Swimming with a Blowfish

Hootie, Healing, and the Ride of a Lifetime

Jim Sonefeld, Darius Rucker

$49.99

Hardback

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English

Diversion Books
01 November 2022

Rock & Pop music; Individual composers & musicians, bands & groups; Coping with drug & alcohol abuse

The ultimate front-row seat to the rise, fall, and rebirth of a band that was - for a time - the biggest in the world, Hootie & the Blowish, and Jim Sonefeld's shattering and redeeming spiritual path from addiction to recovery and a more fruitful life

For a time, there was no bigger band in the world than Hootie & the Blowfish - rock & roll's unexpected foil to the grunge music that dominated the early '90s airwaves.

In Swimming with the Blowfish, JimSonefeld, drummer and one of the band's principal songwriters, reveals the inside story of the band's humble beginnings, meteoric rise, sudden fall, and ultimate rebirth-and in the telling he opens his heart to readers about addiction, recovery, and faith.

Hootie became ubiquitous in the '90s - their debut album Cracked Rear View was one of the best-selling in the history of rock music; they won two Grammy Awards; their live performances were played alongside the Dave Matthews Band, R.E.M., and even Willie Nelson and Neil Young; and they appeared at the biggest venues in the world. Though Jim enjoyed the perks that came with fame - the parties, the relationships, the money, the drugs and alcohol - eventually it all became a camouflage that hid a deeper spiritual malady. As his life was careening toward disaster, he reached out his hands to seek relief in twelve-step recovery, eventually settling into a loving, but by no means uncomplicated, homelife.

A book that encapsulates a band still beloved by legions of fans, Swimming with the Blowfishis much more -an unpretentious, emotional story of one man's spiritual path to a more fruitful life. Jim's journey is shattering, redeeming, and ultimately as comforting as your favourite flannel shirt.

By: Jim Sonefeld
Foreword by: Darius Rucker
Imprint: Diversion Books
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 228mm, Width: 152mm,
ISBN: 9781635767674
ISBN 10: 1635767679
Pages: 304
Publication Date: 01 November 2022
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Hootie & the Blowfish drummer Jim 'Soni' Sonefeld dreamt more of being a professional soccer player than a successful musician. But with the unsuspected success of the band's 1994 debut release, Cracked Rear View, he and his bandmates found themselves traveling the world to support what would become the 16th best-selling album of all time in the United States. The band would record four more studio albums and receive numerous awards, among them, two Grammys. During this era, Sonefeld's lines of truth became blurred and his addictions began to take over his life as he relied heavily on drugs and alcohol to cope with the emptiness growing inside of him. He struggled to find peace and to hold his personal life together, and in 2004 Sonefeld finally accepted that he was powerless over drugs and alcohol and that his life had become entirely unmanageable. In sobriety Sonefeld discovered there were parts of his life that had incurred damages beyond repair, but that God would heal him if he turned his life over to His care.

Reviews for Swimming with a Blowfish: Hootie, Healing, and the Ride of a Lifetime

We loved, fought, cried, laughed a lot, and did whatever it took to play the music that we knew was very distinctly ours. . . . Jim 'Soni' Sonefeld has lived a life that is rife with fun and pain, light and darkness, but always with an amazing amount of love. The way he sees the world is one of a kind and his story is one for the ages. -from the Foreword by Darius Rucker I've truly relished hanging out with the fun-loving, mischievous 'Soni' through the years, but this book exposes a more deeply-rooted, impassioned side he didn't always show. He captures the spirit of the surreal and sometimes unsettling life behind the scenes of one of my favorite bands, sincerely revealing that he is as fragile as the rest of us. It's an eloquent yet humbling example of a lesson we can all learn from-that no degree of fame or fortune leaves us immune to experiencing pain, powerlessness, and regret. -Dan Patrick, sports broadcaster and host of The Dan Patrick Show Jim Sonefeld details his rollercoaster ride through rock and roll, addiction and sobriety with searing honesty and grace. -Radney Foster, singer-songwriter of Foster & Lloyd and author of For You To See The Stars From the moment we crossed paths it was clear to me that Jim is more than the drums, more than the band, and more than the music. Highs and lows, good and bad, pretty and ugly . . . he's gone through it all. This is a great peek into an amazing trip through a rock 'n' roll life -and beyond. Like a good snare drum, it's crisp, memorable, and it packs a punch. -Alexi Lalas, journalist, retired professional soccer player, singer/songwriter It's easy to forget how many lives one person can live. I've known Soni for close to thirty years and it's a great gift to have this window into the details and inner world of his unique journey. -Glen Phillips, lead singer of Toad the Wet Sprocket