New Book From
Jim Sonefeld
Swimming With The Blowfish

Brand new book by Jim Sonefeld available June 28, 2022. Pre-Order Below.

It’s with great excitement I’m announcing the upcoming release of my first book, Swimming with the Blowfish - Hootie, Healing, and One Hell of a Ride.


This labor of love has been 4 years in the making and I’m delighted to give you guys a picture of behind the scenes in my personal life as a musician, recoverer and human.


And yes there are pictures from my long haired days. Hope you’ll take the time to preorder.


Peace & blessings,


Jim

Quotes From Friends & Critics


“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.”


Darius Rucker, Hootie and the Blowfish 


“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,  host of The Dan Patrick Show


“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

About the Author: Jim Sonefeld

Jim “Soni” Sonefeld has had a prolific career spanning from touring musician in one of the top-selling rock bands of all time, to award-winning songwriter, to solo artist. As Sonefeld gears up to release his fourth faith-inspired EP, Remember Tomorrow,
he’ll be adding the title of author to his list of achievements. His memoir, “Swimming With The Blowfish – Hootie, Healing, and One Hell of a Ride,” published by Diversion Books, will be released in late June of 2022.


The Hootie & the Blowfish drummer grew up dreaming more of sporting victories than becoming a successful musician, but after that dream came to a close, he immediately began writing songs, performing, and chasing a music dream. With the unsuspected success of Hootie & the Blowfish’s 1994 debut release, “Cracked Rear View”, he and his bandmates found themselves traveling the world to support what would become the 9th best-selling album of all time in the United States.


The first single, “Hold My Hand,” a tune Sonefeld brought to the band early on, helped thrust Hootie & the Blowfish into its great success, and likewise showcases his songwriting ability. In the years to follow, the band would record six more studio albums and receive numerous awards, among them, two GRAMMYS®.

In the early 2000s Sonefeld began relying on drugs and alcohol to feed an emptiness growing inside of him and would struggle to control his substance use. It wasn’t until late 2004 that he finally accepted he was powerless over drugs and alcohol. It was there he made a turn that would save his life and eventually alter his spiritual path.

With a sober mind and new clarity, he began writing about his transcendent experience and the journey into healthier, happier living. Since his first full-length solo album Snowman Melting (2008) was released, under the name James Sonefeld, he has delivered a trilogy of EPs coined, Found In Love.

The gift of recovery is what leads him to help others by sharing his powerful story and his music with groups around the southeast. Sonefeld is thrilled to be stepping out from behind the drum kit again to play his latest single ‘Bow To Him,” stating, “This song celebrates a full submission to love. It acknowledges God as a true liberator.”

Other tracks from his new EP, including the rocking “Unafraid,” and sentimental “I See Heaven On Earth,” fall in line with themes of acceptance, transformation, and victory over life’s difficulties. These days, Sonefeld enjoys his coffee, an obsession with Liverpool Football Club, and being part of his blended family of seven, never taking for granted the blessing of the far-reaching audience he has garnered through his career with Hootie & the Blowfish. But, no matter the size of the audience before him, Sonefeld is grateful to be performing music and spreading the positive message that’s always inspired him..


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.

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