Quickflight was a new wave band formed in

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna derives from the Okanagan word ' ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

, Canada. The band released two albums in the early 1980s ''Breakaway'' on Tunesmith and their second ''Decent Beat'' on

Star Song Records Star Song Communications is a Christian record label that was started in 1976 by Wayne Donowho, who recruited his friend Darrell Harris. It gained notoriety when it issued Resurrection Band's ground-breaking debut album, Awaiting Your Reply in 1 ...

History

Quickflight's musical style on their first album, ''Breakaway'', was similar to keyboard-oriented, electronic,

arena rock Arena rock (also known as AOR, melodic rock, stadium rock, anthem rock, pomp rock, corporate rock and dad rock; ; ) is a style of rock music that originated in the mid-1970s. As hard rock bands and those playing a softer yet strident kind of p ...

bands of the 80s mixed with new wave and was released on Tunesmith Records in 1980. Their second album, ''Decent Beat'', was recorded at

Little Mountain Sound Studios Little Mountain Sound Studios is a music recording facility in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. During the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, it was the most successful recording studio in Western Canada and the home for many years to producers Bruce Fa ...

in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and was released by

in 1983. It was ground-breaking because it was one of the first Christian Contemporary releases in which the instruments used consisted almost entirely of synthesizers and sequencers in a style influenced by British synthesizer bands, particularly

After the Fire After the Fire (or ATF) were a British rock band that evolved from playing progressive rock to new wave over ten years, while having only one hit in the United States (" Der Kommissar") and one hit in the United Kingdom (" One Rule for You") ...

. The album was also one of the first Christian Contemporary Music albums that was digitally mastered although it was never released on CD. Quickflight toured through the Mid-West and West Coast of the U.S. and parts of Canada, at several outdoor festivals, playing with a variety of Christian artists who included

Steve Taylor Roland Stephen Taylor (born December 9, 1957) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, music executive, film maker, assistant professor, and actor. A figure in what has come to be known as Christian alternative rock, Taylor enjoyed ...

Rez Band Resurrection Band, also known as Rez Band or REZ, was a Christian rock band formed in 1972. They were part of the Jesus People USA Christian community in Chicago and most of its members have continued in that community to this day. Known for t ...

Kerry Livgren Kerry Allen Livgren (born September 18, 1949) is an American musician, best known as one of the founding members and primary songwriters for the American rock band Kansas. Biography Livgren was raised in Topeka, Kansas, by his father Allen ...

, Sheila Walsh,

Undercover To go "undercover" (that is, to go on an undercover operation) is to avoid detection by the object of one's observation, and especially to disguise one's own identity (or use an assumed identity) for the purposes of gaining the trust of an ind ...

and

Larry Norman Larry David Norman (April 8, 1947 – February 24, 2008) was an American musician, singer, songwriter, record label owner, and record producer. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of Christian rock music and released more than 100 album ...

. Through recording at Little Mountain, Ric deGroot met the members of the Capitol Recording group

Strange Advance Strange Advance is a Canadian new wave band formed in 1982 in Vancouver, British Columbia. They were nominated for a 1983 Juno Award as Most Promising Group of the Year and again in 1985 as Group of the Year. Their first two albums, 1982's ...

and joined them in 1984. Paul Iverson, an early member of Strange Advance, plays bass on one track on Quickflight's second album, ''Decent Beat''.

Band members

*Ric deGroot *Dale Dirksen *Greg Johnson *Gary Hendricks - drummer *Pete Cordalis *Doug Giesbrecht- bass *Mike King additional musicians *Paul Iverson *Scotty Hall *Chris Livingstone *Ruth Shareski (Evenden)

Discography

Albums

* ''Breakaway'' (Tunesmith Records, 1980) :# "Breakaway" :# "Pink Shirts" :# "Atheist" :# "Feelin' Sad" :# "OK" :# "Shuttle" :# "Modern Romans" :# "Rendezvous" :# "Between the Lines" :# "Fine Line" :# "I Saw You" * ''Decent Beat'' (

Star Song Star Song Communications is a Christian record label that was started in 1976 by Wayne Donowho, who recruited his friend Darrell Harris. It gained notoriety when it issued Resurrection Band's ground-breaking debut album, Awaiting Your Reply in 197 ...

, 1983) :# "Water of Life" :# "Remote Control" :# "In the World" :# "Safety in Numbers" :# "System Breakdown" :# "Fantasy" :# "Fade to Glory" :# "Messages" :# "D.M.X." :# "Metro Alien" :# "I Dream" :*Musical Production: Ric deGroot :*Audio Production: Ron Obvious :*Executive Producer: Bob Brooks :*Art Direction & Design: Joan Tankersley :*Illustration: Denise Chapman :*Layout: Lori Cooper :*Source: Ric deGroot, Star Song Records

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quickflight Musical groups established in 1980 Musical groups disestablished in 1983 Musical groups from Kelowna Canadian new wave musical groups 1980 establishments in British Columbia