Journey guitarist Neal Schon sent his bandmate Jonathan Cain a cease-and-desist letter after the keyboardist performed “Don’t Stop Believin’” for former President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago last month. Cain is a longtime Trump supporter, and his wife, televangelist Paula White, is Trump’s spiritual advisor. Schon accused Cain of hurting the band’s image by using “Don’t Stop Believin’” for political purposes.
“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,” the letter from Schon’s attorney reads, reports Variety. Cain has “no right to use Journey for politics,” the letter continues.
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“His politics should be his own personal business,” the letter reads. “He should not be capitalizing on Journey’s brand to promote his personal political or religious agenda to the detriment of the band.” Schon’s attorney called Cain’s performance a “harmful use” of the Journey brand.
The letter notes that it does not intend to “further add to the animosity that is currently plaguing the band and the relationship between” Cain and Schon, especially since it cannot get much worse. “The two haven’t been getting along for a while now,” an insider told Variety. “This just brings it all to the surface.”
“Schon is just frustrated that he keeps losing in court and is now falsely claiming the song has been used at political rallies,” a spokesman for Cain told Variety.
Schon and Cain previously went to court this fall, when Schon claimed he was blocked from using the group’s American Express card and its records. Cain’s lawyer accused Schon of using the card for over $1 million in “improper personal expenses” and said his access to the account needed to be halted. In November, Cain told Variety he wanted to settle the issue privately, but he had to publicly respond to Schon’s “malicious lies and personal attacks on my family and (me) in an effort to garner public support for his ill-conceived lawsuit – a lawsuit that has absolutely no merit.”
During Trump’s earlier election campaigns, Schon and former Journey singer Steve Perry, who wrote “Don’t Stop Believin’” with Schon and Neal, have said they disapproved of Trump using the song. In 2017, Schon wrote on social media that he believed the band’s music was meant to be universal.
“I’ve had to fight this whole time to protect the Brand I built with Steve Perry way before Gregg [Rolie] and I picked Cain to replace himself when he wanted to retire from the road back then,” Schon wrote at the time. “Well, frankly I’m tired of having to defend all by myself. Ross is no help. I continue to grow and be completely creative and want to take the band Neal Schon’s JRNY on an exciting new trip musically.”
Oddly enough, Cain and Schon still tour together as two-thirds of the core band, alongside singer Arnel Pineda. Their next show is scheduled for Jan. 27 at Choctaw Casino & Resort in Durant, Oklahoma.
