#300 DECENT BEAT by Quickflight (1983)

DECENT BEAT by Quickflight (1983)
Star Song Records - SSR-0051

Producers: Ron Obvious and Ric DeGroot

File Under: New Wave

Time Capsule-Worthy Track: 
Remote Control

Hailing from Kelowna, British Columbia, Quickflight was a quirky, synth-driven, new wave band from the Great White North.

Breakaway is remembered for the title track (Breakaway! From the common way!) and the unofficial non-conformists' national anthem Pink Shirts (Pink shirts and polka dot ties / high water pants, baggy-size). Pink Shirts got regional airplay, but the band was left looking for a new label when Tunesmith Records closed its doors. Undaunted, they continued writing and touring while shopping around their material.

Thankfully, they were picked up by Star Song Records out of Houston, Texas. In 1983 they went into Little Mountain Sound Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia and cut Decent Beat. Decent Beat raised the bar, sonically. It is said to have been groundbreaking due to the fact that the instruments used consisted almost entirely of synthesizers and sequencers.

Decent Beat is also said to be one of the first CCM albums that was digitally mastered although never released on CD. True Tunes gushed that Decent Beat was "miles ahead of its time in both writing and production." Blogger David Lowman called it "the quintessential keyboard/new wave album for the CCM world." 

Quickflight toured mainly in the Western U.S. and parts of Canada, playing lots of outdoor festivals, and opening for the likes of Steve Taylor, Rez Band, Sheila Walsh, Undercover, and others. Their concerts were reportedly "major productions for the time" with lots of "Star Wars-era sound and light effects." By the summer of '84, musical differences and outside projects led to the demise of the group.