Journey bandmates in legal fight over performance for Donald Trump - The Guardian

A subordinate of prog stone set Journey has served a chap bandmate with a cease-and-desist bid for performing their deed Don’t Stop Believin’ with respective high-profile Republicans for Donald Trump astatine Mar-a-Lago past month, calling the show “harmful” to the band.

Keyboardist Jonathan Cain, guitarist Neal Schon and vocalist Steve Perry co-wrote the 1981 song, which returned to nationalist consciousness 30 years aboriginal erstwhile it was utilized successful the last occurrence of The Sopranos.

Cain, 71, is simply a subordinate of Trump’s interior ellipse due to the fact that his wife, the televangelist Paula White-Cain, is the erstwhile US president’s spiritual advisor.

In November, Cain performed Don’t Stop Believin’ with Republicans Marjorie Taylor Greene, Kimberly Guilfoyle and Kari Lake for Trump astatine his Florida resort. On Wednesday, it was revealed by Variety that Schon’s lawyer had issued a cease-and-desist missive to Cain implicit the performance.

In the letter, Schon’s lawyer noted: “Although Mr Cain is escaped to explicit his idiosyncratic beliefs and associations, erstwhile helium does that connected behalf of Journey oregon for the band, specified behaviour is highly deleterious to the Journey marque arsenic it polarizes the band’s fans and outreach. Journey is not, and should not be, political.

“Mr Cain’s unauthorised affiliation of Journey with the authorities of Donald Trump has the band’s fans up successful arms, arsenic is demonstrated by a illustration of the attached emails and Twitter comments. This has caused, and continues to cause, irreparable harm to the Journey brand, its instrumentality basal and earning potential, particularly successful airy of the forthcoming tour.

“Mr Cain has nary close to usage Journey for authorities … helium should not beryllium capitalising connected Journey’s marque to beforehand his idiosyncratic governmental oregon spiritual docket to the detriment of the band,” the missive continued, calling the show a “harmful usage of the brand”.

The missive besides states that Schon’s determination does not mean to “further adhd to the animosity that is presently plaguing the set and the narration betwixt Mr Schon and Mr Cain”.

The 2 men are presently warring implicit entree to the band’s finances, with Schon’s lawyers claiming past period that helium had been denied entree to the band’s fiscal records and usage of its American Express card. Cain’s lawyers responded by alleging Schon was denied entree to the paper aft helium utilized it connected “improper idiosyncratic expenses” worthy much than US$1m.

Schon has not responded to Cain’s counterclaim, penning that helium volition “be pursuing my attorney’s proposal and not talk until we are successful tribunal wherever I’ll not person a occupation astatine all. It is what it is.”

The Guardian has contacted Cain astir the cease-and-desist. In effect to the claims, a spokesperson for Cain told Variety connected Wednesday: “Schon is conscionable frustrated that helium keeps losing successful tribunal and is present falsely claiming the opus has been utilized astatine governmental rallies.”

Schon and Perry person antecedently voiced their displeasure implicit Don’t Stop Believin’ being played astatine Trump’s run rallies, joining a agelong database of individuals and bands who person spoken retired against their euphony being utilized by Trump that includes Neil Young, REM, Queen, Earth, Wind and Fire, the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Tom Petty and the widow of Luciano Pavarotti,

In 2017, Schon posted respective furious tweets aft 3 members of the radical visited the White House and posed for pictures with the then-president.

“I’ve stated however I felt astir mixing religion and authorities and however our euphony is not of 1 religion — Democratic oregon Republican. This is and has been an contented with myself, Mr Cain and his wife,” Schon wrote successful a connection helium aboriginal deleted.