James Sonefeld solo debut, Snowman Melting, is now available exclusively through Aquarian Nation. The album will also be available beginning July 23 at all Hootie live performances. James Sonefeled (Soni) will be available to autograph copies after each performance at the Hootie merch booth.

Going solo: Darius, Soni and Mark take a break from Hootie to record their own albums
By OTIS R. TAYLOR JR. - otaylor@thestate.com

"Glad to be Alive" was one of several songs Mark Bryan brought into the studio when Hootie and the Blowfish convened to record its most recent album, 2005's "Looking For Lucky."

"It's a punky little thing about how kids will wear anything, and once it's time to get a job, they dress more conservatively," Bryan said of the song.

Hootie's lead singer, Darius Rucker, didn't vibe with the punkish track.

That was OK with Bryan. "I can totally respect it's not a Hootie song."

But "Glad to be Alive" still was recorded — for Bryan's solo album, "End of the Front," which will be released Tuesday by independent distributors Fontana/Artist Garage.

Not to be outdone, two other members of Hootie — Rucker and drummer Jim "Soni" Sonefeld — will release albums this year as well. (Bassist Dean Felber doesn't have any solo plans — yet.)

"This is what felt right," Sonefeld said, "to go to the studio and record solo records."

Bryan's album might be the most diverse, with songs ranging from punk to pop, rock to bluegrass. "Fork in the Road," a duet with Danielle Howle, is the title track for "National Treasure" director Jim Kouf's new comedy due in theaters this year.

"Stylistically it's all over the place," Bryan said about his second solo album. "But it's because the songs were written over a 10-year period."

For his sophomore solo project, Rucker, who released an R&B album, "Back to Then," in 2002, drove to Nashville. He apparently can't sing punk, but he can sing country.

"I've heard a bunch of it," Sonefeld said. "It's slick."

Rucker's untitled Capitol Nashville debut was supposed to hit stores last year, but he came down with a staph infection that set the release back a couple of months because Rucker couldn't promote it. He sees country as a natural progression from his work with Hootie.

"I know that a lot of country fans have 'Cracked Rear View,'" Rucker said of Hootie's breakthrough album, which has sold more than 16 million copies.

"We've never really been that far from country. It came out so organically."

Many will remember Rucker as the purple-suited singing cowboy in TV ads for Burger King's TenderCrisp Bacon Cheddar Ranch sandwich. This album isn't a parody: Rucker says Capitol believes in his work, which now is scheduled for release at the end of summer or early fall.

"It seems like a real priority," he said. "I wasn't looking for a deal. I just wanted to make a record."

Rucker said the sound leans toward old-school country — with big hooks.

"The thing about country today, it has that element of storytelling and that great chorus where you have to kill them," he said. "I know at one point I was asked for some of the songs to not sound so country."

Sonefeld might own a cabin in the woods, but his album, "Snowman Melting," isn't country. Produced with Francis Dunnery, a British singer/songwriter, the album of progressive sounds will be released by indie label Aquarian Nation in May, Sonefeld said.

"It just feels so alive," he said. "It's killing me not to have it ready yet."

Is it any good?

"It's fabulous," he said. "It will be a summertime record."

Michel Celmer is a longtime Hootie fan, and she's excited about all three albums. Celmer, who was raised in Summerville but now lives in Louisiana, has "Hootie" tattooed on her ankle.

"I love the fact that they have branched out and are expanding," she said.

Would she prefer another Hootie album instead of the members releasing solo efforts?

"When it comes to having another Hootie album or solos — I am a fan and it makes no difference to me because talent is talent," Celmer said.

When Hootie got together for "Looking For Lucky," the guys had 45 songs to work through.

"We had so many ideas it was insane," Bryan said.

By then Rucker was contemplating his country ride, and "we didn't want to take a whole album as Hootie and make a country album," Bryan said.

Hootie is Hootie, and there's nothing country — or punk, for that matter — about it.

James Sonefeld's New Release, Snowman Melting, is now well on its way to completion. Sonefeld, who plays drums with mega band 'Hootie and the Blowfish' finished recording lead vocals last week at Francis Dunnery's studio in the Pocono mountains.

Sonefeld and Dunnery were both very excited to start recording the backing vocals as it really gives a feel for how incredible the completed project will sound.

Jane Button was asked to sing the backing vocals for the album. When asked why Dunnery chose Jane for the project, he said "I chose Jane because of her natural singing abilities and for the particular type of vibrato that she has in her voice. I heard Jane sing for the first time with John & Wayne at the CKDCF charity gig and with the band Junk at King Tut's back in October of 2007. It was shortly after that concert that I decided she was the right voice for Sonefeld's album."

Jane arrived in New York City from Glasgow on February 18th and worked for four days singing the backing vocals for Sonefeld's debut solo album.

Dunnery also mentioned, "I'm always on the look out for more talent to help with Aquarian Nation projects because if we use the same people, all the cds will sound the same! Jane has a great voice that matches the energy and intensity of Sonefeld's vocal tracks".

After a year of hard work, Dunnery and Sonefeld are pleased to announce that the album will be mixed and mastered over the next month, which should complete the finishing touches for a Spring 2008 release.

James Sonefeld has been working with Francis Dunnery over the past year to produce his first solo album, aptly titled Snowman Melting, set for completion in the Spring of 2008. Sonefeld will be joining the Aquarian Nation Team within the coming week.

More to come  or check out www.aquariannation.com

Well, the project that i've been actively working on for a year is just about finished. It's a compilation of songs that tell a lot about my experiences of love, life, and loss over the last several years. It is the purging of old feelings and the birth of new ones. It is about digging out of one pit only to find yourself in another. During the recording, some of the songs drove me to tears and other songs made me feel like I could fly. This process has helped me to understand that winter does not last forever, that spring will eventually come. God, I just hope that it gets here soon!

The album is called "Snowman, melting". Translate it however you like. I just know that when the snowman melts at the end of winter, the water seeps back into the earth and becomes part of a new growth process called springtime. Though we recorded this album in the literal and figurative winter of my life, it is not a dark or depressing album. It definitely states that life is full of great struggles, but that it is also full of great hope. That is what I look for everyday. Hope.

More info is coming soon regarding the release date and downloading options.

Catch up with ya'll soon, Soni