Keep Between the Lines

The song "Keep Between the Lines" by Jive Mother Mary, freshly released as a single in 2025, has already captured the imagination of Zoo Freaks everywhere with its gritty, road-worn energy. In a recent interview on the Texas Indie Spotlight podcast just last month, lead singer Joe Johnson shared that the track was born from a grueling cross-country tour last year, where the band found inspiration in endless highways and near-misses with fate. Recorded during a whirlwind session in a Nashville studio, the song channels the spirit of staying steady through life's wild turns, blending soaring harmonies with that signature Jive slide guitar. Fans wasted no time claiming it as their anthem; a flood of social media posts from the release day show Zoo Freaks dedicating it to everything from job changes to long-overdue family reconciliations.

Guitarist Ben Williams dropped a fun behind-the-scenes nugget during a live Instagram Q&A on release week, explaining how the chorus hook evolved from a late-night text chain among bandmates—each contributing lines about "lines" they were toeing in their own lives, from creative blocks to relationship hurdles. This collaborative spark turned what could have been a standard blues rocker into something deeply relatable, with Williams joking that the final mix includes faint laughter echoes from the session that they decided to keep for authenticity. On X, a thread from a prominent Zoo Freak DJ went viral, recounting how spinning the single for the first time on THE ZOO led to an hour of non-stop call-ins, with listeners swapping stories of their own "between the lines" triumphs and tumbles.

Jive Mother Mary, the Dallas-born roots rock force, kicked off their journey in the mid-2000s, when lifelong pals Joe Johnson and Ben Williams started trading riffs in suburban backyards, soaking up the humid Texas air and sounds from vinyl stacks of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Stevie Ray Vaughan. What began as casual hangs evolved into serious gigs after a 2006 open mic at a dive bar caught the attention of a local promoter, propelling them into the city's sweaty club circuit. By 2008, with a self-released demo tape circulating among festival-goers, they inked a deal with a small indie label and hit the road in a borrowed van, building a rep for marathon sets that left crowds hoarse and hooked.

The band's ethos of raw, unfiltered expression carried them through lean years of couch-surfing tours and basement recordings, culminating in their breakthrough 2010 album that solidified their place in the Southwest scene. Drawing from personal odysseys of doubt and discovery, Jive Mother Mary has always prioritized live communion over polished perfection, fostering a tribe of devotees who pack venues from Austin honky-tonks to Denver warehouses. As they navigate this new chapter with "Keep Between the Lines," their story remains one of grit, groove, and unbreakable bonds forged in the heat of the stage.

Stay tuned to Jive Mother Mary via their official website. Link up on Facebook, vibe on Instagram, or follow the buzz on X. For deeper dives, the Jive Mother Mary Fans Group on Facebook is a goldmine of setlist swaps, rare footage, and fellow travelers geeking out over every riff and revelation.