Whether you’re a graduate looking into service corps organizations or someone who wants to know how local music can benefit charity, you’ll want to check out what this past week’s EOT had to offer.

VIP
Joining us live in studio were Teach for America on  campus student coordinator Joe Wright, N.C. State Peace Corps Recruiter Marques Anderson, and senior in graphic design Ana Andruzzi. Wright and Anderson discussed the organizations they represent and the benefits students can take from joining these service corps. Andruzzi talked about her decision to teach in Prague after graduation through Teaching English as a Foreign Language and what she hoped to get out of it. *Make sure to also check the EOT blog this week for interviews with a graduate who went into the Peace Corps in Armenia and one who went into Teach for America.* Check out the full interview from the show here:

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NEWS
This week’s top headlines:
Mayor proposes new financing plan
Erskine Bowles to step down as BOG president, take on role with Obama deficit panel
Western cities fare best in well-being index
Democrat Evan Bayh of Ind. to retire from Senate
Clinton warns of Mideast nuclear arms race
Toyota may lengthen warranties to keep customers
SPORTS
Check out Correspondent Tyler Everett’s weekly sports analysis here:

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EDITORIAL
In honor of chancellor-elect Randy Woodson’s ceremony at Reynolds Coliseum Feb. 10, Evan Garris gave listeners his opinion on what the new chancellor should be prepared to do for his constituents. Woodson will take on his new role as chancellor April 5. Agree or disagree with Evan? Let us know at publicaffairs@wknc.org. If you missed it:

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COMMUNITY CANVAS
This week on Community Canvas, Arts Correspondent Kieran Moreira spoke to Jason Cooper, a sophomore in communication, and Laura-Nelle Parnell, a senior in political science, about their parts in the musical Into The Woods, an Arts N.C. State performance.  Kieran tackled questions specifically dealing with the intricate storyline, which mixes popular bedtime stories into a cohesive musical plot. Both Cooper and Parnell gave Eye on the Triangle a showcase of their performances. Parnell got into character as the Witch giving a haunting monologue, while Cooper delved into a more lighthearted musical number from his character Jack who sings about the loss of his beloved cow, Milky White. *Check back for photos.* If you missed out:

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HEAR THIS
Last week, Schooner celebrated the release of its latest EP entitled Duck Kee Sessions. Aside from the new songs and new sounds, Duck Kee Sessions had something else new. It was released exclusively on CyTunes, a music downloading service where all of the proceeds are dedicated to the Tisch Brain Cancer Center in Durham. CyTunes was originally created in 2008 in memory of WXYC DJ and local music maven, Cy Rawls. Cy gained a following among many people in the local music scene whom he loved to listen to and he became the close friend they would love to see at shows, according to his colleagues. After his passing, a small group of his friends came together to create a music downloading service in order to raise money for the Tisch Brain Cancer Center, where he was treated. Correspondents Alyssa D’Avanzo and Michael Jones interviewed Chris Rossi and Janet Park from CyTunes about how they came to know Cy and how they plan on expanding the service to include more local acts, as well as the frontman of Schooner, Reid Johnson, on how he came to know Cy and on Schooner’s decision to donate its latest release on CyTunes.
Listen to the full interview here:

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Comments, questions or suggestions? E-mail us at publicaffairs@wknc.org.

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Last Friday on the Local Beat was one of the first full programs I have had in a while.  Several different members from a variety of bands from across the Triangle came in to chat with me.  As always, all songs performed live on the show are available for listening and download off of the Local Beat ReverbNation page and widget to the left.  We added 5 new songs this week, two by Schooner and three by Wembley.  Sorry for taking so long to post this, schoolwork got in the way once again.

Reid Johnson from Schooner came in at 5 p.m. to talk about the band’s brand new release, the Duck Kee Sessions EP.  All proceeds from the album go to benefit CyTunes.org which in effect goes to benefit cancer research.   CyTunes is the only place where you can download the album.  In addition to the CyTunes we talked about the release show for the EP this Friday at the Pinhook in Durham.  Veelee, the Erie Choir, and the Popular Kids are also performing.  This release show is unique in that instead of selling hard copies of the album, local musicians and artists have donated artwork that comes with a downloadable copy of the Duck Kee Sessions EP.  For more listen in below and check out the artwork as well at the bottom of the post:

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Three members of Wembley came in at 6 p.m. to chat with me about their newest release, Keywords for Robots EP, which the band put out late in 2009.   I got a little upset with them for not promoting the album and sending it to me, all in good gesture of course.  The band members provided an insightful view into their lives as hobby-only musicians and I had a lot of fun sitting down with them for the hour.  You can listen to that conversation below:

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I had two members each of Annuals, Bright Young Things, and Gray Young to come in and talk about their show this Friday night in downtown Raleigh at the Pour House.   The fellas were a little shy and all seven of us had to share four microphones, but we did manage to play brand new songs by all of the bands, including the entire brand new EPs by both Annuals and Bright Young Things while chatting about the recording process. Listen below:

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Artwork Available for purchase at the Pinhook on Friday. All proceeds go to CyTunes.org and benefit cancer research:

By Catherine Edgerton (Click for entire series)

By Chris Williams

By Dave Cantwell (click for entire series)

By David Koslowski

By John Harrison

By John Harrison

By Ron Liberti

By Shirle Koslowski

By Zeno Gill

From The Merch

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Have you ever wondered what it’s like to donate a year or more of your life entirely to a cause? Well, some students who opt for non-traditional routes after graduation, know how it feels first-hand and are ready to share their experiences.

On this week’s Eye on the Triangle, VIP will focus on the experiences of some alumni in service corps organizations like Americorps, Peace Corps, and Teach for America, where they will tell us about the process to get in, their work over the time period they have committed to and more.

On Hear This, we will take a look at Cytunes, a music downloading service created in 2008, which was created by a group of friends and colleagues after the death of their friend Cy Rawls. The service is completely non-profit with 100 percent of proceeds the going to the Tisch Brain Cancer Center, where Cy was treated. The service contains mostly local music with artists from the area contributing their work to the service knowing that they will not return any money for themselves, but instead will be helping a great cause.

For more on these two segments and to find out what the rest are about, be sure to tune into 88.1  Monday night at 7 p.m. or livestream at wknc.org/listen!

Sorry for sending this blog in late, but some tests and Food Analysis and Statistical Quality Control labs have had me bogged down all week.  I do still pretend to be a student sometimes.

Tonight on the Local Beat however I am tossing all of that to the side for a fantastic lineup which I know everyone of you will be interested to listen in on.

Last time Reid Johnson tried to come on the Local Beat he got stuck in traffic and we had to settle for a quick phone interview.  Hopefully that won’t happen tonight as he and the rest of Schooner are coming on to chat about their most recent release, the Duck Kee Sessions EP, which will be sold only from CyTunes.org.  Schooner has been making the rounds of public radio in support for the album and I am more than happy to be one of the last stops on their radio tour before the release party next Friday, Feb 19th, at the Pinhook in Durham.  Veelee and the Erie Choir are playing as well and The Popular Kids will be doing standup.  Tune in at 5 p.m. to hear more about CyTunes, artwork at the show, and the album.

At 6 p.m. local favorites Wembley will be stopping in to play some live music off of their recent output, Keywords for Robots EP, which is  a fantastic record and gaining some support throughout the state.  If you havn’t heard the new EP since it’s release back in 2009, you are going to want to listen in and drag yourself out of your box to hear these great tunes.

For the last hour of the show a whos-who of local musicians will be sitting in with me.  Mike Robinson and Adam Baker from Annuals and Dan Grinder and Chas from Gray Young, and maybe some members from Bright Young Things will be dropping by to chat about their show at the Pour House next Friday.  All of these bands are releasing or have released new material so far in 2010 so we will check in with them to see what lies in progress for the upcoming year.

Finally, since I could not fit The Love Hangover onto the program in time, I will be sitting down with Caitlin Cary and Matt Douglas (of the Proclivities) for an informal pre-recorded Local Beat “Mini Exclusive” which will not be aired on WKNC but will be podcasted on the Blog instead.  We are going to try and get The Love Hangover creator, Richard Alwyn, to call in from NYC and chat about the show on Monday and hopefully coerce Caitlin and Matt to sing love songs to me.  With any luck this will be posted on the WKNC Blog sometime tomorrow.

You know the story.  Local music die hard, and WXYC alum,  Cy Rawls, was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in June of 2008.  Unable to pay his mounting medical bills, bands and friends from all over North Carolina, Virginia, and the US pitched in to throw some of the most amazing concerts, film viewings, and even bake sales, with all benefits attributed to a fund which paid for Cy’s medical bills.  Unfortunately, at just the age of 33, on October 3, 2008, Cy passed away at Duke Medical Center.

Thankfully, it did not end there.  Enter CyTunes, a nonprofit music download site that “features exclusive music from artists who have contributed tracks (both live and in-studio) to help raise money for cancer research in memory of Cy Rawls.”  There are 44 bands and artists in all (as of today) which include:

ALL PROCEEDS from CyTunes go to Tisch Brain Tumor Center, where Cy was a patient.  Please support this amazing organization, the bands that contribute to it, and the memory of Cy Rawls.

For more information, feel free to read these excellent articles by the Independent Weekly, and this write-up by Pitchfork.