Hootie‘s Excellent Golfing Adventure: Group Plans to Warm up on Local Courses for Streeters Show

July 7, 2004

For the committed golfer it is all about getting in two rounds of 18 holes in a day. July 9 presents that opportunity for the real fan of rock and roll when Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Gregg Rolie (Santana, Journey) plays the National Cherry Festival and the group with the best selling debut album of all time, Hootie & The Blowfish, perform at Streeters’ Ground Zero Nightclub in TC.
When you go to a resort with two great golf courses it’s not about choosing, you simply play both.
Since their quick rise to rock music’s pinnacle 10 years ago, life for Hootie has literally been a “drive, chip & put.”
Hootie & The Blowfish will arrive in Traverse City with guitars and golf clubs for their concert, and if all goes well, a lot of golf. The group has been known for their prowess on the golf course and popularity among PGA players; in fact Hootie & The Blowfish for the past several years have hosted and performed at the post Masters reception. After Traverse City they perform at the after part for the Senior Open in Detroit.

WHO’S BEST?
“Right now Darius is the best golfer out of the four of us. But it gets very competitive when we’re all out on the course,” said drummer Jim “Soni,” Sonefeld. “We have our clubs on the tour bus at all times.”
While the band would love to just play golf they are in the middle of a tour to promote their recently released album “The Best of Hootie & The Blowfish: 1993-2003.” It was a tour that took them on a two-week swing of Air Force bases around the world.
“We played all over for the troops,” said Soni. “We have done shows before for the troops and it is something we think is real important. After we did our first concert several years back we became committed to doing as many shows as possible for the troops. When you see the lives they live, they are far away from their families and they are putting their lives on the line for the rest of us everyday. So a couple of hours of rock and roll and some autographs will go a long way in helping to boost their morale. It is the least we can do.”
Hootie & The Blowfish’s (named after a couple of guys the band went to college with at the University of South Carolina) popularity extends beyond the troops. In 1993 with their release of the debut album “Crack Rear View” (the album is nearing 17 million copies sold), the band went from frat houses and dive bars to the main stages of America’s best venues.

BLACK & WHITE
Their soulful sound and hit songs “Hold My Hand,” “Let Her Cry,” “Only Want To Be With You,” and “Time” kept the band at the top of the charts for most of 1994 and had critics wondering if a black vocalist could make it in a white band.
Jim Sonefeld responded to the Rolling Stone magazine question this way: “Everyone says we’re one black guy in an all-white band, but that’s not true -- we’re actually three white guys in an all black band.”
Hootie proved they were more than just one-album wonders with their sophomore release “Fairweather Johnson,” featuring the hit “Be The One,” that has sold over three million copies.
Being in a rock and roll band is a lot like being married today -- more than half don’t last, but Hootie & The Blowfish have found a formula that works and founding members vocalist Darius Rucker, guitarist Mark Bryan and bassist Dean Felber along with Sonefeld have kept it together for 14 years.
“We have a lot in common even outside of the music, with sports, golf and our families,” said Soni. “Success has helped us where sometimes success has torn other bands apart. We appreciate this career we have and we love making music. I think also we know that not many people make a living playing music, so we know we have a good thing.”

PRESIDENTIAL BOOSTERS
Another good thing from the band’s perspective would be if John Edwards would become president someday. They were the first major celebrities to jump on the John Edwards for president bandwagon and even performed a benefit concert for the Senator. The band feels he will make a great vice president if called upon but feel Edwards would be better at the top of the ticket.
“I think if he is asked to be vice president he will take it, but personally I think he would make a better president,” said Soni. “He is a little more cutting edge than the others and he is a real motivator. He has a very positive effect on people and some great ideas. Yes we are friends with him, but not all of our friends are qualified to be president, but he certainly is.”
As for reality TV, the band has jumped in -- well sort of. Lead singer Rucker has a new show on VH-1 that debuted two weeks ago called “I Married Darius Rucker.”
The show focuses on Beth Leonard, the wife of Hootie & the Blowfish’s frontman. Beth and Darius invite viewers into their home and their life in tranquil Charleston, South Carolina, Darius’ hometown. They discuss the obstacles of being an interracial couple in the south, of the long spells of being apart from one-another when Darius is on the road, of Darius’ reputation as a ladies’ man, and of giving up her career in New York to support her husband and child.

WHAT’S NEW?
As for a new album the band is unsure.
“We are busy with the tour through summer and we are planning a live DVD to be released late this year,” said Soni. “We are constantly writing new material individually and then we come together and see what works. Nothing is scheduled and certainly if we do something new it would be great to bring Don Was back into the studio to produce. In this business it is all wait and see.”
With 17 hit songs in their bag, there won’t be any wait and see “what club” is working at the Hootie & The Blowfish concert. As for golf, well the group might just use the Willie Nelson method of pulling the bus over when they see the first course after sunrise as they head to Traverse City.
“We usually keep our golf locations a secret,” said Soni. “We have been known to attract galleries and that doesn’t always sit well with course.

It won’t be any secret when Hootie takes the stage July 9 at Streeters’ Ground Zero Nightclub. As for the gallery at Streeters, all are welcome for what surely will be a “sub-par” performance. For additional information visit www.streetersonline.com or call their box office at (231) 932-1300 for tickets in advance.