Eddie Van Halen Sues to Halt Release of '5150 Vault' Documentary
Eddie Van Halen reportedly filed a civil injunction Friday, January 26, to halt the release and sale of footage that was taken by filmmaker Andrew Bennett at his 5150 Studios in 2006.
According to court documents obtained by TMZ, the guitarist is suing Bennett for copyright infringement, as Bennett is attempting to sell the footage, which Van Halen was unhappy with.
According to Bennett, the footage contains clips of Eddie, Wolfgang and Alex Van Halen—without a singer—in the studio, performing a 19 song set. None of the footage, Bennett says, has ever been released.
In a note on the website he created for the documentary, Bennett claims that he was never paid for his work, but maintains that he did not attempt to release the footage out of "respect" for Eddie Van Halen and the band.
According to court documents, Van Halen reached a financial settlement with Bennett in 2015, which involved Bennett handing over all the footage to the band. The hard drive Bennett sent the band, according to the documents, was inoperable.
You can watch the trailer below, and judge the footage for yourself.
Bennett is selling copies of the 5150 Vault on the documentary's website for $500 each.
Get The Pick Newsletter
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
Jackson is an Associate Editor at GuitarWorld.com. He’s been writing and editing stories about new gear, technique and guitar-driven music both old and new since 2014, and has also written extensively on the same topics for Guitar Player. Elsewhere, his album reviews and essays have appeared in Louder and Unrecorded. Though open to music of all kinds, his greatest love has always been indie, and everything that falls under its massive umbrella. To that end, you can find him on Twitter crowing about whatever great new guitar band you need to drop everything to hear right now.
“Eruption was my phone alarm for a while – we have a love-hate relationship because it woke me up every morning”: Sophie Lloyd names 10 guitarists who shaped her sound
“Loads of guitarists could knock spots off Neil Young, but he’s aware of his limitations and hasn’t spent his energy perfecting his technique. I’ve carried that forward”: Meet Steve Logan, the singer-songwriter putting a distinctly Welsh spin on Americana