Wilco War: Bennett Sues Tweedy

Former Wilco multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett has sued the Chicago band's frontman, Jeff Tweedy, for unpaid royalties and other payments.

Bennett was a member of Wilco from 1994 to 2001 and his breach of contract lawsuit states he worked as a sound engineer and performed instruments on the group's Being There, Summerteeth, Mermaid Avenue, Mermaid Avenue Vol. II and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot albums.

"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, said the suit filed in Cook County Circuit Court on Monday.

Bennett says he received "infrequent partial payments" equivalent to 15 per cent of Wilco's income from sales and performances, but he wants to be compensated for appearing in 2002's I Am Trying To Break Your Heart film that documented Yankee Hotel Foxtrot's creation.

He claims Tweedy (who the suit says produced the film, though he isn't listed in the credits that way) "never obtained the necessary releases for the use of Bennett's performance." Bennett wasn't portrayed particularly positively in the documentary, which showed him and Tweedy bickering.

Bennett is seeking damages of at least $50,000.

While Tweedy was quoted at the time of Bennett's departure as saying "we moved past any hard feelings really fast," Bennett went solo and reportedly snidely introduced many Wilco songs as "another song I wrote for Jeff Tweedy" at his concerts.

The lawsuit's timing may coincide with Bennett's April 24 revelation on his MySpace blog that he needs "complete hip replacement" surgery as a result of "a decade plus of multiple nightly stage jumps and various other rock and roll theatrics."

Bennett wrote he's among his country's many "under-insured" and has been trying to find the best deals for the surgery he needs. He's also sold some vintage recording gear to raise money for a down payment.

Bennett's not there yet, but that $50,000 he's looking for in the lawsuit would probably go a long way to getting him into an operating room and back to being able to walk and do other mundane things without the pain he's enduring.

Bennett is working on an album titled Kicking At The Perfumed Air and has posted some material he's created on his MySpace page.

Bennett released a 10-song acoustic-based album titled Whatever Happened I Apologize as a free download last November. In addition to his solo music career, he has also been active as a studio musician and producer.

Wilco's Wilco (The Album) will be released on June 30. Their tour in support of the record will take them here:

May 23 Tenerife, Spain @ Tenerife Auditorium
May 25 Malaga, Spain @ Teatro Cervantes De Malaga w/Akron/Family
May 26 Madrid, Spain @ Teatro Haagen-Dazs Calderon w/Akron/Family
May 27 Granada, Spain @ Congress Palace w/Akron/Family
May 29 Seville, Spain @ Monasterio De La Cartuja (Territorios Festival)
May 30 Porto, Portugal @ Teatro Circo
May 31 Lisbon, Portugal @ Lisbon Coliseu
June 1 Santiago De Compostela, Spain @ Sala Braque at Palacio De Congresos
June 3 San Sebastian, Spain @ Centro Kursaal
June 4 Barcelona, Spain @ Auditori De Barcelona
June 12 Cincinnati, OH @ Aronoff Center For The Arts
June 13 Manchester, TN @ Great Stage Park (Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival)
June 15 Oklahoma City, OK @ Coca Cola Bricktown Events Center
June 17 El Paso, TX @ Abraham Chavez Theatre
June 18 Tucson, AZ @ Centennial Hall w/Grizzly Bear
June 19 Las Vegas, NV @ The Joint
June 20 Pomona, CA @ Fox Theater
June 22-23, 25 Los Angeles, CA @ Wiltern Theatre
June 27 Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre at University Of California, Berkeley
June 28 Stateline, NV @ Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena
June 30 Jacksonville, OR @ Britt Pavilion
July 3 Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
July 8 Vienna, VA @ Wolf Trap Hotel w/Conor Oberst And The Mystic Valley Band
July 10 Wilmington, DE @ Frawley Stadium w/Conor Oberst And The Mystic Valley Band
July 11 Lowell, MA @ LeLacheur Park w/Conor Oberst And The Mystic Valley Band
July 13 Brooklyn, NY @ Keyspan Park
July 17 Portland, ME @ Maine State Pier w/Conor Oberst And The Mystic Valley Band
July 18 Wappingers Falls, NY @ Dutchess Stadium w/Conor Oberst And The Mystic Valley Band
July 19 Lewiston, NY @ Art Park w/Conor Oberst And The Mystic Valley Band
July 21 Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre
July 23 Detroit Lakes, MN @ Soo Ranch Pass (10,000 Lakes Festival)
Aug. 13 Oslo, Norway @ Oyafestivallen
Aug. 14 Gothenburg, Sweden @ Way Out West Festival
Aug. 21 Erfurt-Hohenfelden, Germany @ Highfield Festival
Aug. 23 Brecon Beacons, England @ Glanusk Park (Green Man Festival)
Aug. 25 London, England @ Troxy
Aug. 27 Dublin, Ireland @ Vicar Street