Swimming with the Blowfish

"For all the heavy subjects Sonefeld addresses, his writing style is...succinct, direct, and light...The arcs of his band and recovery stories...hold plenty of quirks and surprises and a depth worth discovering. Like Hootie and the Blowfish's music, Sonefeld's book proves to be open, accessible, and engaging."

—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette


In what American Songwriter calls the "ultimate front-row seat to Hootie's rise to fame in the mid-'90s," Jim Sonefeld takes readers on his 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 'n' roll's unexpected foil to the grunge music that dominated the early '90s airwaves. Their debut album, Cracked Rear View, was one of the best-selling in the history of rock music; they won two Grammy Awards; they shared stages with the Dave Matthews Band, R.E.M., and even Willie Nelson and Neil Young; and they appeared at the biggest venues in the world. In Swimming With the Blowfish, Jim Sonefeld, 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 substance abuse, recovery, and faith.