Quick Takes: The Beach Boys, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Julian Lennon

Rather than listen to his Beach Boys co-founders and the 114,000 fans that urged him to renege on the Beach Boys' performance tonight (February 5th) at a Trophy Hunting convention — frontman Mike Love chose to double down. Love and the touring version of the Beach Boys will be the headliners at the Safari Club International Convention in Reno, Nevada, at which Donald Trump Jr. is the keynote speaker. Beach Boys co-founders Brian Wilson and Al Jardine urged fans to sign the petition pushing Love to cancel the performance in the name of humanity. Love issued a statement to Variety, saying: “We look forward to a night of great music in Reno and, as always, support freedom of thought and expression as a fundamental tenet of our rights as Americans. Peace & Love, Mike Love.”
- Brian Wilson's publicist and co-manager, Jean Sievers told The Reno Gazette Journal: “Just look at the cover for (the Beach Boys') Pet Sounds (album). Brian has always been a big animal lover.”
- Jerry Schilling, the president of the Beach Boys' company Brother Records Inc, which is jointly owned by Wilson, Love, Jardine, and the estate of Carl Wilson said: “I don't want to get into any press discussion about this” before referring the paper to Mike Love's website.
- Andy Surabian, a spokesman for Donald Trump Jr. told The New York Times: “Don is looking forward to his speech at the Safari Club convention and is proud to add Brian Wilson to the list of liberal Hollywood elites who he has successfully triggered.” (Reno Gazette Journal)
Street Survivors: The True Story Of The Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash will finally see release after years of litigation. Braveword.com reported, the film “has been officially selected for inclusion in the upcoming Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival taking place at the Staples Center/LA Live in Los Angeles from February 12th thru February 27th. The film will premiere there on February 16th and will also have a nationwide theatrical release starting this spring.” A soundtrack is slated for a June 30th release.
- Former drummer Artimus Pyle, who serves as a producer on the film, said in a statement: “This film’s story — MY story — is not just about the plane crash but also about my personal relationship with the genius that was Ronnie Van Zant — whom I loved like a brother and still miss to this day.”
- Back in 2017, the heirs of (Ronnie) Van Zant and late-bandmembers Steve and Cassie Gaines, along with founding guitarist Gary Rossington, sued Pyle and Cleopatra Records in an effort to block the movie. After an appeal, Pyle was permitted to tell his own life story. (BraveWords.com)
Julian Lennon has gotten the all clear after finding out last week that a mole and birthmark on his scalp were malignant.
Lennon posted a message to fans on his The White Feather Foundation charity Facebook page:
Dear All,
On this of all days, World Cancer Day. I cannot express how ecstatic & grateful I am, to have been given the All Clear, regarding My 2nd biopsy. Thank You Dr Tess & Liza! You have literally saved my Life! http://www.mbeautyclinic.com. Thank You All so much for Your Prayers. Please folks… Don't be afraid to see your Doctor, to check up on every aspect of your health. You must be pro active about going for Check-Ups! Had I not been, I could have been telling you a very different story. Pathologist said it was an excellent excision with wide clear margins. No additional treatment necessary. It was a squamous cell carcinoma — The congenital nevus (Birthmark) where the excision took place looks fine.