Journey’s Neal Schon has hit bandmate Jonathan Cain with a cease and desist over Cain’s performance of “Don’t Stop Believin’” at Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago resort.
In November, Cain participated in a singalong of “Don’t Stop Believin’” with Trump sycophants Marjorie Taylor Greene, Kimberly Guilfoyle, and Kari Lake. The performance struck a nerve with Schon, who fired off a cease and desist.
“Although Mr. Cain is free to express his personal beliefs and associations, when he does that on behalf of Journey or for the band, such conduct is extremely deleterious to the Journey brand as it polarizes the band’s fans and outreach. Journey is not, and should not be, political,” Schon’s attorney wrote in a letter (via The Guardian).
“Mr. Cain’s unauthorized affiliation of Journey with the politics of Donald Trump has the band’s fans up in arms, as is demonstrated by a sample of the attached emails and Twitter comments,” the letter continued. “This has caused, and continues to cause, irreparable harm to the Journey brand, its fan base and earning potential, especially in light of the forthcoming tour.”
“Mr. Cain has no right to use Journey for politics … he should not be capitalizing on Journey’s brand to promote his personal political or religious agenda to the detriment of the band.” (Cain’s wife, Paula White-Cain, is Donald Trump’s former spiritual advisor.)
Even before the cease and desist, Schon and Cain were engaged in a legal battle over the band’s finances. Last month, Schon sued Cain over allegations that he was denied access to the band’s corporate credit card and financial records. For his part, Cain contends that Schon has put over $1 million dollars in personal expenses on the band’s card.
Schon’s letter states that the cease and desist is not intended to “further add to the animosity that is currently plaguing the band and the relationship between Mr. Schon and Mr. Cain.”
Nevertheless, Cain responded to the cease and desist by saying “Schon is just frustrated that he keeps losing in court and is now falsely claiming the song has been used at political rallies.”
Incredibly, Schon and Cain are set to tour together as Journey beginning next month.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, Kimberly Guilfoyle, and Kari Lake sang “Don’t Stop Believin’” along with Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain at a recent event with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. pic.twitter.com/dvSp1z62BX
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) November 23, 2022
