Neal Schon Says Journey Is Not Done But Ponders Lineup Change
Neal Schon guaranteed fans that Journey is not ending, despite his financial dispute with bandmate Jonathan Cain.
The two rockers are currently embroiled in a legal battle dealing with an American Express card associated with Nomota, the company they established in 1998 to handle Journey's business dealings. Schon filed a lawsuit against Cain and claimed the keyboardist "improperly restricted" his access to the account and its documents. Cain in turn accused Schon of misusing the card, citing his "excessive spending and extravagant lifestyle."
In a recent social media post, Schon responded to Cain’s statement that the upcoming court case was “ill-conceived,” writing, “All I want to see is our records. Cain is lying as I do not have full access as he states. I’m now a 50% owner. I’m the founder, president and secretary / manager of Nomota LLC that we started in 1998 and have every right to see what’s gone on in there. ... Transparency is all I'm asking for. Is that too much to be asking of a 50/50 partner? There's no skating around this."
Several of Schon's followers chimed in under the post, with some speculating that the legal battle would be the end of Journey – but the guitarist refuted this suggestion.
"I don't think Journey is done," one user wrote. "I don't think Neal would let that happen. That's his life work and his baby." Schon replied, “It’s not, I guarantee you.” Another fan wrote, “It seems to me that you can put a fork in Journey as it seems to be done,” to which Schon countered, “Nah… Journey means forever changing.”
Schon does, however, appear to be considering a personnel change for Journey's 2023 tour. He tweeted a photo of himself with co-founding Journey and Santana keyboardist Gregg Rolie with the caption, "2 original founding members. I think my brother Gregg Rolie should join us for 2023 tour. What do you think, friends? He will spice it up and we will have a great variety of songs to choose from. What would you like to hear for the 50th-anniversary tour?"
Meanwhile, a preliminary hearing for Schon's lawsuit against Cain is scheduled for March 3.
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