A DAILY SURRENDER TO GRACE

Hootie & the Blowfish

Drummer Jim Sonefeld

Revels in the Hope of Each New Day

by Michael Overholt

cover bands in the Columbia music scene. “I always had another thing in my heart with music, and that came from my parents as well.”

Sonefeld was not Hootie & the Blowfish’s first drummer. He had a class with Mark Bryan, the band’s lead guitarist, and the two struck up a friendship. This friendship deepened after the apartment complex where Sonefeld lived caught fire and left him with nothing but the clothes he was wearing. Several days later, Bryan happened to see him standing close to the stage at one of their shows. The guitarist made an announcement that his friend Jim had lost everything in the apartment fire and asked the audience to consider putting some money into his hat that he was going to pass around. That was Jim’s first encounter with the band, which he saw as “a great enactment of love—unconditional love and giving.” A couple months later, drummer Brantley Smith left the band to pursue ministry, and Sonefeld took his place. past. The future wasn’t here yet, and he only had the moments in the present to breathe in the grace that he’d been given.

Success came unexpectedly to the band when David Letterman booked them on his show in 1994 after he heard their hit single “Hold My Hand” on the radio, a song Jim had penned a few years earlier. But with their meteoric rise to fame came struggles common to rock musicians and quickly-achieved success. Before long, Sonefeld started abusing drugs and alcohol. The zenith of his struggle came in 2004 when he passed out in his detached garage recording studio where he was creating music. He recalls his daughter coming and seeing him on the couch, covered in sweat and smelling of booze.

“Daddy, what are you doing?” she asked.

Something about that question—so simple and so pure—jolted him despite his inebriated state.

“In a rare moment of motivation, I decided to face the truth: that I was not in control of my life and needed to ask someone else for help.”

When he was sober enough to get off the couch, Sonefeld called a friend who had overcome alcohol and drug addiction. Key to kicking the addiction was the moment-by-moment attitude where each day is a new opportunity with new challenges.

Using this mindful way to tackle life’s challenges, Jim found hope in conversations with those who could relate to what he was going through and the kindness and encouragement he received during his recovery. Jim realized that his past was just that—the

“I am nourished on a daily basis to act and live on a daily basis,” says Sonefeld. “It’s a daily surrender. I’m either meditating or praying or listening to a podcast: the Jesus Calling Podcast is one of them. I’ve got to get my head straight and get my sails pointed toward the right beacon on the horizon. And for me, that’s Jesus.”

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