In the popular music world Brien wrote Australian charting song Loveland for 80's band The Raiding Party. His 90's group Circuslife received high acclaim from the music industry but collapsed before a record was completed. Brien has worked with international artists such as Keith Urban, LeAnn Rimes, Suzie Quatro, Fastball, Mike Peters, and Slim Jim Phantom (The Stray Cats) to name a few.
His last Australian band, The Retro Rockets headlined every major Rock n Roll and Rockabilly festival in Australia and New Zealand, recorded 5 studio albums and 1 live album. Brien wrote all the songs for this band and was the lead vocalist/guitarist.