Dear Editor:
My name is Angie St. John Lamour (aka Howard Stegemann Jr.). I have been the hostess at Club Lyrics for the past four years, since it was started by Doc for the gay community in Northeast Philadelphia for a place for us to go on a Tuesday. We have had our share of good and bad just like other places. But I am very upset with the family portrait about Blaize Waters, in particular the comment he made about Lyrics itself. (“Professional Portraits,” May 1-7)
Waters was hired as a bartender there the second year we were up and running. Yes, he did bring a good following, and he is a good bartender. As for the comment about the owners and the bar itself being racist and making ethnic slurs: We have never had a problem with any race or ethnic background coming to Lyrics. We welcome everyone. Yes, we have had a problem with certain managers on that, and those problems were rectified. Ask anyone who comes there [and] they will tell you that they love coming there and have a wonderful time. We even have a gay Latin Sunday every week for our Latino community that happens to be a real success. Does that sound like a bar with ethnic problems to you? It does not to me.
I would also like to state that the suit he put in at the human-rights board must not have held up because nothing ever came out of it, nor was Lyrics taken to court or investigated for those allegations.
I would like at this time to invite you and Miss Nash to come to Lyrics one Tuesday night to see for yourself what we are all about. We used to have a really nice crowd in there. We still do bring them in, but a lot of our regulars have stopped coming because of the comments he has made. I have been in this business for almost 18 years and I have seen a lot, but never have I ever encountered someone like this. It is a shame. Thank you for your time and the chance to hear me.
Angie St. John Lamour aka Howard Stegemann Jr.)
Editor’s note: Waters’ bias complaint with the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations was still under investigation at press time.