WIll Journey Triumph Or Will Infighting Doom The Band?

One of the things that drives me crazy as a music fan is when bands can't get along, and it either kills the band or ends a partnership. The most recent example would be the breakup of the duo Hall and Oates or Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham's love-hate relationship, which most recently saw the guitarist fired from the group. I want to tell them to grow up, figure it out, and get on with it. Most of these folks are senior citizens or close to it; you'd think they'd figure out how to make it work. Right?

Of course, I feel that way. I'm a music fan. And when it's a duo or a group I admire, who I've connected with over the years, and it all falls apart, I find myself angry that the feuding band members or formerly creative partners can't figure it out even if it is a irrational emotion.

Would anyone have faulted Stevie, Lindsey, or either of them if they just decided they had enough of Fleetwood Mac at some point between "Rumors" and "Tango In The Night?" Between the dope, hurt feelings, and the songs they wrote about each other that they then had to play every night next to each other.

Heck no. Lindsey did leave the band after "Tango In The Night," and coming back years later might be the only way Fleetwood Mac saw the 21st Century as a working rock band. That said, one or both of them still had some pretty heavy issues since Lindsey found himself replaced by two outstanding guitarists on what may have been the band's final tour.

That brings us to Journey and its longtime members, Jonathan Cain and Neal Schon. The two band members haven't been on the same page on various issues for years. I started hearing about friction in the band when Jonathan Cain, married to a prominent evangelical pastor and spiritual advisor to former President Donald Trump, started openly supporting the former president, which rubbed Neal Schon the wrong way.

In 2022, things got ugly when Schon accused Cain of withholding financial information and not giving him access to the band's financial records. Additionally, Schon claimed that Cain had set up an American Express card account for the band without his knowledge and wouldn't show him the credit card bills. This led to Schon filing a lawsuit against Cain over these matters. Schon also has accused Cain of trying to take control of the band's trademark and other intellectual property.

Journey has continued to tour for the past 18 months despite the lawsuits and the animosity between the two members until a few weeks ago when they abruptly canceled the UK and Ireland dates on their 50th Anniversary Freedom Tour due to Cain and Schon's legal issues.

At that point, I thought the band was Kaput. I'm still not sure Journey, as an active band, will be able to resolve its issues and continue; however, somehow, they've managed to soldier on with the US part of the group's tour. Where the group goes after they wrap up their American tour, and then finish up with six international dates is anyone's guess.

Today's Facebook post from Schon, though, gives Journey fans hope that there may be a band beyond the group fulfilling current tour obligations. It's a long post, and I'm not sure complaining about Cain in the post helps anything, but it's worth reading. Especially the part about them bringing in someone impartial to help the two members resolve their disputes. It's a long post, but worth the read:

Will it save the band? I don't know. I appreciate both parties sitting down like adults and trying to figure it out. That's more than we can say for many groups that have collapsed due to infighting.

As a fan, I want a happy ending. It doesn't have to be one last farewell tour or warring factions of a group figuring out that they can coexist if they travel in separate buses and stay away from each other when not on stage.

No, my wish is that the hurt and frustration between these people could be worked through so they could enjoy and reminisce about the good times they spent together and the music they made together. Because whatever's happened in the intervening decades doesn't change the fact that, at one point, they were part of something very special.

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I'm not saying Lindsey and Stevie must step on a stage and play together again, that Hall and Oates have to go on tour together again, or that Jonathan and Neil have to be joined at the hip or best buddies.

No, I'd like to see these folks get it together enough to sit at a table, enjoy a meal, and remember the good times. Share some stories, share some laughs, enjoy each other's company.  Because they did something special at one point, before the issues, before the rock star trappings, the endless tours, and the drama. That's special. And that's the happy ending I'd write for any band's story.