Hootie & The Blowfish’s Jim Sonefeld Opens Up About How Faith Saved Him From Substance Abuse
By Movieguide® Contributor
Hootie & the Blowfish drummer and songwriter Jim Sonefeld recently shared some backstage stories about the group in his new upcoming memoir “Swimming with the Blowfish: Hootie, Healing, and One Hell of a Ride.”
The book tells the story of the band’s rise to fame, their fall and coming back together to perform as a group again.
Sonefeld also goes into detail about his struggle with substance abuse and how he found God amid his troubles.
“I wanted to say something that might be helpful to people out there,” he said of his decision to write the book. “They get to take a look behind the scenes at the band and how we got to a place of popularity in the mid-90s. It also talks about the difficulties and I want people to know that no matter what you think of people in the media or in the entertainment world, it’s rarely all of the story.”
Talking about his time with Hootie & the Blowfish, Sonefeld said, “We enjoyed five solid years of really being at the top and traveling the world and having a lot of fans. That ride also began to come down after 2000 and I was caught up in denial that our career was sliding down. I had some emotional imbalances that I tried to fix with chemicals.”
Ultimately, it was faith in God that led Sonefeld away from drugs and alcohol.
“I turned, for the first time, to ask someone for help,” Sonefeld explained. “That person I asked told me a little bit about his spiritual program which I ended up following. It led me back to Christ, to the Bible, to a transformational life.”
In addition to his book, Sonefeld is also releasing a Christian EP, Remember Tomorrow, which will be available in July.
