When musicians complain about political use of their songs without permission, the strike letters are usually sent to politicians. In Journey’s case, it’s one band member against another – due to a desire for the group to remain apolitical.
Last week, an attorney for Neal Schon, Journey’s founding guitarist, wrote a letter to Jonathan Cain, the group’s keyboardist, demanding that he stop performing at events for former President Donald J. Trump “as Journey,” and performing Journey songs during those functions. that Mr. Cain’s performances have caused “irreparable damage to the Journey brand”.
“While Mr. Cain is free to express his personal beliefs and associations, such conduct, when done on behalf of Journey or as a representative of the band, is extremely damaging to the Journey brand as it polarizes the band’s fan base and reach. ,” reads the letter, a copy of which was provided to DailyExpertNews by representatives of Mr. Schon.
“Travel is not and should not be political,” the letter adds, noting the risk of reduced earning potential for the next tour, which begins in January.
The letter refers to a performance by Mr. Cain performed “Don’t Stop Believin’,” the band’s enduring power ballad, last month at the America First Experience Gala at Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump in Florida. An online video from the event shows Mr Cain seated at a keyboard, leading a sing-along with Conservative political figures such as Deputy Marjorie Taylor Greene, Kimberly Guilfoyle and Kari Lake on stage next to him. In the crowd, Mr. Trump is visible, along with Newt Gingrich, Donald Trump Jr. and others.
Mr. Cain has long been linked to Mr. Trump’s inner circle. His wife, Paula White, was Mr. Trump’s spiritual adviser during his administration, and she spoke the invocation at Mr. Trump’s 2017 inauguration.
The existence of the letter was first reported by Variety.
In a statement, Mr. Cain: “Neal Schon should look in the mirror when he accuses me of harming the Journey brand. I’ve watched him damage our brand for years and have been the victim of both his and his wife’s bizarre behavior.
He pointed to a number of disputes in the band’s history and what he called the “bullying, toxic, incoherent emails” from Mr. Schon and his wife, adding: “If anyone is destroying the Journey brand, it’s Neal – and Neal alone.”
Mr. Schon’s wife, Michaele, is a one-time reality TV star who was in “The Real Housewives of DC”
“Don’t Stop Believin’,” from Journey’s 1981 album “Escape,” was a Top 10 hit when it came out. It has also had a hugely successful afterlife, appearing in the final episode of “The Sopranos” in 2007, as well as the Broadway musical “Rock of Ages”. Written by Mr. Cain, mr. Schon and Steve Perry, the group’s former vocalist, the song has racked up more than 1.4 billion streams on Spotify alone.
Complaints from musicians about the political use of their songs also usually include allegations of copyright infringement, but given that Mr. Cain is a co-writer, that may be moot, and Mr. Schon’s letter makes no mention of copyright.
Instead, the focus is on Journey’s desire to remain apolitical. The letter links to a radio interview with the band, in which the group was asked if they would have accepted an invitation to perform at Trump’s inauguration. Mr Cain replied: “We are not political. We don’t get into politics. We try to stay on track.” Mr Schon added: “The best place to stay is neutral, downtown.”
Tensions within the band have long been part of the story of Journey, which emerged as a progressive rock group in the 1970s—Mr. Schon began his career as a teenager in Santana—and achieved arena-filling success with dramatic pop rock in the 1980s.
Lately, Mr. Schon and Mr. Cain, who joined the group for “Escape,” have been battling over various financial issues, and another letter was sent to Mr. Cain this month – by a lawyer other than Mr. Schon, at another firm – complained that Mrs. White was improperly interfering in the band’s business affairs.