Today’s Short Takes arrives from the pen of singer, guitarist Lisa Gain of Lisa Gain & The Rusty Silos. She has a new song ‘Run’ featuring Tino and Erin Coburn. The song is a Columbus – Dayton – Cincinnati “Ohio Super Collab” and will be released on August 27th!

Lisa’s powerful voice captures such raw and stark emotion that to experience her music is to be transported into a space where we reflect on the decisions we and others make everyday. Her arrangements vary from Americana, folk, rock, country and beyond. The songs paint a picture on the emotional canvas.

We greatly appreciate Lisa taking the time out of her busy schedule to share the music that she is listening to right now with us.

Dr. J: What are you listening to right now?

I have always been a true lover and supporter of local Ohio music! I’m blown away by someone every time I get to go out and see live music in Ohio! So I am proud to say that the majority of my digital music library is currently music by Ohio musicians. Many of whom I’ve been fortunate to meet over the years. Ohio is chock full of talent! So before I get to the local musicians I’ve been jamming to lately, I’ll start with the much more widely known artist Suzanne Vega and her hit song “Luka” from 1987. I was only 10 years old when this song came out. All I knew was it was a nice happy tune that I found to be very catchy and enjoyed hearing on the radio as a child. Once I started playing coffee shops back in the mid 90’s I decided to add “Luka” to my setlist. Almost 10 years later hearing the song again, learning those lyrics it hit me that whoa this tune was really heavy! The story is way heavier than the sound. Suzanne Vega has some great more recent slower acoustic versions of this on youtube that are more fitting to the mood and I prefer those versions over the original recording now. Unfortunately there are a lot of Luka’s out there so the subject of domestic abuse is still relevant 34 years later and sadly it will always be a subject that should be spoken about and acknowledged.

My second recent jam is provided by Dayton’s Rap Artist TINO! (P.S. I’m SOOO Excited about our collaboration that will be coming out soon “Run”!!! I am not worthy!). His EP “Past Due” that he put out during the pandemic (May 2020) is great! One of the reasons I reached out to Tino and asked him to work with me is because in my opinion he has that old school 90’s sound that I always loved! I think some of the best rap music came out of that era and he takes me back to that time! His opening track “You know” is a great example of that. Nice catchy hook and you will know it’s TINO-O! His track “95 Tribe” really takes me back since I graduated High School in 95′. It’s always nice when you have a personal connection to a song. Even if it may mean something different to us the listener sometimes than what it means to the artist who wrote it. If you buy the EP you will get his bonus track “Summertime” which is one of my favorite tracks on the EP and it’s PERFECT for this time of year to jam to! All in all I love every track on this EP and highly recommend that you check out TINO and his other collaborations!

My third recent jams are provided by Cincinnati based Blues/Rocker Erin Coburn! I bought her album “Out from Under” at a live show a couple months back and had her sign it because if you don’t know who Erin is yet I’m sure you will in the near future! She recently got 2.9 million views on a Facebook live stream concert and I predict she is on her way to doing big things! I am so happy to support her along her journey! (P.S. Erin also collaborated with Tino and I on our upcoming single “Run”. I am not worthy!!.) She just turned 20 and has been playing guitar since she was just 7 years old. She plays like no woman I’ve ever had the pleasure to personally meet! Like an old soul that should have played in Woodstock! This album proves that not only is Erin a genius on the Guitar she also has soul in her voice and the subjects she writes about. The ENTIRE album is Fantastic, but some of my favorite tracks are the title track “Out from Under”. “Diggin’ you Heavy” is Amazing! “Your mind Gun” has a great guitar solo in it that reminded me of something Slash would do. “Trip on this” grabs you at the 1st line “Trip on this we don’t need the shrooms to get high”. Honestly all 11 tracks are standouts to me! I also HIGHLY recommend you see her live if you get the chance! She and her current band mates are phenomenal!!!

And last, but certainly not least is Dayton’s very own Gem, Windsor Knotts. I bought his album “Forgotten… But not Gone” the last time I went to the Dayton Songwriters Showcase Thursdays at the Yellow cab Tavern last June. I feel like Windsor is one of those unsung heroes. I met him over a decade ago when he was hosting the Showcase at the Canal Street Tavern here he is 10 years later still doing it to feed us artists. To feed our Souls with what we love to do. He and the yellow cab tavern helped me to keep my sanity by continuing to host these safe outdoor events during Covid-19 and providing me with a creative outlet that unfortunately my hometown of Columbus was not able to offer me at the time.

I can’t thank them enough for supporting local artist’s such as myself to the ones that may just be beginning. Windsor cheers us all to get on stage! I feel like I found a second home in Dayton with my music and the songwriters showcase is a huge part of that! It’s where I have meet so many other talented musicians! So when I bought Windsor’s album he warned me and said “It’s not normal”. I played it several times on my ride back home to that night. I truly enjoyed this album! Even the “Opossum” singing… lol.  I’d describe it in the vein of Bluegrass/Country. Sometimes it reminded me of old Grandpa Jones that my Dad used to spin on record. Comedic sometimes, yet other songs are serious. If you see Windsor out and about in Dayton buy his album and then please thank him for encouraging so many Ohio artists like me!

Many thanks to Lisa for sharing some of her musical journey with us!

If you would like to contribute to a future Short Takes essay, just let us know at drjytaa on gmail.com! Our contact us through this page. We would love to feature more artists and listeners of Your Tuesday Afternoon Alternative! Photos of Lisa Gain taken by Dr. J in the WUDR Studios.