Journey’s Jonathan Cain sues bandmate Neal Schon while they’re on tour together
Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain is suing guitarist Neal Schon – while the band are on tour together.
According to Bloomberg Law, Cain is filing a lawsuit against Schon over the guitarist’s spending on the road, which allegedly exceeds previously agreed-upon budgets for expenses like hotel rooms.
READ MORE: Journey’s Neal Schon files cease and desist order to stop Jonathan Cain from playing Don’t Stop Believing
Court dockets were filed on July 30, the day after the band performed in Cleveland, Ohio, as part of an ongoing co-headline tour with Def Leppard, with Steve Miller Band and Cheap Trick supporting.
The documents name Schon, Journey’s sole remaining original member, and Cain, who joined in 1980, as joint co-owners of the band.
It alleges a “deadlock” between the two musicians over the use of band finances. Cain states that Schon is currently requesting a $1.5 million advance from Journey’s jointly managed bank account without explaining why.
Cain also alleges that Schon frequently exceeds an agreed $1,500 per night limit for hotel rooms, spending up to $10,000 per night on accommodation for himself and his wife.
The keyboardist adds that Schon recently authorised 10 members of Journey’s road crew to upgrade to business class on flights, incurring $80,000 in unexpected expenses. Schon has also racked up “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in expenses by hiring private jets for he, his wife and some crew, per the filings.
An independent business manager was allegedly hired in May, but the described “deadlock” between Cain and Schon made it “virtually impossible” for the manager to regulate the spending. Schon allegedly told this business manager to not contact him directly.
Cain adds that the rift between him and Schon is causing a “toxic internal environment” during the tour.
“Rather than focusing on the Band’s performances during a major international tour, the Band’s business manager, lead vocalist [Arnel Pineda] and crew members now find themselves caught in the middle of the directors’ disputes, afraid of performing their job responsibilities, and pressured to align with one director or another,” says Cain’s filing.
“Together, all of this leads to internal strife among the crew members and personnel.”
There has allegedly been a revolving door of backstage personnel in the Journey camp due to this environment.
The suit is the latest in a series of back-and-forth legal filings between Cain and Schon.
In 2022, Schon sued Cain, saying the keyboardist interfered with his access to the band’s American Express account. Cain counter-sued, claiming it was a necessary step to stop Schon’s “misusing” of Journey’s card.
Schon filed a cease-and-desist against Cain in December 2022, following Cain performing Journey song Don’t Stop Believin’ at the Mar-a-Lago resort of 45th US president Donald Trump.
Steve Perry, who fronted Journey from 1977 to 1998, filed a suit against his former bandmates to stop them owning trademarks of some of the hits he sang on. The suit was dropped in January 2023.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
