Journey guitarist Neal Schon has broken his silence in regard to his bandmate Jonathan Cain filing a petition asking the Delaware Chancery Court to appoint a third, independent director to serve with them on the board of Freedom 2020, Inc., the corporate entity through which Journey primarily conducts the band’s business.
At a hearing on Wednesday, Schon’s lawyer, Jack Yoskowitz, told Judge J. Travis Laster that Cain’s “allegations that the company faces imminent irreparable harm from a purported inability of the company to meet its financial obligations has no basis in fact.”
Cain alleges that Schon is exceeding a daily hotel fee cap of $1,500 by spending “up to $10,000 per night,” as well as spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on private jets, and using the company’s American Express card for personal affairs.
Yoskowitz goes onto say that Schon “denies that there’s been any mismanagement,” and that it’s Cain who is causing dysfunction in the group.
And Cain’s lawyer, Sidney Liebesman, at Wednesday’s hearing, argued that Journey has become “dysfunctional” and “is in crisis. The damage is taking place during the tour.”
And of course Schon can’t keep his mouth shut, posting on X (Twitter) that the allegations are “BS and what do you care? I pay for it.”
Schon, who co-founded Journey, is the president of Freedom 2020, but he and Cain each own 50%. However, as president, Cain’s lawyer argues that he believes “he can do whatever he wants” and has created a “toxic internal environment” on the road.
“Rather than focusing on the band’s performances during a major international tour, the band’s business manager, lead vocalist 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.”
Journey have two one-off shows in Wisconsin on Friday and Saturday before resuming the stadium tour with Def Leppard on Monday in Arlington, Texas.
REUTERS PHOTO
