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Martin's was dead Thursday night. Maybe 15 people, most of them sitting at the bar. They probably didn't know it, but they were hearing a couple of pretty influential musicians.

The band was Abe Reid and the Spikedrivers -- or, as bar owner Jason Martin joked, Abe Reid and the Spikedriver. That's because it was just Reid and keyboardist Jake Hollifield. The two musicians hadn't spoken to each other in many years and were playing only their second show together after that long silence, Reid said during a break.

But at one time, they were one-third of an Asheville, N.C., band called The Blue Rags, which was signed to Seattle's Sub Pop record label.

I'm not the hippest guy on the planet, and I'll admit that I hadn't heard of the Blue Rags until a couple of weeks ago. The Avett Brothers bassist Bob Crawford told me that The Blue Rags music had been a huge influence on his band. So I had to go check it out. Really good band.

Reid said last night that he was surprised to hear about his band's effect on the Avetts.

"Those guys used to open for my solo act," Reid said. "They'd act like they were star struck around me. Now look at 'em. They're on magazine covers."

And on Columbia/American Records, under Rick Rubin's production.

"Awwww! He don't make a bad record with nobody!" Reid said.

The Blue Rags made a couple of CDs with Sub Pop, and toured constantly in the Southeast. During that time, Reid said, he picked up a heroin habit and wound up getting fired from the band in 1998. A couple of years ago, the original lineup gathered again to play on Asheville's hippest stage, The Orange Peel.

The needle scars are faded now, and Reid has moved on with the Spikedrivers -- typically a full band, but down to two on its Roanoke/Blacksburg run because the rhythm section had other obligations, according to Reid.

But it's a nice thing, hearing Reid pluck and strum his Les Paul and blow his harmonica while Hollifield fills out the sound with an ancient Rhodes electric piano. Thursday night with these guys was basically a visit to the churches of John Hurt, Charley Patton, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and John Lee Hooker.

Which is fine, as far as it goes. But these two have original songs to offer -- it's just that Hollifield doesn't know Reid's songs yet. They did pull out an old Hollifield tune, "When the Earth had Long Hair." It was a fairly brilliant piece of work, but Reid said that Hollifield doesn't like it.

I say Hollifield had best get over that, and write some more songs he doesn't like. These boys might yet get a second act in the musical influence business.

They're playing at Gillie's, in Blacksburg, tonight. Go request that song!

Find other Blue Rags info at www.atonemusic.com. And check out fellow Blue Ragger Aaron "Woody" Wood, whose music is way cool.