Journey's Steven Smith and Ross Valory fired, slapped with $10M suit over use of band's name
Things are rapidly going south for the iconic Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, Journey. It was recently revealed that the band's principal members, guitarist Neal Schon and keyboardist Jonathan Cain have fired and filed a $10M lawsuit against two of the band's long-serving members — drummer Steven Smith and bassist Ross Valory. The rhythm section had been performing on and off with the band for several decades now, and this ouster seems certain to send shockwaves through the band's loyal fan following.
It is being alleged that Smith and Valory attempted (and failed in) a takeover bid for a corporate entity called Nightmare Productions that would give them control of the 'Journey' trademark. Smith and Valory incorrectly believed that controlling Nightmare Productions would provide them “windfall payments in millions of dollars... after their retirement.”
According to the legal complaint, filed in California Superior Court on Tuesday, March 3, Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain are asking for damages in excess of $10M from Smith and Valory. Given the cold and calculated circumstances of the case, the pair also said they have no interest in playing with Smith and Valory anymore, and have fired them from the band with immediate effect.
The plaintiffs Schon and Cain allege in their suit, filed by the legal firm Miller Barondess, that their former bandmates Smith and Valory hatched an underhanded plot to steal the rights to the 'Journey' name. Schon and Cain claim that they alone own the exclusive rights to 'Journey', as per an agreement signed with their ex-frontman, Steve Perry, when he left the group. Perry was actively part of the group during their biggest period of commercial success, from 1978 to 1987.
To briefly summarize what happened - Schon, Cain, and Perry had previously entered into an agreement in 1985 that gave them “exclusive, irrevocable license” over the 'Journey' trademark via the corporate entity, Nightmare Productions. However, Smith and Valory had apparently launched their plan to oust Cain and Schon from Nightmare Productions in January 2020.
They enlisted the help of an attorney, Daniel Schacht, in order to increase the number of board members of Nightmare Productions — which would then allow Smith, Valory and two of their allies to join the board. Then, the new board members would replace Cain with Smith as president of the board, and Valory would also replace Schon as secretary.
The suit alleges that Smith and Valory tried to "control the Journey name and force Cain, Schon and Nightmare Productions to pay them a share of Journey touring revenue in perpetuity while they do no work for the band.” Furthermore, it is said that Smith and Valory’s “coup drove a dagger between band members” and that the duo “placed their own greed before the interests of the band, sowing discontent and discord, jeopardizing the future of Journey.”
Skip Miller, Schon and Cain's attorney, said in a statement: “The contracts are clear on their face. The Journey name is controlled by Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain. And for very good cause, they don’t want to perform with Smith or Valory anymore, they don’t want to have anything to do with them, and that’s their right. They’re going to go on with Journey, continue with the great success of the past and these two guys are going to get replaced."
Guess that's one way to end a Journey that goes on forever!