RTP-area local music and culture

[Chris Calloway <ifoufo AT yahoo.com>]

--- Ken <bluemold AT nc.rr.com> wrote:
> Drummer Joe Jaworski was the grandson of
> Watergate special
> prosecuter, Leon Jaworski.  Joe is an attorney
> himself now, was the
> mayor pro tem of Galveston Texas for a while, and is
> now running for
> the state legislature.

I'm so glad to hear something about Joe. He was
especially nice to me when he didn't have to be.

> PS:  Mike Woodard is a former music scene maker and
> buddy of Robbie
> Schultz.  He is now a Durham town councilman.

Mike founded XDU. He worked at XDU for a long time and
most other people working there never realized what
he'd done to make the station happen because he was
running a syndicated "new age" music show on Sunday
evenings and wasn't really part of the station's
musical zeitgeist. He wasn't really into "indie" music
but made it possible for the people who were to have
the freedom to take XDU in the direction in which it
went, kind of democratic enabler. He's just one of
those upstanding citizens always working behind the
scenes without whom things would be less. For years,
every time I would do any charity work in Durham, no
matter what it was, Mike would already be there,
toiling in the vineyards. After awhile I started
calling him "Mr. Durham" because it seemed like all
good things locally either flowed from or through him.
I was very happy when he became a precinct chair a
couple of years ago, started coming to county party
meetings, and then ran a very good campaign for city
council. At sometimes contentious meetings, he would
always be the voice of reason. When he won his
election, I thought it was a victory for Durham. One
less politician to worry about. Anyway, without him
I'm not saying what's going on now musically in Durham
wouldn't be happening. But it would be a lot less
likely. There are stepping stones to go over in a path
and necessary conditions for fostering environments.
Mike laid the biggest stone at the beginning of that
path.

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