Jay Bennett to Wilco: I want my money

The divorce was bitter; time hasn't sweetened anyone's hurt feelings. From the Associated Press: 

CHICAGO — A former member of Wilco is suing the band's lead singer, claiming he's owed royalties for songs during his seven years and five albums with the group.

Jay Bennett also claims in the breach-of-contract lawsuit filed Monday against singer Jeff Tweedy that he deserves money from the band's 2002 documentary, “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart.” The film documents the making of Wilco's album “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.”

Bennett worked as a sound engineer and played instruments for the band from 1994 to 2001, according to the lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court, which asks for at least $50,000 in damages.

The lawsuit said Bennett was compensated but only in “infrequent partial payments” equal to 15 percent of Wilco's income from sales and performances.

“As a recording musician in Wilco, Bennett is entitled to compensation for his services rendered in the form of continuing and perpetual artist royalty payments from” Tweedy, according to the lawsuit.

In a statement Tuesday, Tweedy said he doesn't know what the claims are based upon, adding that he didn't produce the movie, has done nothing wrong and hopes the matter will be handled fairly.

Bennett worked on the albums “Being There,” “Summerteeth,” “Mermaid Avenue,” “Mermaid Avenue Vol. II” and “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot,” the lawsuit said.

Comments

[punkyjunk]

jay bennett was (and still is) a great guitar player. his keyboards and his skills as a producer/engineer added helped wilco move into newer musical territories, which resulted in some of their best work. according to greg kot's book, summerteeth was essentially a tweedy/bennett production...two guys losing their minds in the studio with overdubs. it still sounds incredible.

he also seemed to have a pretty abrasive personality. the "i am trying to break your heart" film provided an engaging look into wilco (at that time) and it is true that wilco didn't produce the film - in other words, they didn't shell out any $ for it.

it also seems that his own career outside of wilco hasn't been too incredibly succesful, at least not on the scale of the current wilco.

he's made some good records and done a lot of production work, but perhaps it's not enough to pay the bills. it will be interesting to see how this plays out. his timing is good, i suppose, considering wilco's new DVD is out right now and their new disc is out june 30.

[Dexter Morgan]

Bennett had a huge impact on the direction and songwriting on Summer Teeth and YHF. His problems were his attitude/ego and inability to defer to Tweedy and know his rank in the band.

Tweedy wasn't perfect back then either. Moodiness, popping pills, dealing with the band's growing popularity and label of being a wunderkind in the making...

All that said, Wilco may be a better band chops-wise these days but there was a whole lot more romance to them before the YHF record label hype made them huge. Tweedy is way too cheery anymore on stage and seems to have gotten stuck on writing a majority of his songs in the same slow-mid tempo.

Still a great band. Jay deserves a check if they never paid him his dues.

[Geordan]

I dug Jay Bennett's work with Wilco and actually prefer their earlier work to most of their work after his exit. I find it hard to get into their live show because of their crazy lead guitarist, Nels Cline. He's definitely talented, but he just obliterates most of Wilco's later work, especially live, with his extended Guitar noodling. Sometimes it's about what you don't play, as opposed to over-saturating a song with a barrage of noise. But that's just me.......

I saw Wilco once with Bennett and loved it. The one time I saw Wilco live with Nels, I found him as annoying as Tweedy seemingly found Bennett in the great Wilco Documentary, "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart." In a perfect world, I'd like to see Tweedy and Bennett put this nonsense behind them and get together for another album. They might end up murdering each other, but I'll bet I would LOVE whatever they come up with!

[pellboy]

Judging by the damages sought, Bennett seems to just be seeking the $ he feels he's owed from those projects as opposed to it being some kind of money and/or attention grab from the more successful Tweedy. Seems like a legit lawsuit.

[Wet Willie]

The suit papers are found here --

http://www.courthousenews.com/2009/05/05/Wilco.pdf

Bennett claims (#16) that Tweedy produced the earlier film; don't think that's correct.

I'd like to see Exhibit B, the band's written agreement (that Bennett admits [# 11] he didn't sign). Wonder why/how it would be Tweedy's obligation to make these payments under that agreement.

Cheers.

[Jeff]

Don't know about Jay Bennett's claims, but I've seen Wilco several times with him and with Nels Cline, and they're clearly a better band with Nels on guitar. The guy is unlike any rock guitarist and with his jazz background, brings something very different to the band.

[The Teacher]

Interesting Jeff, I'm streaming the new album right now and was discussing the increasing noise and feedback pedal work built into the songs and how much I like this version of Wilco. I haven't really grabbed on their earlier albums, so I was wondering what older fans of the band would think. Sounds like there are some mixed feelings from the posts above.