Journey keyboardist gets cease-and-desist letter from bandmate over ‘Don’t Stop Believin”

A Journey band member’s performance of “Don’t Stop Believin’” at Mar-a-Lago prompted another bandmate to take legal action.

An attorney for guitarist Neal Schon served keyboardist Jonathan Cain a cease-and-desist letter for his rendition of the group’s mega-hit that had the likes of Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor-Greene, Kari Lake and Kimberly Guilfoyle singing backup vocals, according to Variety. 

The performance was done during a private event last month for former President Donald Trump at his Florida home.

The letter reads, in part, that “Mr. Cain has no right to use Journey for politics,” and “His politics should be his own personal business. He should not be capitalizing on Journey’s brand to promote his personal political or religious agenda to the detriment of the band,” calling it a “harmful use of the brand.”

Mr. Cain, who co-wrote “Don’t Stop Believin’” with Mr. Schon and band vocalist Steve Perry, is married to televangelist Paula White, who works as Mr. Trump’s spiritual adviser. Mr. Cain has long supported the former president.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, Kimberly Guilfoyle, and Kari Lake sang “Don’t Stop Believin’” along with Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain at a recent event with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. pic.twitter.com/dvSp1z62BX</ a>

— PatriotTakes (@patriottakes) November 23, 2022

An attorney for Mr. Cain responded by saying, “Schon is just frustrated that he keeps losing in court and is now falsely claiming the song has been used at political rallies,” according to music news site Blabbermouth.

Mr. Schon filed a lawsuit against Mr. Cain in California state court this fall, claiming that the keyboardist cut off Mr. Schon’s access to the band’s corporate American Express account. Mr. Cain argued that Mr. Schon misused the card with his “excessive spending and extravagant lifestyle.”

Aerosmith, the Rolling Stones and other bands have spoken out against Mr. Trump for using their songs in past campaign rallies, but since their usage is considered public appearances, there is no legal recourse for it.

Journey has toured for the past 35 years despite lead singer Mr. Perry originally leaving the group in 1987 and spending most of the next two decades out of the public eye.

Mr. Perry has been involved in multiple legal fights with Mr. Schon and Mr. Cain over Journey’s proprietary entities since his return.

The most recent came in a September lawsuit that the vocalist filed against Mr. Schon and Mr. Cain for registering 20 of the band’s most successful hits to their joint company for merchandising purposes, according to music news site Loudwire.

Mr. Perry claims the two aren’t legally allowed to do so without his consent.

The trademark to Journey, and all the royalties associated with the band, were part of a 2020 legal fight where Mr. Schon and Mr. Cain took action against former bassist Ross Valory and former drummer Steve Smith.

The guitarist and keyboard player accused Mr. Valory and Mr. Smith of trying to remove them from the company that controls the trademark, according to Bloomberg Law. They claimed the move was done with the blessing of Mr. Perry and the band’s original manager, Walter Herbert.

Journey has a tour scheduled with Toto coming up in 2023.