CLEVELAND, Ohio – A former vocalist for Cleveland heavy metal band Mushroomhead has sued a former bandmate and fellow co-founder over accusations of copyright infringement.
Jeffrey Hatrix said in the lawsuit that Steven Felton, a drummer, producer and co-founder of Mushroomhead, failed to pay him royalties over the last several years.
Also named as a defendant is Filthy Hands Company, which was registered in 2000 by Mushroomhead’s former keyboard player to handle the band’s business.
The lawsuit—filed earlier this week in federal court in Cleveland — does not name the band itself as a defendant, Hatrix’s attorney Ronald Stanley said.
No attorneys are listed in court records for Felton or Filthy Hands Company. Attempts to reach Felton and an attorney who previously represented Filthy Hands Company were unsuccessful.
Formed in 1993, Mushroomhead was an early pioneer of a style of music called “nu-metal” that was prominent in the 1990s and early 2000s and has seen a resurgence in recent years. The style incorporated groove-influenced heavy metal, hip hop and often a theatrical aesthetic.
The band released 15 albums over the years, including several that landed in the Billboard Top 200 chart. Its most recent album was released in June.
Hatrix, who left Mushroomhead in 2018, wrote or helped write 148 songs during his time with the band, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit accuses Felton of paying himself twice under two names and siphoning off additional money for an “unknown publicist” and an “unknown writer.” As a result, Hatrix said in the lawsuit he has not received royalties for his music “for several years at least.”
Stanley said Hatrix does not have access to the band’s finances, and he is not sure exactly how much he believes his client is owed.
The lawsuit said Hatrix is seeking at least $3.5 million.
“We don’t know all what he is entitled to yet,” Stanley said.
Both Hatrix and Felton have made claims to a version of the Mushroomhead trademark, according to U.S. Patent and Trademark Office records.
Hatrix’s patent application was filed August 1, 2024, and its status is pending. The doubled-letter logo that Mushroomhead fans have been seeing since the early 2000s and has appeared on concert posters as recently as 2021 was canceled earlier this year because the band didn’t file the required paperwork, U.S. patent records show.
