It wasn’t the massive success of Hootie & the Blowfish that led drummer and songwriter Jim Sonefeld away from God. He never made an outright decision to leave his faith behind. He simply set it aside, filling his life with other things — fame, fortune, partying — and his faith slowly “faded” away.
Over time, while Sonefeld and his bandmates skyrocketed to the top of America’s music charts, his personal life was spiraling out of control. Trying to hide the pain in his heart, Sonefeld became addicted to alcohol and found himself in some dark places.
“Everybody out there loves to have a good time, but for me I was on a path that was not healthy,” he said. “I was trying to fill a void that was hidden within me and that only has one ending. It’s either called death or you suffer with the addiction. I figured out along the way that I was being controlled by alcohol. Only after giving it up did I discover the root of the problem, which was not alcohol. It was Jim Sonefeld.”
As a youth, Sonefeld was raised in a Catholic family and went to church regularly. Although he said his belief system was “pretty firmly imbedded” within his heart at that time, those beliefs were overshadowed by his new way of living in adulthood.
“After school, I chose to really learn about other life experiences and that meant meeting new people, traveling and hearing other people’s experiences in spirituality,” Sonefeld said. “Unfortunately, that didn’t leave a really strong foundation for me.”
In college he became more interested in his lifelong love of music and playing drums, and soon he and three of his University of South Carolina friends created Hootie & the Blowfish. After about five years of “driving around in a smelly van” to various performances and sometimes “making less than minimum wage,” the group released their debut album “Cracked Rear View” in 1994 and catapulted into stardom with chart-topping songs like “Only Wanna Be with You” and “Hold My Hand.”
Life was good for Sonefeld, but all of his fame and fortune did not alleviate his inner struggles.
“When life is going well and when you are enjoying your job and your friendships and you are successful in some way, it’s easy to not look closely at yourself, your heart and your pain,” he said. “It’s only on the other side of the mountain that I got a peek at it (and it didn’t) look so good.
“I wasn’t choosing faith as something to stand on,” he said. “It’s what a lot of people do in our society. We put all of our might in a career. It may appear joyous and successful, but when you put that first in your life, where does that leave your spiritual foundation? … That’s just a crash waiting to happen. I was a good person and I treated people the way I wanted to be treated, but I was leading a sinful life. … Eventually when I continued to not use God as my spiritual foundation it caught up with me.”
Ultimately, a 12-step program made the difference. “I went in with no idea other than that I surrender, my life is out of control and I can’t stop drinking and I don’t know how to stop,” he said. “[T]hey showed me … that I need to admit my addiction and agree that there is a higher power that can save me. … That’s a great beginning for someone who has hit the [end of his] rope … because I had run out of answers.”
Sonefeld said he was “literally and figuratively reawakened.”
“It was hard at first,” he said. “It’s scary to give up … the medicine that helps numb the pain.”
His bandmates were also “overjoyed.”
“It’s scary to see a friend get close to the cliff and wonder if he is going to fall off,” he said.
Recently and with some hesitancy, Sonefeld released a solo album titled “Found,” which represents and celebrates the spiritual change in his life.
“I thought if I write Christian songs, then I’m going to have to boldly live out my Christian faith,” he said. “God has continued to build me up to be a man who can continually sing His praises publicly. He has allowed me to be bold in my faith. So I’m going to sing it.
“A life that isn’t centered around God — where He is not the centerpiece — is eventually a life where the wheels are going to come off and it’s going to get unbalanced,” he said. “Anything you put in front of God or in place of God is an idol. … My chore daily is to clear that path and let Him be the center.”
Sonefeld’s album “Found” is available on iTunes. For more information, visit www.jimsonefeld.com.
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