One Mic, Two Weekends (One Microphone Recording)

Certain acts have a knack for combining classic elements to form a unique sound. This fusion of Jazz, Blues, Roots, and Country is Americana at its purest sonic form, and around Rhode Island very few acts pull it off as seamlessly as Evening Sky. The Providence-based instrumental quartet of guitarist Gino Rosati, bassist Joe Potenza, drummer Eric Hastings and Chris Brooks on pedal steel has a rhythmic and smooth approach.

This is evident in their new album, “One Mic, Two Weekends,” that came out on April 30. The title comes from the sessions the band did to create the album, with one session taking place in March of last year before COVID-19 shut everything down and the other happening a few weeks later during the last weekend of April in socially distanced and masked fashion.

It was all recorded at Hastings’ studio, The Grapevine, which is in Providence, Rhode Island. Geoff Hazelrigg handled the mastering at Collective Acoustics Lab in Chalfont, Pennsylvania. The process was done in an “old school” way, with each musician and their amps set in the same room around a singular stereo ribbon microphone.

This peculiar way of recording meant that there were no overdubs, no punching in, no editing and no mixing done after the initial session. The only modern inclusion in the process was that the sessions were captured by using Direct Stream Digital (DSD), a high-resolution audiophile format with a distinct quality that gives the listener a feeling of being in the room with the musicians.

Highlights within the eight-track album include “Snake Oil,” which mirrors that Chicago electric blues style that has both Rosati and Brooks standing out while playing their respective instruments; and “Slip n’ Slide,” which gets a bit funky, with Hastings forming the groove with his beats and fills on the kit. This track is a bit reminiscent of The Meters, with that New Orleans tinge appearing in various instances. Lastly, with a waltzy vibe, “The Hope Street Shuffle” is the type of song that rolls along while exuding a chill, sly tone.