"Fear Of Flying" by Martin's Dam

Martin's Dam emerged after the demise of the little known 80s AOR outfit called Bricklin. The brothers Bricklin (Scott and Brian) regrouped and shifted their style of music towards more of a singer/songwriter vibe, not far removed from the likes of Toad The Wet Sprocket or Counting Crows.

The band released two albums in the 90s, "The Healing" and "Sky Above," the latter containing a few re-recorded favorites from the former along with a handful of new songs. It is a shame these records didn't put the boys on the charts, as I would have loved to have heard more from them and their fantastic harmonies. Scott Bricklin would move on to a solo career and joined another band called US Rails.

"Fear Of Flying" is one of their best, and I can only find a live version on the net. These guys aren't even on Spotify at the time of this writing. Other favorites include "Mercy Blue," "Come See Julia," and "It Ain't Me."

"Fear of Life" by Bricklin

They came from Pennsylvania in the late 80s - a punchy synth rock band headed by the brothers Bricklin, Scott and Brian. Their debut album is an underground classic in the world of AOR, and quite hard to come by. One listen to the lead-off track, "Fear of Life", and it is easy to see why. What is hard to see is why the band didn't hit the big time. Besides their self-titled debut, they also scored a song called "Walk Away" on the soundtrack to the hit movie from 1989, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.

The Bricklin boys would resurface in the 90s in a more organic-sounding band called Martin's Dam. We'll get to them in time. Scott Bricklin was also featured in our post on the supergroup 4 Way Street, and he maintains an active solo career. His latest record, "Lost 'til Dawn", came out February 4 of this year.