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According to a story published at ChicagoBreakingNews.com, former Wilco member Jay Bennett filed a lawsuit yesterday against bandleader Jeff Tweedy. The suit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court, claims Tweedy owes Bennett "damages of at least $50,000" for his time in the band, including his less-than-favorable depiction in the 2002 Wilco documentary, I Am Trying to Break Your Heart.
Bennett's lawsuit (which can be viewed in full here) states that he "is entitled to compensation for his services rendered in the form of continuing and perpetual artist royalty payments." Furthermore, the suit states that Bennett was paid for his time in Wilco, but that the "infrequent partial payments" only amounted to 15% of the band's income. Finally, Bennett's suit argues that Tweedy didn't compensate him for, or obtain the proper release for, Bennett's appearance in I Am Trying to Break Your Heart.
In an e-mail exchange with Paste, Wilco's publicist provided the following statement from Tweedy:
"I know exactly as much as everyone else does. I've read the news and I honestly have no idea what these claims are based on. It was such a long time ago. Aside from everything else, I'm being sued for not paying someone for appearing in a movie I didn't produce. Go figure. I am truly sad it has come to this. I am equally convinced, however, that I have done nothing wrong and that this will be handled fairly and swiftly."
That's all we know for now, but if any pertinent details emerge, we'll be sure to keep you posted on Wilco (The Beef).
Related links:
News: Wilco Names New Album Wilco (The Album)
1,000 Words: Wilco - Wilmington, DE - Grand Opera House - 8/10/08
WilcoWorld.net
Got news tips for Paste? E-mail news@pastemagazine.com.
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By far the best musical moment in that documentary is Jay Bennett's version of "My Darling" from one of his solo shows. I think the only "less than favorable" depiction in the film is the very accurate depiction of Jeff Tweedy as an incredible asshole.
Jay... is that you?
As big a Wilco and Tweedy fan as I am...some of my favourite individual moments on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot are ones that Jay /claims/ retained significant portions of his involvement. "Poor Places" is chief among them....
Jay's solo album at Rock Proper was great.
The impression I'm left with is that Jay pushed Jeff and challenged him, and perhaps it went farther than Jeff was comfortable with.
I'm a huge Tweedy fan, but I wonder what might have happened if that relationship hadn't disappeared...and it usually takes two people to make a relationship disappear.
jay has contributed to some of the more understated and sublime moments in wilco's catalog. he may have indeed pushed tweedy, but jay also seemed like an emotionally needy bandmate -- dude seemed high maintenance.
I also wonder what would have happened... but I still wonder that with uncle tupelo.
Why are the greatest artist always hard to deal with? Jay seems like a nice guy(met him once).Jeff seems a little scary(but is there anyone even close to his talent out there today?). This is a tough one,but I think Wilco can afford to pay Jay off once & for all times,they are masters of marketing($) & it seems like a nice goodwill gesture in these harsh times. Do you think I could be a Supreme Court Justice? Or just Judge Theresa?
I've just been reading Olver Sack's book "Musicophilia," and have come to the conclusion that often, musical genius borders on the pathological.
What I got out of the Jay/Jeff conflict in ITTBYH was that it was inevitable when you have two personalities like that collaborating, but also that the conflict was probably necessary in making YHF as groundbreaking as it was.
In the film THE THIRD MAN, Orsen Welle's character famously said this:
"In Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."
On another note, I am getting tired of the "Wilco (the Parentheticals)" references popping up EVERYWHERE in the music press these days. Yikes! Will we have to keep doing this until the next Wilco album comes out?
Holly crap. Jay Bennett's dead.