Well Fran, you should have stayed out of South Philly . That's interesting, because during my stint in Philly and South Jersey I almost always worked with a mixed group including Black and White female singers (in both Black and White clubs) and I don't ever recall having a problem. Maybe because most of the clubs we played were jazz clubs which always had mixed patrons (as well as musicians of all stripes coming around to 'sit in' ---oftentimes they were just trying to 'gorilla' the gig ). We did tend to avoid the Jersey Shore clubs though (with the exception of Atlantic City) as the patrons tended to be more like what you described. Guess that's the America we're trying to get back to; personally, I don't think we ever left. Oh well, I'll be dead soon and for me, at least, it will no longer matter. Sometimes I can hardly wait. I used to think that people could change; I no longer believe that. I used to think that people were basically good; I no longer believe that either.

chas