Flight mates in legal battle over Donald Trump’s performance | Musical

A member of the prog rock band Journey has served a fellow band member with a cease and desist order to perform his song Don’t Stop Believing with several prominent Republicans for Donald Trump At Mar-a-Lago last month, he called the performance “damaging” to the band.

Keyboardist Jonathan Cain, guitarist Neil Schon, and singer Steve Perry co-wrote the 1981 song that was brought back into the public consciousness 30 years later when it was used in the final episode of The Sopranos.

Kane, 71, is a member of Trump’s inner circle because his wife, televangelist Paula White Kane, is the former US president’s spiritual advisor.

In November, Cain performed “Don’t Stop Believing” with Republicans Marjorie Taylor Greene, Kimberly Guilfoyle and Carrie Lake for Trump at his Florida resort. Wednesday, It was revealed by Variety that Sean’s attorney has issued a cease and desist letter to Cain regarding the performance.

Sean’s attorney noted in the letter that: “Although Mr. Kane is free to express his personal beliefs and affiliations, when he does so on behalf of Journey or the band, such behavior is extremely detrimental to the Journey brand because it polarizes the band’s fans and outreach. Journey is not and should not to be political.

Mr. Cain’s unauthorized affiliation with Donald Trump’s policies has angered fans of the band, as evidenced by a sample of attached emails and Twitter comments. This has done and continues to cause irreparable damage to the Journey brand, its fan base, and earnings potential. Especially in light of the upcoming round.

The letter continued, “Mr. Kane has no right to use Journey for politics… He should not take advantage of the Journey trademark to promote his personal political or religious agenda at the expense of the band”, calling the performance a “malicious use of the trademark”.

The letter also states that Sean’s move is not intended to “increase the animosity the band is currently experiencing and the relationship between Mr. Sean and Mr. Kane”.

The two men are currently fighting over access to the band’s finances, with Sean’s lawyers alleged last month that he was denied access to the band’s financial records and use of its American Express card. Cain’s lawyers responded by claiming that Sean was denied access to the card after he used it for “improper personal expenses” worth more than US$1 million.

Shawn has not responded to Cain’s counterclaim, writing that he “will follow my attorney’s advice and not speak until we are in court where I will have no problem at all. It is what it is.”

Cain has been contacted by The Guardian about a ‘cease and desist’. In response to the allegations, a spokesperson for Cain told Variety on Wednesday, “Sean is frustrated that he continues to lose in court and is now falsely claiming the song has been used at political rallies.”

Sean and Perry have previously expressed their displeasure with “Don’t Stop Believing” being played at Trump campaign rallies, and they join a long list of individuals and bands who have spoken out against Trump’s use of their music. Among them is Neil YoungReem, Queen, Earth, Wind and Fire, The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Tom Petty and Luciano Pavarotti’s Widow,

In 2017, Sean posted several angry tweets after three members of the group visited the White House and took pictures with the then president.

“I mentioned how I felt about mixing religion and politics and how our music is not of one religion—Democrat or Republican. This was and still is an issue with myself, Mr. Cain and his wife,” Shawn wrote In a message he later deleted.