartment on Vaughan Road shared with Rick Hosie and Dave Cook. I still remember the apartment because at one time the front portion was a fish and chip store where I had worked delivering those newspaper wrapped dinners on my bicycle. Never mind the fish and chips; I can assure you that a lot of drumming went down in that apartment.

To appreciate the intensity and dedication that Gary put forward you have to try to transfer your drumming mindset back to the early 1960’s. In Canada, rudimental drumming was going through a major evolution from solos and writing from instruction books (written for the most part in the pre war era) to custom writing and newly-found authors such as George Lawrence Stone, John S. Pratt and Charley Wilcoxon. There was no paid or professional drum instruction in those days. We were beginning to write our own exercises while exploring a whole new world of drumming as we improved our skill levels. In addition, it was becoming obvious that in order to increase your skill level, you had to study and practice more than just your competition drumming. So study we did. I still remember Gary’s reaction when I first introduced him to “Stone’s Stick Control” and to John Pratt’s “Tribute to Doctor Berger”. He thought I was crazy. However, this intense drummer with great hands got it all down in short order. He was a great sight-reader which allowed him to study at home while pursuing his goal of excellence. When he worked with other drummers, he demanded excellence and nothing less would do. Then we did “Running The Flam Accent” and the “Mice and The Elephant”. Keep in mind that in the mid-60’s these were demanding, evolutionary works. Once again, in short order, he had perfected all of it.

Some of the greatest moments of my drumming life were spent exploring the art form with him in those early days. Every week there was something else to be learned. Win or lose it didn’t matter; just go back home and learn some more; play a book you were proud of. Playing beside him was a privilege. You didn’t push Gary, he pushed you.

In 2008 at the CADRE Shake, I was privileged to dedicate the “Mice and The Elephant” (Download PDF) solo to Gary. Some of the drummers in attendance played the solo for him. It bought tears to his eyes. As an addendum to this article we have posted this solo for your viewing. This was just one piece of our drumming world in the mid 1960’s. There is also a picture of Gary receiving “The Corpsman Of The Year” award at the 1965 Ambassadors’ Ball and a second picture of him drumming at the 2007 SHAKE.

Gary is now up in the great practice pad in the sky along with Paul Kelly, another drumming buddy of his. Knowing and respecting the both of them as I did, I can assure you they are having a great time as they continue to learn more about the rudimental art form. Gary, every time your drumming buddies down here from that great era get together, you will be at the forefront of our discussions. Gary always considered the drummers and corpsmen he was associated with as part of his family. Lichti… we won’t forget!

Fred Johnson
Aug/2009