Stackabones brings two decades' worth of eclecticism to Blue Fin.

The band Stackabones has a name that is both revealing and subtle. Taken at face value, it''s easy to guess the band to be musically related to The Grateful Dead-which is a pretty accurate guess. What''s not immediately obvious is that the name is actually a tribute to Woody Guthrie, who gave the nickname "Stackabones" to one of his daughters. Put the two aspects together and you end up with a pretty good idea of what the band is all about.

Stackabones'' earliest incarnation was in Long Island, where Butch Zito and Jim Brighton, the two founders of the band, met, but the band really came together after the pair moved to Austin, Texas. From there they toured around the country, including one fateful gig in Santa Cruz, where Brighton met his wife-to-be and decided to stay.

Although Zito opted to return to the East Coast, Brighton kept the band alive, recruiting local players to take the place of departed bandmates. That''s when Steve Doblick, who''s now been playing guitar with the band for about 20 years, entered the picture.

Although the band has changed personnel several times, it has retained the same independent attitude and style that prompted the group''s formation.

"A lot of people compare us with the Grateful Dead, and that''s OK," says Doblick, "but it kind of pigeonholes us. We play blues, rock ''n'' roll, reggae, jazz and some psychedelic forms, and that''s what [the Dead] did. But we don''t try to sound like them, and it''s not our goal to be a Grateful Dead cover band.

"We also do bluegrass-one tune will be bluegrass and the next will be blues. Sometimes that throws people off a little bit, but that''s what we do. We could play two hours'' worth of blues, but none of us would want to do that. We pretty much play what we want."

While the band does cover some Grateful Dead songs, and, like the Dead, some Bob Dylan tunes, Stackabones also offers a liberal portion of original songs contributed by Doblick, Brighton and drummer Scott Cooper. This is where the Guthrie connection is apparent.

Stackabones'' second album took its title, Cathy Ann, from Guthrie''s first daughter, who died from burns she suffered in a housefire after the wiring in a radio malfunctioned. According to Doblick, the fire damaged Cathy Ann''s nerve endings, so she wasn''t in too much pain as she lay dying in the hospital with her father at her bedside.

"They stayed up all night singing songs about her life," says Doblick. "Our inspiration comes from that. That''s what we''re trying to do-put our emotions out there."

After this show, Stackabones will go into hibernation for the winter as they work on finishing their third CD.

Saturday, 9pm. Blue Fin Billiards, 685 Cannery Row, Monterey. 375-7000.