A bit about me for all zero of you that might be curious. My name is Björn Østbekk. Kidding - it’s Bryan Westbrook. I’ve played guitar since I was 15 - more seriously since I was 18, though this would be off and on for quite a long time. Although by the age of five I wanted to be a guitar player. All of my music is a solo effort where; greater than 90% of the time, I boot up my Mac and have literally no clue what I am going to do. I’ve tried looking for other projects with others, locally and online, to become involved with but without luck thus far. I spent most of my life in southern California - born in LA County and most spent the last twenty years or so in Orange Country. In January of 2023 I relocated to southern Oregon’s Rogue Valley (near Methford, Ashland, and Grants Pass) and work remote… My social life died just prior to Covid so being a thousand miles from what was home doesn’t matter much; people either get extremely boring as they grow older, tend to be in their own little bubble, or they’re just too far away. I figure my social life will pick back up if I live long enough to make it into an old folk’s home (and if I have the cheddar).
As of November 2024 I am sitting on some material (cos and Wylds) and have decided to hit pause on both trying to create music and putting it out there. There may also come a day where I snap out of it and throw out to the wilderness what I have and may yet do…. Who knows. But for now I am completely inactive and uninvolved with music: no more trying to come up with ideas, no more recording, no more mixing, and no more sharing clips of things on what was my blog here or emailing them to people that couldn’t give a shit.
The name circle of sharks has nothing to do with fish with teeth; the inspiration came from the Oval Office at the White House… A circle where people decide the fates of millions… And, at that time when I came up with it, Iraq was littered with depleted uranium munitions used by coalition forces in a war based on lies (which the Iraqi people have paid dearly for), and the Obama administration, headed by the man himself and Hillary Clinton, had literal kill lists and were aiding terrorists in sovereign nations like Egypt, Libya, and Syria during Arab Spring (which I personally believe was instigated by the west and NATO - just as the Maidan Uprising in Ukraine was sparked and perpetuated by the US - go listen to the Victoria Nuland phone recording). The other part of the name that I liked, at the time, was that it paints a picture of being utterly fucked. So yeah, not really what most would likely think.
Wylds is anything containing vocals with the exception of a few random instrumentals thrown in for mood. Project began 2018. Going forward this is on indefinite hiatus.
Holy Broken Empire’s focus is instrumental and mildly on the heavier side of the fence [my fence anyways]. Project began in 2017. Concluded 2024.
SKOUT: September 8, 2000 - October 2, 2017
On October 2, 2017, at 2:15 AM, I lost my beloved cat named Skout, who is very much my son, to cancer. We fought extremely hard, with several scary stays in emergency rooms over summer 2017. I found him an excellent holistic vet, and up until three weeks before he left blood work was showing we were winning across the board… Only to have fate step in in one of the strangest and unexplainable ways which ultimately led me to become more spiritually conscious (not in a religious or dogmatic sense) via synchronicity that breaks conventional belief/thinking and are way too many, and likely too out there for closed minds, to list. The ‘spiritual’ synchronicities started becoming clear to me on the very day he transitioned, while of all things, I listened to “So High” - a song that was written and recorded two days prior with him right by my side (the verse “I look down and my feet leave the ground” hit me). From there they grew exponentially. He was with me from the moment he came into this world and for over 17 years. If I were to grab a guitar and play he would get really happy and excited and want to be either on my lap or right next to me - something that lasted until the last month of his life. He’d always want to hang out if I had friends over as well. His favorite band is Beach House (we actually went to see them in his honor in August 2018 at Hollywood Forever Cemetery) and the Beach House Pandora station that was often on when he was here frequently echoes downstairs to this day. Two days after he had left us we had just got off of a call which I recorded that was us conversing with a communicator we had used (sounds silly I know, and while I am a jaded cynic she had conveyed stuff to us that was literally impossible for her to know) and as soon as my wife ended the call, and I stopped recording the call to Logic, she put her phone down and immediately it started playing “Levitation” by Beach House - still gives me chills. Funny how such an alpha liked such soft music. Much of the content on Wyld’s The Veil is influenced by my profound love for him, the emptiness I’ve felt since he left, a feeling that the majority of my heart & purpose in this world had left with him, and my grief. I have never in my life been so profoundly influenced by another being. Due to his role in in my life, my music, and The Veil, I’ve included a few pictures of him on this site. To this very moment, if I could swap places and endure what he went through to spare him any suffering I would. I miss you so much Skouty… You are truly irreplaceable.