Brian Flik

Brian Flik was a talented, complicated man, whose complexity was matched only by the simplicity with which he lived his life. Brian wasn’t a man who needed adoration or accolades; he only needed the moment, and his music. “I just want to be myself, have a place to live and play music,” he once said. He was a gifted songwriter, a son, a father and friend. Above all else, Brian was always his own man.

Brian’s story began on a cold winter day in 1974, in the bustling city of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Those were tumultuous times in this country, as the scandals of the Nixon Presidency rocked a nation, as Grand Rapids’ favorite son, Gerald Ford, would begin his tenuous tenure. On February 7, 1974, the city gave birth to another son, a baby named Brian.

Brian was adopted by Dave and Sue (Haarer) Flik when he was just six weeks old, joining the couple in their Jenison home. Brian’s dad worked with computers, while his mother worked in the commission area of an insurance agency. The couple added Brian’s sister Lisa to the family four years later, rounding out the happy home.

Brian was a very intelligent little boy, a stocky kid with artistic talent. Brian was a smart, creative young boy, and enjoyed drawing when he was a student at Pinewood Elementary.

He also had a natural inclination for mischief. When Brian was just 10 years old, his parents lost him at a restaurant, only to find him in the bar, talking to an adult. That would be the story of Brian’s life. Later on, during a family trip to Tennessee, he wandered off again for quite awhile, and when his parents found him, he talked of all his adventures like it was no big deal.

By the time he got to Jenison High School, he had grown into a big, strong young man, with a love of skateboarding and playing the guitar, which he taught himself to play. Eventually he learned the electric bass guitar and started playing with several garage bands in the Grand Rapids area.

Brian was always more interested in music than school, where he didn’t feel he fit in. He was always very intelligent and independent. After he graduated from Jenison High in 1993, he hit the road, bored with the Grand Rapids scene and the bands he played with.

Brian worked his way around the country, from Seattle, to the Florida Keys, to Athens, Georgia with just a coat on his back and his prized guitar in its case. That’s all Brian ever needed. He lived his life simply, for the moment, never worrying about tomorrow.

As Brian battled his troubles, he received professional care and counseling, which he would later come to appreciate. Brian later found himself a father of Alex Bladely, but due to circumstances, didn't have much of a relationship with him. However, Brian's dad and his wife Amy stayed close to Alex over the years.

Needing another change of scenery, Brian moved to Asheville, North Carolina in 2002, where he promptly began playing guitar in the city’s thriving social scene. He’d heard that Asheville had a lot going on, an active and diverse artistic community, full of coffee shops and bars, and set in a beautifully mountainous region. He’d heard right and enjoyed it there.

Brian began playing on the open-mic circuit in the city, and even cut a four-track demo CD. He gathered a small but faithful following to his music, which was an eclectic blend of punk, alternative and country. He had become bored with the alt-rock scene and identified with the troubled country crooners like Merle Haggard, Willy Nelson and Waylon Jennings. He wrote his own brand of songs, painfully personal, full of heartache and honesty. “I’m writing songs that mean something,” he said at the time.

Brian worked his way around everywhere he went, usually in restaurants or bars, working as a cook or bartender. He didn’t need much, just enough to keep a roof over his head and “cheap beer” in his glass.

And while Brian was a loner, he was rarely alone. He made fast friends everywhere he went, with a talent for finding kindred spirits in any city he called home. It was hard not to have fun with Brian, a towering man with tattoos crisscrossing his heavily-muscled arms. People gravitated to Brian, a fun-loving, caring man, and a man people knew would never judge them.

In 2004, Brian met a beautiful young woman named Mariah Stone and it was the love of his life. They began dating and loved being together. The couple was together for three years, before Brian’s complexities caused them to part. The love between them always remained, however.

He found a band to play with, called Cannibal Unicorn, which went back to his alt-rock roots, and they recorded a few songs, as well. That band eventually gave way to another, until Brian grew tired of the band, the scene, and even the music. He battled in his own way, on his terms, and by himself.

Sadly, Brian lost his battle, and died on Tuesday, January 22, 2008, in Asheville, at the age of 33.

Brian was a talented, gifted and complicated, who lived only for the moment, and for his music. He was a musician, a son, a father and friend. More than anything, Brian lived his life as his own man, a free man. He will be greatly missed.

Brian is survived by his son, Alex Bladely; mother, Susan Flik; father, David (Amy) Flik; sister, Lisa (Corey Couturier) Oliver and children, Madeline, Eli, and Levi; stepbrother, Phillip Weber; stepsister, Kirsten Weber; grandparents, George (Lois) Flik; and several aunts, uncles, and cousins. Brian was a gentle and kind soul who made friends easily wherever his adventures took him. A celebration of life service will be held at 11 AM on Saturday at Trinity Reformed Church. Friends may meet his family from 7-9 PM on Friday at Heritage Life Story Funeral Homes, 2120 Lake Michigan Dr. Interment in Washington Park Memorial Gardens. Memorial contributions to the Lord's Bounty would be appreciated. Please visit www.lifestorynet.com to share a memory or photo of Brian, or to sign the guestbook.