Neal Schon recently took to X and accused Journey’s former manager of not being part of best guitarists lists.
Rock History posted the names of some guitarists and asked their followers who are their top three ones. Then, a user named Chris Mascaro wrote in the comments:
“It is absolutely crazy to me how often Neal Schon is overlooked. The guy is a musical genius but left off these lists every time.”
Schon saw this comment and said the following about the reason:
“Politics with ex-manager.”
Journey Signed With A New Manager About Two Years Ago
Journey worked with Herbie Herbert and Irving Azoff before. In December 2022, Journey brought on Mike Kobayashi as their new manager. Previously managed by Schon and Jonathan Cain, the change followed legal issues. Schon previously sued Cain, alleging misuse of band funds through an unauthorized credit card.
The lawsuit, filed in California, claimed Cain hadn’t provided financial records. The band operates through a jointly-owned company, Nomota. Cain countered with accusations of Schon’s excessive spending. Later, Neal replied on social media to Cain’s comment that the lawsuit was ‘ill-conceived’:
“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. AMEX ON A RECORDED LINE on both side told me JON WILL NOT give me access to the account of ALL CREDIT CARDS THAT HAVE BEEN USED. They told me I only have Limited access.”
The conflict between Schon and Cain surfaced publicly in 2017 after a controversial White House visit involving Cain, singer Arnel Pineda, and former bassist Ross Valory with President Donald Trump, where Cain’s wife delivered the invocation.
After the lawsuits, Schon and Cain finally made peace earlier this year. Journey posted a photo of the two musicians on their Instagram to share the news with their fans.
You can see Neal’s tweet below.
Politics with ex manager
— NEAL SCHON MUSIC (@NealSchonMusic) June 29, 2024