YARD ROCK PRESS

From the Boston Globe

BLUES, BLUES, BLUES, WITH A TOUCH OF reggae.
That defines the Yard Rock Cafe, the Quincy club where music and good times are almost a religion. The Yard Rock is untouched by commercial compromise, which makes it a rare club, to be sure. So imagine the surprise of owner Joe Hajjar - also known as Joe the bartender - when he got a cease-and-desist order from the Hard Rock Cafe chain a few years ago. The Hard Rock's lawyer did not like the name Yard Rock, which he felt was too similar to the Hard Rock, and wanted the name changed. Instead of replying through legal channels, Hajjar phoned the lawyer directly, said the name was chosen because the Yard Rock is across from the Quincy ship yard, then had this to say in comparing the Yard Rock to the Hard Rock's Restaurant chain:

"We sell blues. We don't sell cheeseburgers." Case dismissed. Hajjar's disarming innocence makes the Yard Rock a special place. It's small and out of the way, but the club (also known as Joe's Pub and located at 132 E. Howard St.) is on the radar screen of many aficionados who know they can't get any closer to the blues than in the intimate, incredibly friendly Yard Rock.

The House band is Steve Murphy & the Yard Rockers, who play Sunday nights with purity that rivals Hajjar's approach to club owning. But nearly every Boston blues act has played here, from the Radio Kings and Susan Tedeschi, to James Montgomery and Jay Geils/Magic Dick & Bluestime. The club's roadhouse decor (with a dance floor right in front of the stage) makes this a magnet for acts who care about music and aren't just picking up another paycheck.

"Everybody pleads with me not to change this place. They want me to keep it just the way it is," says Hajjar, who adds proudly that the Yard Rock is still known mostly through word-of-mouth contact and isn't even listed in the phone book. It's a classic destination - you absolutely need a car to get there - but that is part of its charm and why it attracts knowledgeable, sometimes fanatical fans.

The Yard Rock offers blues on Thursday to Sunday nights, but has reggae on Wednesday (alternating well-respected reggae bands such as Noddaelu and the Mighty Charge).