The last two original members of Journey’s original classic lineup, guitarist Neal Schon and keyboardist Jonathan Cain are both in a middle of a court battle. On Oct. 31, Schon filed a lawsuit in Contra Costa, California against bandmate Cain, alleging that he has denied him access to the band’s American Express card and records.
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On Nov. 21, Cain responded to Schon’s allegations. “This is a matter that should have been resolved privately,” said Cain in a statement, “but I am forced to publicly respond now to Neal’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.”
Cain said that Schon has always had access to credit card statements and is trying to increase his spending limits. “Since Neal decided to publicize what is going on, I can tell you we will present the evidence to the court that shows that Neal has been under tremendous financial pressure as a result of his excessive spending and extravagant lifestyle, which led to him running up enormous personal charges on the band’s credit card account,” added Cain. “When efforts were made to limit his use of the card to legitimate band expenses, Neal, unfortunately, decided to attack me rather than trying to get his reckless spending under control.”
Schon’s use of the card, according to Cain’s attorney, resulted in more than $1 million in “improper personal expenses.”
“I am saddened by the situation, for Neal, and for our fans,” added Cain, “but since Neal filed a lawsuit, I suspect he will not be able to ignore the court like he has ignored the countless financial advisors and accountants he has fired over the past several years who have tried in vain to help him.”
Schon responded to the situation on his social media page, and also called out Cain’s wife, evangelist Paula White, who he alleged is involved in the band’s corporate banking and contributed to locking him out of having access to the card.
“The only comment I’ll make at this time is it’s all very unfortunate and [I] tried for over a year to attain all our corporate records for Nomota (a company the two founding members started in 1998 to establish 50-50 ownership after vocalist Steve Perry left the band) with many personal e-mails to Jon as well as many legal letter(s) stating it’s my legal right to see all but I was left with no choice but to take it legal,” wrote Schon. “There’s much more. Since I filed, I’ll be following my attorney’s advice and not speak until we are in court where I’ll not have a problem at all. It is what it is.”
This recent dispute within the band is the first between Cain and Schon since 2017 when Schon claimed that band members Cain, singer Arnel Pineda and former bassist Ross Valory participated in a photo op with then-president Donald Trump. Paula White was once a spiritual advisor to Trump and delivered the invocation at his inauguration in 2017.
Despite the pending lawsuit, Journey is set to kick off their U.S. tour on Jan. 27, 2023, which will conclude on April 25. The band released its 15th album Freedom in 2022.
Join the celebration of rock music! Buy your tickets for the Journey Def Leppard Tour and rock out to their iconic anthems.
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